A Botnik Studios Interview | The Guardian Built Another AI-Generated Zuckerbot For An Interview ...

The Facebook CEO won’t talk to the Guardian.

So they built a Zuckerbot and interviewed it instead

(Illustration: Raj Dhunna/The Guardian)

‘I do surfing’: an AI-generated Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s bad year

Julia Carrie Wong

Mon 27 Dec 2021 01.00 EST Last modified on Mon 27 Dec 2021 01.02 EST

the Guardian

". . .What does Mark Zuckerberg care about?

The 37-year-old tech executive has a wife, two kids, $110bn , and near absolute control over a group of companies – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp – that shape the information, entertainment, and communication of 3 billion people.

But in a year that kicked off with those companies playing a major role in fueling a violent and conspiracy-addled riot at the US Capitol on 6 January, and closed with a whistleblower revealing just how much Facebook knew – and concealed from the public – about the damage it was doing to individuals and societies, Zuckerberg has himself seemed remarkably unbothered.

Gone is the Zuckerberg who repeated apologies and pledges to take a broader view of Facebook’s responsibility ad nauseum. New Zuck (dare we call him “metaZuck”?) appears to be primarily focused on his super relatable hobbies (electric surfing, fencing, hydrofoiling, boar hunting) and building a fantasy world that he hasn’t managed to mess up – yet.

“I just decided to focus more on some of the awesome things we’re building, and doing more fun things with my family and friends,” Zuckerberg said to a fan who asked about the secret to his being “super laid-back and funny these last few months”.

The Guardian would have loved to ask Zuckerberg some follow-up questions about that, but since metaZuck isn’t doing much in the way of sitting for interviews with critical journalists these days, we fell back upon a last resort: we built another Zuckerbot and interviewed it instead.

To do this, we worked with Botnik Studios to create a predictive keyboard trained on the past two years of Zuckerberg’s public statements (archived by Marquette University’s Zuckerberg Files).

> Our previous interview with the Zuckerbot, conducted in 2019 and based on Zuck’s statements from 2016 to 2019, can be found here. Guardian journalists provided the questions; Botnik used the predictive keyboard to generate the answers.

Hi Mark, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to the Guardian. It’s been a busy two years since we spoke, and your company has now been implicated in even more violence and unrest around the world. Congratulations!

Thank you for welcoming me here today with your own self. Being present with you in person is going to be a killer part of history.

The metaverse is a big, valuable baked dumpling full of content without nudity

To start, you recently changed Facebook’s name to Meta. Why?

Imagine a multiplayer game where you pay off a bunch of publications who are physically afraid of content. This is the basic idea behind the internet. Now look up at the sun, close your eyes, feel completely wrapped in virtual goods and commerce. That is the ultimate expression of social networks. That is the metaverse.

[...] You were raised Jewish and have said religion is very important to you. How do you think God will judge you?

I believe deeply in a wireless experience you have in the Next Time. You get a mentor and you see a cool effect, and then you go to juvenile detention center in the metaverse. It has a massive amount of problematic goods and it has solar-powered privacy controls that you can break by talking. And it has a major part with a judgment room, right in the top. In this room we are always faced by ourselves. This is inspiring for a second, but it starts to be clear that you are very afraid. That’s gonna be a big part of the challenge in the world to come.

You control a 55% voting stake in your company. What safeguards exist to check your power?

I need to ask permission from a big personal influence – my parents. They don’t expect that their friends will like the new things I’ve done. Hopefully, later on helping me will become their lives but for now we’re gonna roll with social media for all kinds of ages.

Let’s play a game. What are two truths and one lie about yourself?

One: I have no company. Two: I have no tolerance for the town square. Three: I do surfing and I am grateful for the world of water.. .

HOW ABOUT SOME MORE?? >>

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/27/mark-zuckerberg-ai-robot-metaverse-facebook

 

End-of-An-Era: South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Icon Desmond Tutu Has Died at The Age of 90

He was a Moral Giant preaching from the pulpit, leaving behind a mixed ambivalent legacy.

South Africa’s 1984 Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice and retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town will be honored at these tenuous times.

‘Touched many of us’: South Africans mourn Desmond Tutu’s death

Memorial services have been organised across the country to pay tribute to the 90-year-old anti-apartheid icon.

