Activity

Started reading:
Cover image of East of Eden
Published . 601 pages.
classics, historical
Started .
Finished reading:
Cover image of Crime and Punishment
Published . 564 pages.
classics, crime, philosophy
Started ; completed March 21, 2025.
Posted:

Shadow libraries and AI training

For those just learning about LibGen because of the reporting on Meta and other companies training LLMs on pirated books, I’d highly recommend the book Shadow Libraries: Access to Knowledge in Global Higher Education (open access).

I just read it while working on the Wikipedia article about shadow libraries, and it’s a fascinating history.

I fear the already fraught conversations about shadow libraries will take a turn for the worse now that they’re overlapping with the incredibly fraught conversations about AI training.

Posted:

Solana just published a trans-bashing ad, where a man sees a therapist because he's been "having thoughts again ... about innovation ... crypto, AI" and she urges him to "channel his energy into something more productive like coming up with a new gender ... Why don't we focus on pronouns? ... Numbers are non-binary."

It finishes: "America is back. It's time to accelerate."

In June 2020, Solana tweeted: "We believe in equality, justice for all regardless of race or gender, and that #BlackLivesMatter. We stand in solidarity with everyone fighting for justice."

Posted:

filling out my pre-screening form for my annual physical and wondering when they’ll add “oh, you know, the expected amount these days” as an option for when they ask if i’m feeling down, depressed or hopeless