Monthly Archives: January 2025

  • OpenAI, an irony-free company

    AI, we keep being told is the next big thing in the wonderful world of information technology. So far most AIs out in the wild have been developed at great expense and require vast amounts of electricity to work.

    Until now.

    DeepSeek logoIn the last week or so the AI world has been shaken by the latest version of DeepSeek, an AI developed by the Chinese.

    The latest version of Deepseek (R1) provides responses comparable to other contemporary LLMs, such OpenAI’s GPT-4o and o1 despite being trained at a significantly lower cost—stated at US$6 mn. compared with $100 mn. for OpenAI’s GPT-4 in 2023. Furthermore, Deepseek only requires one-tenth of the computing power of a comparable LLM. This caused a 17% drop in the share price of Nvidia, the main supplier of AI hardware.

    However, DeepSeek is not without its limitations. As The Guardian found out, the DeepSeek chatbot becomes very taciturn and tongue-tied when asked questions which the Chinese government finds sensitive. When asked the following questions, the AI assistant responded: “Sorry, that’s beyond my current scope. Let’s talk about something else.”

    In addition, DeepSeek and other Chinese generative AI must not contain content that violates the country’s “core socialist values”, that “incites to subvert state power and overthrow the socialist system” or “endangers national security and interests and damages the national image”.

    Besides its reluctance to answer questions the Chinese government doesn’t like, there’s another problem for DeepSeek – plagiarism.

    OpenAI logoThe BBC reports that OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has accused DeepSeek and others using its work to make rapid advances in developing their own AI tools.

    The fact that OpenAI is accusing others of plagiarising its work shows the company does not understand or admit either irony or hypocrisy as the company’s own LLM has been trained to some extent on material that infringes others’ copyright. The use of copyrighted materials for training LLMs is a topic that has also exercised German-speaking literary translators (posts passim).

    Some companies clearly think ethics is a county with a speech defect in south-east England and that all is fair not just in love and war, but in business too.

  • Rachel buys magic beans

    The 1734 tale of “The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean“, better known nowadays as “The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk” in the version published in 1807, all hinges on Jack, the poor country boy and the hero of the story swapping the family cow at market for a handful of magic beans, much to the dismay of his mother.

    Official portrait of Rachel Reeves. Any resemblance to a competent economist is purely coincidentalWhat has a fairy tale about gullibility have to do with the current the Chancellor of the Exchequer, one Rachel Jane Reeves, who despite her qualifications from New College, Oxford (PPE) and the London School of Economics (doctorate in economics) appears to suffer from the same ailment as young Jack?

    Well, Ms Reeves seems to have been sold a complete fantasy by her civil service minders in the advice given to her in respect of her proposed announcement later this week of a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport to counter any opposition, as reported yesterday in The Times.

    The proposals for a third runaway at the capital’s main airport have long been a source of opposition and the latest incarnation thereof has drawn opposition from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, London mayor Sadiq Khan and local London MPs Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick), Fleur Anderson (Putney), Marsha de Cordova (Battersea), John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington) and Ruth Cadbury (Brentford & Isleworth).

    And the complete fantasy bought by Ms Reeves? As justification for airport expansion, she is on record as saying the third runaway is justified because of recent aviation fuel innovations.

    “Sustainable aviation fuel is changing carbon emissions from flying.”

    The only drawback to her argument is that there is, of course, no such thing as sustainable aviation fuel. As reported by The Guardian in 2024, a paper on sustainable jet fuels from the Institute for Policy Studies found that expectations for these were not realistic. Chuck Collins, co-author of the report remarked as follows:

    To bring these fuels to the scale needed would require massive subsidies, the trade-offs would be unacceptable and would take resources aware from more urgent decarbonization priorities.

    It’s a huge greenwashing exercise by the aviation industry. It’s magical thinking that they will be able to do this.

    A further study by The Royal Society in 2023 found that over half of the UK’s agricultural land would be needed to produce biofuel to meet the country’s existing aviation fuel demand.

    Not only is Ms Reeves indulging in greenwashing, there's an accusation of hypocrisy on the charge sheet too. She was prepared to argue against the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport near her Yorkshire constituency due to concerns about air and noise pollution.