The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town as well as frequent public demonstrations to galvanize public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally

[File: J. Pat Carter/AP Photo]

 

Thabi Myeni

aljazeera.com

"Memorial services are being organised across the country’s main cities of Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Pretoria, as tributes pour in from African leaders and the international community for a man who was instrumental in building a democratic South Africa. . .

‘Racialised inequality’

However, a section of South African society remains critical of Tutu.

Modibe Madiba, who runs popular alternative media platform, the Insight Factor, told Al Jazeera young Black South Africans “continue to live with the consequences of how leaders like Archbishop Tutu handled the process of nation-building” in the country.

“I feel impacted by the legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I live in a country where there is racialised inequality. This is what Tutu, who fought against apartheid, allowed us to inherit from the apartheid regime in the end,” he said.

“The world must remember the fight against apartheid was not a fight to cast votes. It was a fight for justice, for economic opportunities, for lives lost senselessly, and for people dispossessed of their land by the apartheid regime.”

After the end of apartheid, Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was set up to unearth atrocities committed by the white-minority government from 1948 to 1991 when apartheid laws were repealed. . ."

Related

‘Moral gi­ant’: How the world re­act­ed to Desmond Tutu’s death

• The arch­bish­op’s lega­cy as an ‘anti-apartheid hero’ is re­mem­bered in South Africa and around the world.

  Published On 26 Dec 202126 Dec 2021

  

• Obit­u­ary: Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s ‘moral com­pass’

  Tutu, who died on Sun­day at the age of 90, was con­sid­ered ‘a thorn in the side of the apartheid gov­ern­ment’.

  Published On 26 Dec 202126 Dec 2021

An un­com­pro­mis­ing foe of apartheid, Tutu worked tire­less­ly, though non-vi­o­lent­ly, for its down­fall.
 
“Archbishop Tutu adopted the restorative justice approach, and rightly so, because bloodshed was not the answer at that time,” Jason, who goes by a single name, told Al Jazeera.
Sikhumbuzo Mgxwati, 32, is among the growing voices of young South Africans who are ambivalent about the legacy of the country’s last surviving Nobel Peace laureate.
 
"Growing up, we were fed the idea of apartheid heroes as people who liberated Black people, but today, you realise that they just assimilated to the same system that kept us oppressed, living precarious lives and without opportunities,” he told Al Jazeera.
• Published On 26 Dec 2021
 

2021 Hindsight: The Year in Review Reduced in A Cartoon

For a dread-filled year it's difficult to look back. For some people humor is where they can find it.

For example in this month-by-month look into his rear-view mirror by Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist and author Dave Barry appearing in The Washington Post Magazine today

Dave Barry’s 2021 Year in Review

Vaccines, variants and supply chain woes: A look back at the past 12 months

By Dave Barry

December 26, 2021

 

"Is there anything positive we can say about 2021?

Yes. We can say that it was marginally better than 2020. . .What was better about 2021?

For one thing, people finally emerged from their isolated pandemic cocoons and started connecting with others. . .Anyway, our point is not that 2021 was massively better than 2020. Our point is that at least it was different. A variant, so to speak. And like any year, it had both highs and lows.

No, we take that back. It was pretty much all lows, as we will see when we review the key events of 2021, starting in …"

 

Read more >> https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/12/26/dave-barrys-year-review-2021/

Jolly Good Jon! Talton Kicks Some Butt from West Virginia. . .| The Rogue Columnist

This might start you off, but please do CONTINUE READING "A Christmas letter" farther down using the link provided.

December 20, 2021

A Christmas letter

Illustrations by Carl Muecke

"Here we are, hurtling toward a Democratic shellacking in 2022. And based on the voter suppression laws being passed by Republican-controlled legislatures around the country, they may never be in power again. For example, the Arizona Legislature has stripped the Secretary of State of the ability to certify elections. Now the Legislature itself will decide electors — here comes Trump in 2024.

Electoral success depends on quick results by the Democrats, not only on infrastructure (which Trump never delivered) but also rebuilding the social-safety net and addressing climate change. Instead, the monstrous Sen. Joe Manchin has torpedoed much of President Biden's agenda. West Virginia is among the poorest states in the nation. It one of the biggest beneficiaries of Biden's Build Back Better programs, but no. Manchin revels in being essentially shadow president. The razor-thin Senate Democratic majority that leaves so much power in the hands of Manchin and Arizona's Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Both should be Republicans for the damage they did. They are anything but centrists. But let's not forget the Democrat's self-inflicted wounds.

