Latest Activity > middleearth
Sites
All the latest Neocities site news!
Neocities allows anyone to create a free web site to express themselves. Want to create your own awesome site? Join us!
Here's another little epilogue to the AI problem. Robin Hobb (AKA Meghan Lindholm) has discovered that she and other authors' work have been used by Meta in a data set to train AI without their consent. Here's a couple of links to the Author's Guild about the issue... https://authorsguild.org/news/meta-libgen-ai-training-book-heist-what-authors-need-to-know/
1 like
Everyone thinks that AI is going to destroy the world in the same manner that you see in Terminator, I, Robot or Humans, but in actuality it's going to be through spreading mis-information through over consumption of power/water contributing to climate change, AI generated content, copyright infringement, bogus crafting patterns that don't work and fake art.
In other news, Harper-Colins is once again having a 50% off sale, so I managed to snag four Raymond E. Feist books, and a Meghan Lindholm...
Stuff like this really pisses me off, and it's an insult to my grandmother's generation... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clynxz2ypv8o
I was hoping to have an afternoon on LOTRO, but it looks like it's their maintenance day. Always seems to happen...
One thing that cracks me up is when you're cleaning, reorganizing, packing up to move home/unpacking after you've moved home, you always find a random object that you didn't know how you came to possess it, what is actually is or what it's used for, all you know is that you have no use for it or that it's trash...
bright-eyes
10 months ago
Random metal objects that seem to come from something mechanical/DIY seem to be the most common, plastic second.
I thought that you might be interested in doing a piece about this on the blog portion of the Reading Project. I've noticed over the past year or so that there are a lot of low quality e-books showing up on Amazon in particular - you can usually tell them because the author doesn't have a fantastic fiction page about them and their books, and they usually have
1 like
bright-eyes
10 months ago
a series of books which have a lot of books in them in an inconceivably short period of time. https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-slop-is-already-in-your-public-library-3/
1 like
readingproject
10 months ago
I've been noticing ads pop up on my feed promoting 'AI' programs that will get your novel written in the afternoon so you can have it published and selling by dinner, sort-of-thing. I made comment about this sort of thing in the sidebar for a recent review on Richard Osman's We Solve Murders. It's a depressing situation
readingproject
10 months ago
I've just finished reading the article. It's really terrible. I hadn't thought about the issue librarians face, of trying to curate their collections and the problems of paying to use low-quality AI-produced material that is not clearly labelled as AI generated. I was speaking to several authors last year who were also depressed about how this is changing their industry
bright-eyes
10 months ago
It is. I first came across the problem with Kindle e-books because I looked up some that looked interesting and then when I opened the page, they were badly written. There are several apps that e-mail kindle book suggestions to you which you can download for free, or low cost and I suspect that most of those are AI generated, or at least poorly written and edited. I now only buy/download kindle books from authors I
1 like
bright-eyes
10 months ago
recognize. It is frustrating as a reader and it's probably equally as frustrating for authors, especially new ones because people will be reluctant to buy/read their work. In some ways, I wished I'd bought a different e-reader because I don't see the same problem associated with other e-readers, and kindle unlimited isn't that useful.
1 like
readingproject
10 months ago
I had an ereader many years ago but didn't enjoy the experience. Reading old fashioned books mitigates this problem to a large degree. But I can see scenarios, long-term, where even that could be affected.
There's a nazi bloke on dreamwidth moaning about people with disabilities and chronic illnesses like it's some kind of spiritual and moral failing. Should I tell the guy that it could happen to anyone, including him? My partner was diagnosed with a heart condition last year, his son in law almost died from a brain hemorrhage in the summer and has only now gone back to work (I hope he stays ok), countless people -
1 like
bright-eyes
10 months ago
we've known have become ill and died with cancer, one friend witnessed a bloke getting shot in the head while he was at work and getting severe ptsd from it, folks in the military can at any time, get permanently injured during their day's work, a person can get injured while crossing the road, a baby can be born with genetic condition...
1 like
We have a normal winter, relatively speaking, compared to what we've had for yonks... OK, it could be because we are further north than we have lived before, but still... So we have a normal winter, and the BBC posts this rubbish... What do you want? We have a normal winter and you try to say that it is abnormal, but ignore years of warm winters because it's more -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn938ze4yyeo
bright-eyes
10 months ago
There you have it, folks. A normal winter is more abnormal than an abnormal one...
