polyploy

joined 1 year ago
[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Machines don't have inspiration, they are not people. They do not make decisions based upon artistic choice or aesthetic preference or half-remembered moments, they are plagiarism machines trained on millions of protected works designed for the explicit purpose of putting all those who created what it copies out of work.

In a vacuum AI tools are as harmless and benign as you want them to be, but in reality they are disastrously harmful to the environment to train, and they are already ruining the livelihoods of human creators who actually make art.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The 22,600 figure is most likely a severe underestimate of the people murdered by occupation forces in Gaza (and elsewhere, because they've been murdering people in the West Bank and Lebanon as well). I shared this in another comment but The Lancet published this which determined there was no evidence that the Gaza Ministry of Health is inflating these statistics, if anything they are being under reported.

As for how many are "actual civilians" the way that is being reported currently heavily favors the narrative of the occupation because the assumption is simply that all males over the age of 13 are combatants, and even using this absurd framing around 61% of those killed are women and children. The occupation forces have proportionately killed more journalists and UN aid workers than in any other conflict in recent history.

History will judge Israel and its supporters harshly.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 8 months ago

The Lancet is generally regarded as one of the most reputable and trustworthy medical journals. An assessment of the figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health published in the Lancet found that there was no evidence of inflated mortality statistics, and even went beyond that to say that it is considerably more likely that the Gaza Ministry of Health is under reporting the casualties providing the most conservative figures.

If MoH mortality figures were substantially inflated, the MoH mortality rates would be expected to be higher than the UNRWA mortality rates. Instead, the MoH mortality rates are lower than the rates reported for UNRWA staff (5·3 deaths per 1000 vs 7·8 deaths per 1000, as of Nov 10, 2023). Hypothetically, if MoH mortality data were inflated from, for example, an underlying value of 2–4 deaths per 1000, it would imply that UNRWA staff mortality risk is 2·0–3·9 times higher than that of the public. This scenario is unlikely as many UNRWA staff deaths occurred at home or in areas with high civilian populations, such as in schools or shelters.

Mortality reporting is difficult to conduct in ongoing conflicts. Initial news reports might be imprecise, and subsequent verified reports might undercount deaths that are not recorded by hospitals or morgues, such as persons buried under rubble (appendix pp 1–2). However, difficulties obtaining accurate mortality figures should not be interpreted as intentionally misreported data.

Although valid mortality counts are important, the situation in Gaza is severe, with high levels of civilian harm and extremely restricted access to aid. Efforts to dispute mortality reporting should not distract from the humanitarian imperative to save civilian lives by ensuring appropriate medical supplies, food, water, and fuel are provided immediately.

Here's a link to the source of this quote.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There are a lot of terrible people doing terrible things to humanity and the planet, and I'll be damned if I let those fucking ghouls outlive me.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ah yes, the critical necessary work of waiting to vote every four years, sitting on your ass hoping fascism will sort itself out, and expecting the institutions you take for granted to protect you. Extremely brave and level headed, not cowardly or delusional in the least. /s

The weird insinuation that I am in any way related to or supportive of Russia is a nice touch, because nothing says "moving forward with progress" like demonizing an entire population, almost all of whom have as little control over their government as you do yours. I'm sure those neofascists are shaking in their boots.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

His supporters are the cops. His followers are already in office, in courts, in law enforcement, and in the military at every level of each. They are already actively hurting people, indoctrinating children, destroying the environment, criminalizing minorities, brutalizing and killing dissidents, and both passing and enforcing laws to aid them in doing all of the aforementioned.

This is not a mindless panic. Women are having their rights repealed, queer folks are facing increasing violence and threats of imprisonment, and just about every visible minority is facing higher incidence of hate crimes and discrimination. The majority of americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and people can't afford average rent on average income (let alone minimum wage) in any city in the country. People are fucking starving and dying on the street, and the number one cause of bankruptcy is medical debt which is something that shouldn't even exist.

The refusal to reconcile reality with this fantasy of a powerful and healthy country is part of what has enabled fascists to ascend once more, and what keeps burying the bar for democrats further underground.

Every time Trump gets put on TV because people like yourself are convinced that this time will finally be his undoing, his base and support grows. The amount of free publicity this fuck has gotten from people that are ostensibly his opponents is staggering. If you keep assuming that laws, ethics, morals, and rules are going to be followed by fascists, you're in for a rude awakening.

edit: a couple words

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

Right but what makes you think that'll stop them from doing it anyway? Bending and breaking rules is their bread and butter, this is no different.

[–] polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Even if he's barred, I don't imagine anyone winning the GOP primary without a pledge to pardon him once elected. Beyond that, it seems that people really do not want to consider the very real possibility of a coup or jail break. Every time these fucks escalate there's a chorus of wilfully ignorant liberals bleating about "who could have seen this coming???" and every time there have been people like me begging them to take the threat seriously and to stop imagining there will be some moment when they finally see reason and accept defeat. The democratic strategy for opposing fascism seems to be just never losing another election, and somehow think throwing their most vulnerable constituents under the bus and catering to republicans and the mythical undecided voter is going to grow their lead enough to make that happen.

I'm saying all this not to frighten people but to try to wake them up to the reality of the threat we face, because right now we're sleepwalking into fascists seizing power.

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