These are nicely encapsulated on Andrew Sullivan's Substack column. (It's well worth a subscription). Here's some of the salient points Sullivan makes:

Continue reading "A Christmas letter" »

A New Joni Mitchell Video To Go with Lonesome Moods

First a blogger note: there are other Joni Mitchell songs and memories posted - just use the handy Search Box

Entertainment

Joni Mitchell's Melancholy Christmas Song Gets The Exquisite Video It Deserves

“A Christmas song for people who are lonely at Christmas! We need a song like that," the folk-rock legend said of "River."

By 

Ron Dicker General Assignment Reporter, HuffPost

12/24/2021 12:39pm EST

Joni Mitchell’s “River,” a 50-year-old Christmastime song of lost love, finally has an official video to go with it. (Watch it below.)

And the folk-pop legend sounds like she couldn’t be happier

“River expresses regret at the end of a relationship... but it’s also about being lonely at Christmas time,” Mitchell said in a statement at the end of the animated work, which was posted to her YouTube channel on Thursday. “A Christmas song for people who are lonely at Christmas! We need a song like that.”

Mitchell sings plaintively of wanting a river she “could skate away on” ― reflected in Skazka Studios’ black-and-white animation of a solitary figure gliding across the frozen water.

The watercolor style captures “the song’s lonesome mood while paying tribute to Mitchell’s prolific creativity as a painter,” according to her website.

A portrait also forms of a younger Mitchell, now a 78-year-old Kennedy Center honoree who’s perhaps on the verge of winning another in an impressive series of Grammys next month. Her compilation “Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)” has been nominated for best historical album.

Advertisement

“River” appeared on Mitchell’s 1971 album “Blue.”

The video is one melancholy ride, but worth it.

Related...

David Letterman Immediately Shreds Donald Trump At Kennedy Center Honors

Bette Midler, Berry Gordy And Joni Mitchell Among 2021 Kennedy Center Honorees

The Agony And Ecstasy Of Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now,'

NO HOLIDAYS FOR ENTERPRISE ATTACKERS: Expect more between Christmas and New Years

HOLD The holiday season is here, but there is no rest for weary admins at Bleeping Computer as ransomware gangs are still conducting attacks over the Christmas and New Years breaks.

The Week in Ransomware - December 24th 2021 - No rest for the weary

Lawrence Abrams

BleepingComputer

 

". . .This is especially true this year, with the rampant Log4j exploitation over the past few weeks leading to compromised networks that are ripe for ransomware deployment while the workforce is on vacation.

Network admins and security researchers are already reporting that BlackCat/ALPHV affiliates continue to attack the enterprise today as we move into the Christmas weekend, so it is vital to keep an eye on your networks and respond quickly to unusual behavior.

Good luck out there and wishing everyone a very happy and uneventful holiday season!

PLEASE NOTE: Contributors and those who provided new ransomware information and stories this week include: @LawrenceAbrams, @Ionut_Ilascu, @PolarToffee, @BleepinComputer, @struppigel, @Seifreed, @VK_Intel, @billtoulas, @serghei, @jorntvdw, @FourOctets, @malwareforme, @fwosar, @JakubKroustek, @DanielGallagher, @malwrhunterteam, @demonslay335, @ValeryMarchive, @ESETresearch, @LabsSentinel, @SophosLabs, @threatresearch, @NCCGroupplc, @pcrisk, @th3_protoCOL, @0daydorpher, and @siri_urz.

 

December 24th 2021

Rook ransomware is yet another spawn of the leaked Babuk code

A new ransomware operation named Rook has appeared recently on the cyber-crime space, declaring a desperate need to make "a lot of money" by breaching corporate networks and encrypting devices.

Global IT services provider Inetum hit by ransomware attack

As first reported by Valéry Marchive, less than a week before the Christmas holiday, French IT services company Inetum Group was hit by a ransomware attack that had a limited impact on the business and its customers.

Noberus/ALPHV/BlackCat attacking during Christmas

It's not uncommon for ransomware gangs to take a bit of time off during the holidays. However, looks like BlackCat affiliates are continuing to work through the holidays.

ALPHV BlackCat - This year's most sophisticated ransomware

Lawrence Abrams

BleepingComputer |

The new ALPHV ransomware operation, aka BlackCat, launched last month and could be the most sophisticated ransomware of the year, with a highly-customizable feature set allowing for attacks on a wide range of corporate environments.

