The AI Aperture Of Certainty When It Comes To Predicting The Attainment Of AGI
A common belief is that as we get closer to AGI our prediction about when AGI will happen gets better and better. This AGI ...
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Meet ‘Bobbi’: Police launch first AI virtual assistant
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Nashik: HAL Opens Doors For Small And Medium Enterprises In Aircraft Manufacturing
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Leak confirms OpenAI is preparing ads on ChatGPT for public roll out
<a href="https://x.com/btibor91/status/1994714152636690834" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/btibor91/status/1994714152636690834</a><p><a href="https://xcancel.com/btibor91/status/1994714152636690834" rel="nofollow">https://xcancel.com/btibor91/status/1994714152636690834</a>
Leaving Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta And Apple Behind
<h1>Leaving Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta And Apple Behind</h1><p>Earlier today I read an article that I found quite intriguing as well as mildly horrifying. You can read it <a href="https://gizmodo.com/i-cut-the-big-five-tech-giants-from-my-life-it-was-hel-1831304194">here</a>. It was about a person trying to cut the giants of the internet out and realising that it wasn’t possible to do so. At least not completely. </p><p>It reminded me somewhat of my own journey. </p><h2><b>Social media </b></h2><p>Roughly 19 months ago I made the decision to leave Meta behind completely. It was an easy decision but it wasn’t easy to follow through with it. Meta has a hold on all of its users and it will not release that hold without putting up a fight. And that it did. It took quite a bit of time and effort to remove my accounts, unlink everything etc. Even after all of that, I had to wait 30 or more days before they deleted my accounts fully. They expected me to regret my decision and cancel the cancellation.</p><p>But I persevered and all of my accounts were deleted. As I began to navigate life without social media hanging over my shoulder, I found it very interesting to see how my attention span began to heal itself. It made me realise just how damaged our brains have become from the endless scrolling and the shorts/reels that pop up everywhere on social media. </p><p>When meeting other people, I was suddenly the only one not staring down at a screen. I had no reason to. That too made me realise just how much time we spend looking down on a screen rather than looking into each other’s faces. How sad is that?</p><h2><b>YouTube </b></h2><p>YouTube is apparently deemed to be social media, even though it isn’t exactly possible to communicate with others or be social on their platform. If we look past the comment sections full of trolls, that is. </p><p>I created my channel this year, hoping to use it to market my work and to help other people. But it really is a journey full of hurdles. The algorithm recommends AI content with either really bad thumbnails or complete clickbait. Low-quality videos that offer nothing than an AI voice spouting false facts with a flashing screen in the background. </p><p>To find real videos from real people, you essentially have to know their usernames and channels already. It is completely rigged. And the ads are often fake and near constant. The other day I had to watch back to back ads for a full minute before I was able to start watching a video. By then, I had lost interest in it. </p><p>No matter what I like or watch, I am recommended highly conservative and rather frightening videos from Russia and China. Which is also beyond creepy.</p><p>People like to defend YouTube to hell and back, but I am underwhelmed. Their technology is not excellent, despite what some may say. Their AI is more unreliable than not. As most AI still is. </p><p>YouTube has admitted that their AI services are accurate less than 50% of the time. Some say their accuracy is closer to 30%. Definitely not impressive in my book. Especially since it is AI that runs the algorithm and decides whether you can earn money through YouTube or not.</p><p>The analytics are all over the place. Many YouTubers on Reddit and the like worship the analytics and go off if anyone even suggests they aren’t correct. But they really aren’t correct and I for one haven’t found them to be helpful. Every time I look at them, they have changed completely. My watch hours are reset every few days, which makes it very difficult to reach 3000 of them. And since I don’t use AI, my videos aren’t recommended enough, nor do they end up in searches enough, despite following the rules of SEO. </p><p>The bugs are constant, whether you are a user or a channel. Some of my videos, that I know have had many views and likes, show zero likes and views. </p><p>I’ve only been doing it for a month, but the AI, algorithm and the tech issues really suck the joy out of what should be a highly enjoyable creative and social endeavour. I will stick to YouTube for the time being, but not without simultaneously exploring options.</p><p>In December I will start posting shorts and hopefully YouTube can at least function as a marketing tool to drive traffic to my shops.</p><h2><b>Smartphone </b></h2><p>My “dumb” phone only have to be charged once or twice a week. The longer I go without a smartphone, the more I change. I let go of my smartphone ten months ago. I do not miss it at all. </p><p>Many days I forget to check my phone. I even frequently forget where it is, because I mainly use it as an ipod that I can text with if need be. Oh, and I also use it as a calculator when I am working through the monthly budget. </p><p>However, cutting ties with the other giants of the internet is not as easy as getting rid of a smartphone.