    As The Times piece helpfully points out:

    In 2020, Reeves objected to a new terminal for the Leeds Bradford airport near her constituency, arguing that it “would significantly increase air and noise pollution” and “undermine vital efforts to ensure that Leeds upholds its commitment to become a carbon neutral city by 2030.”
  • Morning Star hits nail on head

    The Morning Star is one of Britain’s few left-wing news publications.

    As such and unlike other media outlets, it can be guaranteed not to be overly sycophantic where the person of the disgraced 47th and 45th president of the United States of America, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump is concerned.

    Today’s front page needs no further comment.

    Headline reads Return of the village idiot
    Make America Grate Again

    Needless to say, the Morning Star’s front page did not make it into the shots of national newspaper front pages provided each day by Sky News and what passes for BBC News. Too close to the truth perhaps.

    The closest any of the major papers came to criticism was the Daily Star; and it didn’t hold back.

    Headline Orange Manbaby sworn in as 47th president of the United States...   ...so help us God
    Two bibles for double insincerity…
  • MP escapes Essex for some winter scum

    The dishonourable member for Clacton, one Nigel Paul Farage, has a reputation that stretches way back to his days as a member of the European Parliament of raking in his salary and not doing the work that supposedly comes with the job of being an assembly member in a representative democratic institution.

    Indeed, as The Guardian noted over six years ago: “His voting record while a member of the influential European parliament fisheries committee is utterly dire – over three years, he turned up to one of 42 meetings“.

    He is now treating the gullible burghers of Clacton with the same contempt. He has not so far organised a single surgery for constituents citing spurious “security” concerns, on which he later backtracked.

    Furthermore, he seems to spend more time away from the House of Commons than actually in it, which might just be understandable given the frog-faced grifter earns far more money outside than his already generous MP’s salary of £91,346, according to both the press and his register of declared financial interests.

    We are all aware too that the western shore of the North Sea can be a dismal place in the heart of winter; and Nigel definitely thinks so too, as he’s just decided to put the whole of the Atlantic between himself and his constituency, as he has posted the photo below on his on-off pal Elon Musk’s apology for a social platform.

    A grinning Nigel Farage against the background of Washington DC at night
    Toto, I don’t think we’re in Clacton anymore!

    Farage is not the only right-wing British politician clogging the streets of Washington DC with their malign presence at the moment. The former MP for West Norfolk, one Mary Elizabeth Truss, whose term of office as prime minister was shorter than the shelf life of a lettuce, is also there, taking a break from sending cease and desist letters to one Keir Rodney Starmer via her lawyers.

    Post reads In DC. The new @realDonaldTrump term can't come soon enough asbove a picture of Truss dressed in red, white and blue and wearing a MAGA baseball cap
    Make America Grate Again

    The reason for this outflow of talentless right-wing (ex-)politicians? The inauguration in Washington tomorrow of the disgraced 47th president-elect of the United States, the disgraced former 45th president, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump.

    The actions of both fake man of the people Farage and Lettuce Liz remind your ‘umble scribe of moths circling a lit candle… 😀

    In other news, Farage’s party colleague, the perma-tanned Richard James Sunley Tice, the ‘businessman‘ whose smile would be gleaming as he stole your granny’s savings, is now splitting his time between his original constituency of Boston and Skegness and his new bailiwick of Dubai.

  • Liability lost in translation

    As this blog has pointed out previously (posts passim), it is not unusual for bilingual signage to have text that tells the speakers of one language one thing and those of the other language something completely different.

    The bad advice given can cover such varied topics as how far one has to travel to legal liability for loss of or damage to private property.

    The latter is the subject of a photograph which appeared in your ‘umble scribe’s social media feed this morning and concerns legal liability at an unknown railway station operated by Trafnidiaeth Cymru, also known as Transport for Wales.

    Welsh text = You can leave your bike here for free, but at your own risk. English text - Bicycles may be left here free of charge but at our risk

    In translation, the Welsh text on the sign reads:

    You can leave your bike here for free, but at your own risk

    On the other hand, the English text reads:

    Bicycles may be left here free of charge but at our risk

    Judging by the patina on the sign, it’s been there a long time and somebody has yet to take the railway company to court to determine exactly where legal liability lies given the sign’s bilingual ambiguity.