The ransomware executable is written in Rust, which is not typical for malware developers but is slowly increasing in popularity due to its high performance and memory safety.

MalwareHunterTeam found the new ransomware and told BleepingComputer that the first ID Ransomware submission for the new operation was on November 21st.

There is a very interesting new Rust coded ransomware (first ITW?), BlackCat.
Another one used to encrypt companies' networks.
Already seen some victims from different countries, from the second half of past November.
Also look at that UI. Back to '80s?
@demonslay335 @VK_Intel pic.twitter.com/YttzWWUD3c

— MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) December 8, 2021

Security, Mobile

Android banking trojan spreads via fake Google Play Store page

An Android banking trojan targeting Itaú Unibanco, a large financial services provider in Brazil with 55 million customers globally, is using a fake Google Play store to spread to devices.

• Bill Toulas
• December 24, 2021
• 10:27 AM
• 0

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That's it for this week! Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-week-in-ransomware-december-24th-2021-no-rest-for-the-weary/

Related Articles:

The Week in Ransomware - December 10th 2021 - Project CODA

Global IT services provider Inetum hit by ransomware attack

ALPHV BlackCat - This year's most sophisticated ransomware

The Week in Ransomware - December 17th 2021 - Enter Log4j

Kronos ransomware attack may cause weeks of HR solutions downtime

 

 

 

Concerned over Click-Bait "Gone Viral" ?? ...HIJACKING THE HOLIDAYS: Gun-Toting Family Portraits...

Clearly intended to provoke, there's a slew of these Family-Values-added portraits posted on social media by radical right-wing fringe Republicans to send a message. No doubt they are intended to serve a useful purpose

Earlier in December, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted this photo of his heavily-armed family by the Christmas tree. ( TWITTER.COM/REP. THOMAS MASSIE )    

Forbes reporter Zach Everson writes on politics and money

Congressman Thomas Massie’s Christmas-Card Arsenal Is Probably Worth Tens Of Thousands

Zach Everson

Forbes | 2021-12-24

"House Republican Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, published something of a virtual Christmas card on Twitter earlier this month, featuring a tinsel-wrapped tree, a smiling family and seven very powerful guns.

“Merry Christmas,” the congressman captioned the picture. “P.S. Santa, please bring ammo.”  

In the stream of comments that followed, lots of people focused on the amount of firepower involved, but few noted the amount of money on display. It’s hard to pinpoint exact values of all the weapons—similar-looking guns might come from different manufacturers, specifications vary and iconic weapons inspire imitations—but there’s no question that they’re worth a lot.

. . .Forbes believes Massie’s photo probably features $20,000 to $190,000 worth of firearms.  

That’s a significant amount of money for the lawmaker. Excluding his family farm that’s worth more than $1 million, Massie reported less than $165,000 of assets on his most-recent financial disclosure form, which does not require members to list all their personal property, like guns. “This is a wannabe Soldier of Fortune dream collection, . ."

[...] Despite proudly publishing the photo of the cache, Massie wouldn’t respond to inquiries on it or say what his arsenal is worth. It’s theoretically possible that he borrowed all the weapons from a friend. But if they’re his, the guns would constitute a significant holding for the Kentucky congressman, who earns $174,000 a year on Capitol Hill. No wonder he’s asking Santa for a little help with the ammo."

Reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2021/12/24/congressman-thomas-massies-christmas-card-arsenal-is-probably-worth-tens-of-thousands/ 

RELATED CONTENT

Image source, @REPTHOMASMASSIE

Thomas Massie: US congressman condemned for Christmas guns photo

BBC News |

A US congressman has faced a barrage of criticism after he posted a Christmas photograph of his family posing with military-style rifles, just days after a deadly school shooting.

Kentucky's Republican representative, Thomas Massie, tweeted the photo with the caption: "Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo".

The post has been condemned by a host of families affected by gun violence, plus figures on both sides of politics.

He has been contacted for comment.

In the wake of the controversy, Mr Massie has retweeted messages of support, and also those criticising him - directly engaging with several Twitter users who said he was "tone deaf" and "insensitive".

In response to one person who wrote the "bar was on the floor, but somehow you managed to tunnel underneath it," the 50-year-old quipped that "The BAR is under the couch," referring to a type of military assault rifle.

The photo was posted days after a school shooting in Michigan which left four teenagers dead and seven people injured after a 15-year-old student allegedly went on a rampage using his father's gun. . ."