Damus

Recent Notes

Taggart :ifin: · 2w
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyd968gmewwp6kyqpq25ys6m6zxxdggtg8vtcycfv2pzmv44h6lsne9d0gy6hz6nd3epvsa3q2xw Maybe not but it's an easy fix and it prevents potshots like this. You cannot tell me there's a real business case for not doing it. Almost universally it's because of lazy usage of a CM...
Taggart :ifin: · 2w
I don't really need to tell anyone here that technology this pervasive should not be shaped by the moral values of Catholic dogma. https://religionnews.com/2026/05/22/why-anthropic-is-helping-unveil-...
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture
@nprofile1q...

I think that Pope Leo is absolutely correct in his demand that technology serve humanity and respect human dignity, and I'm glad he's using his voice and influence in his encyclical to do so.

But yeah, the Catholic Church as an institution is only slightly more trustworthy in this space than the status quo: the TESCREAL AI techbros that currently control it and the neo-fascists in charge of our government.

At least the Pope is demanding an explicitly democratic approach rather than a demand that it be brought underneath Church control or abide by Catholic definitions of morality. Given the 19th century's infamous Syllabus of Errors and its condemnation of secular democracies still technically hasn't been rescinded, I suppose these sorts of baby steps are worthy of... well, maybe "praise" is too strong a word without the word "muted" in front of it.
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture
The Pope just issued an encyclical that, among other things, excoriates the dehumanizing effects of AI.

Our news headlines and courtrooms are filled with absurd demands for reasonable accommodations for religious reasons from the most unhinged cranks and bigots.

But what would happen if someone demanded a reasonable accommodation from their employer to avoid what they sincerely believe to be sinful uses of AI in the workplace?

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html

#genai #catholic #religion #christianity #aislop
Dave Wilburn :donor: · 2w
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyd968gmewwp6kyqpq7yf7cxzxz4kwf24zmflvyqqtrylsjwm5q9a074u5ger57rmzz0aqe544dh TPM and hardware attestation is pretty darned flaky on a lot of platforms. That's es...
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture
@nprofile1q...

It's also worth appreciating how all of these issues are cropping up at precisely the same time that all of our worst fears surrounding TPM and hardware attestation are coming true.

I remember when experts raised concerns about these approaches when they were first proposed and published a couple decades ago, and how they would likely increase the control of rabidly monopolistic companies at the expense of consumers and the privacy rights of the public. I remember how those experts were mocked and dismissed.

And now we're witnessing those same warned-about technologies being used to lock out alternative platforms and strip individuals of whatever tiny shreds of online privacy they might have left.
Taggart :ifin: · 2w
TPMs: exist Hardware attestation: exists MFA: exists Every package repo and cloud service: Yo let's put one-factor access credentials in plaintext inside our working folder. We gotta start using th...
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture
@nprofile1q...

TPM and hardware attestation is pretty darned flaky on a lot of platforms. That's especially true for anyone running unconventional OSes and/or jailbroken platforms outside of the strict control of the major oligopolies (MS, Google, Apple), and disproportionately the case for people most likely to be developers.

A lot of this stuff is also automated in a way that makes MFA fundamentally more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult.

Do I think this is a valid excuse for maintaining the demonstrably unsustainable status quo through intentional neglect? Absolutely not. But the otherwise obvious solutions are pretty tricky for a lot of use cases.
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Dave Wilburn :donor: · 2w
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyd968gmewwp6kyqpq7yf7cxzxz4kwf24zmflvyqqtrylsjwm5q9a074u5ger57rmzz0aqe544dh It's also worth appreciating how all of these issues are cropping up at precisely the same time that all of our worst fears surrounding TPM and hardware attestation are coming true. I...
note10zzw9...
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture
@nprofile1q...

It's all so disorienting and dehumanizing, which I suppose is the point.

Intellectually, I know that the answer is collective action through good governance to build and maintain a grid based on renewables that serves our community's collective interests.

But the bastards have broken our government, economy, and society so badly and so thoroughly that I keep feeling this need to withdraw into my own bubble, build an individual solution that might inefficiently and sparingly serve my own individual needs.

Anyway, I guess that's the story of how I've got another set of portable solar panels scheduled for delivery later today.
Dave Wilburn :donor: profile picture


It remains amazing to me that there's a breathless debate about the danger of GenAI in vulnerability discovery, yet crickets are chirping when it comes to dangerous common uses of GenAI in accelerating the creation of those vulnerabilities.