    Your correspondent wonders how many of these confusing signs have been installed across Cymru.

  • Nearly 90 French organisations are leaving X

    X logoIn an opinion piece which appeared on Tuesday in Le Monde (paywalled), 86 French associations and federations announced they are collectively leaving X, a cesspit of far-right intolerance, ignorance, paranoia, misinformation, flat-out lying, and malicious abuse formerly known as Twitter, on 20th January, the date of convicted felon and sexual predator Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th United States president. By supporting the “Hello leave X” initiative, they are also appealing to the public to leave the platform en masse.

    The LDH (Ligue des droits de l’Homme – Human Rights League) jointly set up the HelloQuitteX collective in partnership with the CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique – National Scientific Research Centre) and was also asked to sign the opinion piece initiated by the poverty and homeless charity Emmaüs France. Moreover, it decided not to post any more content on X due to both the configuration of its algorithms, which encourage the proliferation of hateful content and spread conspiracy theories and climate scepticism, and the lack of moderation.

    The LDH believes that X is no longer the digital street (however imperfect) that it could have been, due to the manipulation of the conditions for making public debate possible by Elon Musk and, as a result, the lack of visibility of the principles that it upholds in defending human rights and equality.

    It is also a basic call to arms for democracy, implying the solidarity of all stakeholders in civil society and politics who share the same values. This entails promoting and advocating digital spaces that respect and ensure the protection of pluralism, respectful debate and reason.

    The LDH is therefore inviting all those who share these values to leave en bloc if possible on 20th and follow them on Mastodon or Bluesky instead.

    In other news, the German army has announced it is also abandoning X. Auf Wiedersehen, Elon!

  • More than 60 academic institutions quit X

    German emergency exit signMore than 60 German and Austrian universities and research institutions wanted to set an example and collectively announced that they were ceasing their activities on the X social media platform, a cesspit of far-right intolerance, ignorance, paranoia, misinformation, flat-out lying, and malicious abuse formerly known as Twitter. This withdrawal is a result of the lack of compatibility between the platform’s current orientation and the core values ​​of the institutions involved: cosmopolitanism, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse.

    The changes to X – from the amplification of right-wing populist content to the restriction of organic reach – make further use untenable for the organisations involved. The institutions’ withdrawal underscores their commitment to fact-based communication and against anti-democratic forces. The values ​​that promote diversity, freedom and science are no longer present on the platform.

    Some institutions which have already ceased their activities on the platform also support the joint appeal, thereby reaffirming the importance of an open and constructive culture of discussion. This decision only affects the X-accounts of the institutions involved and not their communication via other social media channels. In the light of recent events, they will continue to closely monitor the development of the platforms and their algorithms.

    The institutions concerned are as follows:

    • Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft;
    • Bauhaus-Universität Weimar;
    • Berliner Hochschule für Technik;
    • Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus – Senftenberg;
    • Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel;
    • Deutsche Ornithologische Gesellschaft;
    • Deutsche Sporthochschule, Cologne;
    • Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder);
    • Fachhochschule Dortmund;
    • FernUniversität in Hagen;
    • Freie Universität Berlin;
    • Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg;
    • Goethe-Universität Frankfurt;
    • HAWK Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen;
    • Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf;
    • Hochschule Anhalt;
    • Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg;
    • Hochschule Darmstadt;
    • Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar;
    • Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg;
    • Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich;
    • Hochschule Furtwangen;
    • Hochschule München;
    • Hochschule Neubrandenburg;
    • Hochschule Osnabrück;
    • Hochschule RheinMain;
    • Hochschule Ruhr West;
    • Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung, Eberswalde;
    • Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt, Nürtingen-Geislingen;
    • Humboldt-Universität in Berlin;
    • Institut für Vogelforschung;
    • Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz;
    • Justus-Liebig-Gesellschaft;
    • Justus-Liebig-Universität, Gießen;
    • Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen;
    • Kirchliche Hochschule, Wuppertal;
    • Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung;
    • Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde;
    • Medizinische Universität Innsbruck;
    • Philipps-Universität Marburg;
    • RWTH Aachen;
    • Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola;
    • Technische Hochschule, Cologne;
    • Technische Universität Braunschweig (Brunswick);
    • Technische Universität Darmstadt;
    • Technische Universität Dresden;
    • Universität Bamberg;
    • Universität Bayreuth;
    • Universität des Saarlandes;
    • Universität der Künste, Berlin;
    • Universität Duisburg-Essen;
    • Universität Erfurt;
    • Universität Greifswald;
    • Universität Heidelberg;
    • Universität Innsbruck;
    • Universität Münster;
    • Universität Potsdam;
    • Universität Siegen;
    • Universität Trier;
    • Universität Ulm;
    • Universität Würzburg;
    • Universität zu Lübeck; and
    • Westsächsische Hochschule, Zwickau.