</p><h2><b>Computer </b></h2><p>If you want a computer that isn’t made by Google, Apple or Microsoft, you won’t have an easy time finding one. There are one or two alternatives out there, but they aren’t well marketed and many shops don’t even sell them. They focus on the giants. </p><h2><b>Smart TV </b></h2><p>This year I also let go of my smart tv. To be fair, I stopped using it last year. So it wasn’t a big decision, but it was still slightly difficult since the mind tends to venture down the lane of what if-s. Nevertheless, I sold it. I now use my eye friendly screen, an apple TV and my external harddrive. </p><h2><b>Apple </b>+ streaming</h2><p>I have yet to find a way to cut Apple completely out of my life. The main reason for that is the fact that I have over 300 movies in my movie library at Apple, and quite a bit of music as well. However, I no longer pay for streaming, so that’s something, I suppose. </p><p>My ipad was purchased second hand and is a much older version than the ones on the market today. Therefore I won’t be charmed into using it excessively. It is there for the basics, such as drawing, writing, filling out surveys and watching movies (that I own).</p><p>I can’t stop using technology completely, or I wouldn’t be able to earn any money or communicate with anyone that isn’t close by. As soon as there is a better alternative however, I will make the switch. I will definitely continue to limit my use of technology and email next year. I have had an incredibly stressful year and I don’t want 2026 to be the same. I want a peaceful year with positive experiences rather than drama, conflicts and stress.</p><p>When listening to music, I mostly use my own music on my memory card in my phone, or the radio in my phone, along with a pair of cord headphones. </p><h2><b>Amazon</b></h2><p>I deleted my accounts years ago. This year I found out they hadn’t been deleted at all. Despite Amazon assuring me they had been. So I deleted one of them again. I had to keep one of them to be able to use the gift certificate I’d been given earlier in the year. But I am not impressed.</p><p>I have had the sheer luck that the few items I purchased with my gift certificate were alright in terms of quality. Though they arrived in poorly packed and broken boxes without any packing material. So again, not impressed.</p><p>I need to decide whether or not to publish my short stories on Amazon. I don’t really want to, but I need the money. If there’s a better alternative, I will find it. </p><h2><b>Google</b></h2><p>I still have my gmail addresses as they, most unfortunately, are tied to so much. So many sites online will only allow you to make an account or make a purchase if you first log in with a gmail address. IT is awful, I know. Still, I have begun trying Proton as an alternative. For a personal email, I think it works well. I have no intention of paying for it, however.</p><p>I originally believed Proton was an alternative if you wanted to get away from the giants. It turns out I was wrong. They now offer additional free storage if you do everything on their list of tasks. Such as forwarding emails from your gmail to Proton, changing your Amazon email to proton etc. So rather than being an alternative, they seem like the outcast eagerly doing anything they can to hang with the popular crowd. Disappointing. </p><h2><b>Microsoft</b></h2><p>This has proven to be the most difficult to leave behind. Mainly because I do use their programs to some extent both personally and for work. And, due to a family membership, I have most of my files in their cloud. I am not satisfied with the service, but it will be a hassle to leave them. Exporting as well as importing files to/from onedrive is a slow, unpredictable and very unreliable process. It may claim it successfully imported the files. Yet when you look inside the folders, they are empty. Onedrive frequently spends hours completing imports without actually importing the files.</p><p>Then there are the semi-threatening emails from Microsoft’s AI that arrive like clockwork once a month. Claiming I have exceeded my storage and need to subscribe or delete my files before a certain date or they’ll delete them for me. Even though I have a 365 subscription and have barely used a tenth of the storage I have available.</p><p>It is frankly annoying and their customer service is essentially non-existant. They genuinely couldn’t care less. As long as they have your money, they don’t care. Microsoft is basically run by AI at this point.</p><p>I don’t have a better alternative yet, but as soon as I do, I will leave Microsoft as well. </p><h2><b>Conclusion: </b></h2><p>It’s sad that many of us don’t stay with these giants because we like their services. We stay because they have created problems that they now fix. Their reach has become extensive enough that they almost own the internet and thus far, there are few alternatives available. A real “their way or the highway” type of situation. </p><p>While I haven’t cut out all of these giants (YET), I will keep exploring options until I am able to find a path forward.</p>
After Google AI
After Google AIDoodle x. Google
Before Google AI
Before Google AIDoodle Animation Doodle Finish: While signing paperwork to complete the purchase of my Nissan Kicks.Doodle Start: Listening to Doctor talk about my ADHD.
More than 1,000 Amazon workers warn rapid AI rollout threatens jobs and climate
More than 1,000 Amazon workers warn rapid AI rollout threatens jobs and climate“‘AI’ is being used as a magic word that is code for less worker power, hoarding of more resources, and making an uninformed gamble on high energy demand computer chips magically saving us from climate change,” said an Amazon customer researcher, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation for speaking out. “If we can build a climate saving AI – that’s awesome! But that’s not what Amazon is spending billions of
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