Time marches on... But what I think is worrying in conjunction with all of this, is the rise of the far-right all over the world, not just in the US (for obvious reasons), but also elsewhere. I've been following the Bulletin for a number of years now (heck, it always surprises me that the seconds countdown was only announced a couple of years back - it seems longer to me!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqifSCvzaFI
1 like
bright-eyes
10 months ago
Moving it on one second only seems a little bit optimistic - I would have moved it on further. I wonder if Starmer and the rest of the politicians will grow up and start making sensible moves to make things better? Probably not, because we wouldn't be in this mess if they had.
If tech companies can rip off creators with AI, then fan ficers, fan artists, musicians, etc, should be able to make money of work that isn't their own too. (I don't believe that, but changes in law to allow tech companies to use AI to generate money like this is a farce.) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xqv9g8442o
2 likes
Is Channel 5 feeling alright? An actual, traditional, sci-fi space show? I didn't know that those were made now adays...
Storm Eowyn is wrecking havoc with our internet connection and has blown down a panel of the rickety fence... Just about what I would expect from a storm named after the slayer of the Witch-King.
Popular Tags
art music videogames programming anime games food personal writing cats blog movies books gaming fashion photography comics design animation horror game drawing coding manga furry portfolio technology poetry ocs reading arte cute kpop education programacion history animals musica film fun sports roblox literature philosophy html nature programing science tech videogame travel web politics minecraft gamedev school retro youtube computers cartoons videojuegos life pokemon 2000s love video blogging illustration diary fantasy dogs pink random comic memes gardening internet videos idk test linux webcomic oc queer cooking kawaii ai nostalgia y2k tv arg fandom news aesthetic emo business fanfiction journal cars worldbuilding health learning vocaloid silly crafts media stuff films math space fiction 90s website stories scifi cutecore css culture cat football arts graphics etc painting homestuck software marketing goth lgbt baking punk sanrio 3d journaling commissions sport pixelart crochet archive artist psychology cinema digitalart program diy me dance dnd characters funny comida religion trans metal shows makeup lgbtq graphicdesign cool javascript entertainment streaming fanart editing code aboutme development sonic scene creativity clothes series rpg friends indie lifestyle webcomics story roleplay plants comedy guitar languages weird webcore zines electronics gay rock hacking everything ttrpg webdesign educacion cyberpunk community study reviews aesthetics sewing engineering informatica computer basketball beauty soccer it originalcharacters oldweb fnaf weirdcore social vintage vtuber spirituality discord pets vaporwave project photos shop information architecture movie about clothing coffee storytelling flowers blogs deltarune language nintendo testing japan html5 shopping undertale mlp biology magic cosplay thoughts crypto money hobbies digital fitness creative radio book blinkies lore nothing experimental ttrpgs chat tecnologia info physics cybersecurity furries astronomy fandoms alternative japanese bugs site singing websites birds autism occult witchcraft juegos resume other finance wip futbol anything research lain profile band sleeping dolls sleep television gamedevelopment theatre vr tvshows projects events system crafting apps work genshin ghchs linguistics personalwebsite photo vampires splatoon webdevelopment all fish dreams transgender carrd python knitting free interests astrology meme rap developer toys yaoi mentalhealth fanfic puzzle pixels aliens windows wiki app fortnite collecting deportes moda robots drawings coquette dog animations touhou dancing poems romance cartoon a family bio gothic english security visualnovels tarot stamps skateboarding online intro marvel pizza medicine links modding fnf gatos mathematics frutigeraero osc teaching humor hiking data essays adventure interactive characterdesign journalism lol no roleplaying animes mystery gyaru gamedesign dragons gallery gym fansite chess rp zine twitch creepypasta hobby objectshows zonelets gifs jfashion resources pixel home breakcore ffxiv meow tf2 puzzles scenecore law mythology privacy ocean hiphop noise musicals popculture birthday death twine vkei dreamcore traveling piano myself podcast blender audio introduction graphic novels recipes android progamming danganronpa yuri rpgs ecommerce bfdi dark stars swag shrine communism plushies robotics hellokitty car indiegames socialmedia style awesome activism pjsk pictures paranormal jogos foods none studying omori running production deporte lolita boardgames student electronic bunnies anarchism educational utau christianity girls wrestling jewelry