  • What We Leave Behind

    Your ‘umble scribe’s recent stay in Sydney coincided with the Sydney Festival, a major arts festival held for three weeks in January every year since its inception in 1977.

    On my penultimate day in Australia your correspondent had arranged to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and arrived rather early. While waiting to rendezvous, a volunteer for Cave Urban outside a gazebo at Tallawoladah Lawn persuaded yours truly to take part in What We Leave Behind, a participatory event involving lots of split bamboo, market pens and people’s imaginations.

    Leaflet reads WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND CAVE URBAN Come down to Tallawoladah Lawn outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia) to share your messages of hope for our planet. Your written messages will be woven into this stunning bamboo art installation. 8am-7pm daily

    Members of the public were invited to leave messages of hope for the planet on strips of bamboo which are being woven into a structure.

    My positive message: “Let homo sapiens finally live up to its Latin species name“.
  • Stolen!

    Sydney Central railway station has many memorials, of which the most prominent is that to railway staff who lost their lives in war. It’s right in the middle of the central concourse up against the back wall.

    However, there is another far less prominent one near the left luggage concession and Platform 1 that commemorates a war of a different kind, a war waged not against an aggressive or hostile foreign power, but on indigenous culture and heritage.

    It’s very simple and consists of a grey metal frame containing a large panel of indigenous artwork and an inscription, as shown in the photograph below.

    Memorial to Stolen Generations at Sydney Central railway station

    It commemorates the Stolen Generations, which Wikipedia describes as “The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments.

    The wording on the memorial reads:

    Transport for NSW acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities due to past government policies and practices. These children are known as the Stolen Generations. Platform 1 is where these children arrived, were separated from their siblings and sent to institutions throughout the state.

    Some of these children never made it home, living their lives disconnected from their families and communities and not knowing their true heritage.

    This memorial is dedicated to the Stolen Generations and their descendants.

    As stated in the station memorial, this removal was neither voluntary nor peaceful, as illustrated in the artwork entitled The Taking of the Children on the 1999 Great Australian Clock on the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), Sydney, by artist Chris Cooke.

    The Taking of the Children by Chris Cooke

    The stated aim of the so-called “resocialisation” programmes was to improve the integration of Aboriginal people into modern [European-Australian, i.e. white] society. Nevertheless, a recent study conducted in Melbourne reported that there was no tangible improvement in the social position of “removed” Aboriginal people as compared to “non-removed”. In the fields of employment and post-secondary education, the removed children had about the same results as those who were not removed, but caused those involved great mental harm and trauma. A 2019 study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that children living in households with members of the Stolen Generations are more likely “to experience a range of adverse outcomes“, including poor health, especially mental health, missing school and living in poverty. Among the Stolen Generations there are high incidences of anxiety, depression, PTSD and suicide, along with alcohol abuse, with the associated unstable parenting and family situations.

    The federal states of Australia now all have redress and compensation schemes for the victims, but money is no substitute for not having suffered in the first place.

    However, Australia is not the only country invaded by the British where indigenous peoples were maltreated. Similar indignities were suffered by First Nations children in Canada. In what looks like a very similar scheme, residential schools were created to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant white Euro-Canadian culture.

    The same pattern can also be seen in Aotearoa (which some still call New Zealand. Ed.) in what Al Jazeera describes as a quiet genocide. More than 100,000 children – mostly indigenous Maori were taken from their parents and placed in state welfare institutions from the 1940s through to the late 1980s.

    If these systems all developed independently, there does seem to be a lot of crossover – one might even say collusion – with trauma and loss of culture and heritage (and sometimes lives. Ed.) as the result.