misc spanish lesbian feminism things travelling bitcoin mario scratch unblocked filmmaking vent god old pinterest clowns computing webdev sharks volleyball geography realestate store dev outdoors designing songs grunge maths 80s craft pc java doom jpop 3dmodeling amor flash vtubers help images peliculas tools college starwars environment transformers tumblr brasil dinosaurs creepy collage jazz trains cafe services stickers event computerscience epic bts escuela translation baseball blue novel chemistry warriorcats yoga plurality bl construction acting pastel lego programar collection mcr cyber southpark cine retrogaming persona js jesus tea programas theater tcc multimedia tabletop therian fotografia libros podcasts yes videoediting monsters weed args forum otherkin alt gamer truecrime shoes whatever horses trading medical estudiante supernatural techno programmer vlog enstars miku weather hardware skating dc cozy tiktok pop manhwa videography angels insects homepage cricket turismo search salud economics people curso freedom hi maps bsd drama skincare kirby socialism learn historia restaurant dj opensource ecology kidcore modeling draw digitalmarketing surrealism kandi f1 green swimming lgbtqia vhs sound ropa closedspecies girly halloween ideas world artwork service tattoos petz nerd animanga literatura tourism author cleaning bible text shitposting analysis hockey edm depression conspiracy furniture animales fishing cv trinkets egl whimsy healthcare drugs blockchain kdrama homework did cultura racing chatting rats surreal 3dprinting academia tennis videogaming mobile frogs women plural scary academic sculpture filmes chill library sociology bands friendship networking hair hardcore sciencefiction wedding cryptocurrency general brazil programa knowledge informacion tutorials alterhuman truth christian eating soft rpgmaker species ambient visualnovel society analog thrifting programacao colors creation aviation mods practice water genshinimpact foss miriadax estudio ghosts glitch gacha anarchy jjba university quotes server livros company conlang sites cryptids erotica retrogames css3 bot batman anthropology wellness artes programs ux sketching purple onepiece cycling sustainability google graffiti guns schoolproject class live garden review twitter medieval superheroes kids neocities noticias character forsaken harrypotter revival mangas magazine shitpost esoteric theology advertising writer blood cs instagram nails startrek bikes webseries writting crime archives vampire lostmedia rants play camping otaku theory tattoo 3dart performance cards industrial articles dating animal analoghorror evangelion church building frontend spiderman talking os ceramics idols handmade rhythmgames unblockedgames disney meditation synthesizers house yapping liminal training ultrakill interactivefiction future decor notes illustrations jobs apple youtuber content prompts concerts spooky french shrines datascience tareas originalcharacter chaos finalfantasy crocheting voiceacting tarea new designer communication party tecnology viajes silliness shoegaze doodles vrchat zelda selfship exercise rambling sims folklore facts musicproduction something disability calculator magick neopets embroidery satire paganism mylittlepony entretenimiento cult visualkei terror rainbow repair animalcrossing creating desing sweets hack cheese creatures joke geek crk overwatch tic photoshop jokes download halflife developing spiritual miscellaneous black anthro kink desarrollo shifting marxism php commission quiz private vinyl club vlogs tokipona vtubing conlangs bass webring ar vegan scrapbooking military self mtg trabajo happy scp seals hotel projectsekai musics adhd oldroblox animating kdramas beach agriculture map creativewriting islam archival doctorwho ranfren pet tips more drinks beginner songwriting tokusatsu arcane zombies sanat secret yugioh edits generator motorcycles mushrooms underground lolitafashion csgo 1 casino kin lofi vibes stupid mha mecha gender 4chan ui words musician hosting randomstuff products productivity index studies beer cottagecore rave cities glitter collections dungeonsanddragons time shoujo stem red ia streamer electronica poesia fanfics daily tutorial
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/authors-guild-author-letters-to-ai-companies?source=direct_link&fbclid=IwY2xjawJQswBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZjfvr4Rcv1PM5lJzlBuxWyETzRhMZ6ZOOVylGc2Z7nSg3SgT3xRCbGbjw_aem_Oq2_P3YA-rmzjKpn5pCvBA
I did a search on this site to see which authors are in the Lib Gen database, and works from everyone I looked up came up in it, from authors like Tolkien to modern day writers like Marie Brennan.
It's pretty disgusting. You've obviously been following this. You suggested I do a blog post last month about it. I think I'll wait to the beginning of next month when the post will be active for longer. Think I will also include something in my next newsletter. If you want to write anything for either of those I'd be happy to include it in either of those. Thanks