In Other News

[N35t0r]

The only thing I'm getting here is that we need more monkeys. Or BETTER monkeys!

Let's genetically engineer monkeys to love longer and type faster, and her the cloning vats going!

[EPW]

I have bad news for some Poly posters

Those typing monkeys will never produce Shakespeare’s works, mathematicians say



By Amarachi Orie, CNN

3 minute read
Published 12:08 PM EDT, Fri November 1, 2024


Researchers from Australia have rejected the Infinite Monkey Theorem as "misleading."


Independent Television News/Shutterstock Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
CNN —
Talented though they may be, monkeys will never type out the complete works of William Shakespeare, or even a short book, a new study suggests.
The Infinite Monkey Theorem is a famous thought experiment that states that a monkey pressing random keys on a typewriter would eventually reproduce the works of the Bard if given an infinite amount of time and/or if there were an infinite number of monkeys.
However, in the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Franklin Open, two mathematicians from Australia’s University of Technology Sydney have rejected this theorem as “misleading” within the confines of our finite universe.
They challenged it by looking at the Finite Monkeys Theorem, in which there is a finite amount of time and a finite number of monkeys.



Related article These monkeys use names to communicate with each other, study finds

They took the assumption that the current population of around 200,000 chimpanzees would remain the same over the lifespan of the universe of one googol years (that’s 1 followed by 100 zeros). They also assumed that each chimpanzee would type one key per second for every second of the day, with each monkey having a working lifespan of just over 30 years.
Using these assumptions, the researchers calculated that among these randomly-typing monkeys, there is just a 5% chance that a word as simple as “bananas” would occur in the lifespan of one chimpanzee.
They found that a short sentence such as “I chimp, therefore I am” will “almost certainly never be produced by any currently living chimp,” study co-author and mathematician Stephen Woodcock, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, told CNN on Friday.
“By the time you’re at the scale of a full book, you’re billions of billions of times less likely,” he continued.
Woodcock and co-author Jay Falletta, a senior research consultant at the university, concluded in the study that, even with more chimpanzees or quicker typing, it is “not plausible” that monkey labor will ever be a viable tool for “developing written works of anything beyond the trivial.”

“Even if every atom in our known universe were its own universe on the scale of ours, we would still have pretty much no chance of ever seeing something as long as even a short book,” such as “Curious George,” which is around 1,800 words, “before the end of the universe,” Woodcock told CNN.

“Personally, I think it’s fascinating how misleading the well-established result for the infinite resource case is,” he added. “Yes, it is true that given infinite resources, any text of any length would inevitably be produced eventually. While true, this also has no relevance to our own universe, as ‘reaching infinity’ in resources is not something which can ever happen.”
Interdisciplinary clinician-scientist Chris Banerji, theme lead for Clinical AI at the Alan Turing Institute in London, agrees that monkeys randomly typing Shakespeare’s works is unlikely since the Finite Monkeys Theorem is “correct,” but he told CNN on Friday that the Infinite Monkey Theorem “still holds.”
“While the situation seems dire, there may be hope for the monkeys yet,” said Banerji, who was not involved in the study. “The universe is very large, and there is room for many more chimps than live here on Earth, under some cosmological theories there may even be infinite space or infinitely many universes.”
He said that “if we accept the possibility of these infinite worlds” then “the monkeys’successful replication of Shakespeare is an ‘eventual certainty,’” as the Infinite Monkey Theorem states. “In the words of the Bard ‘Until I know this sure uncertainty, I’ll entertain the offered fallacy.’”

[N35t0r]

I have bad news for some Poly posters

Did you not read the news posted immediately above yours?

[EPW]

No, but I admit I did see post # 1122

[-Jrabbit]

Black balls of goop on Oz beaches...

Mysterious black balls that washed up on Sydney beach were foul-smelling mini ‘fatbergs’

Lex Harvey
Updated Thu, November 7, 2024 at 10:35 AM CST·2 min read

The mystery of the black balls that washed up on some of Sydney’s most iconic beaches last month has now been solved – and it’s more disgusting than you could ever imagine.

Australian beachgoers were turned away from seven beaches last month after lifeguards spotted thousands of black spheres, prompting closures and clean-up efforts. A team of scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has revealed the black balls – initially thought to be made of tar – were actually mini “fatbergs,” made up of human feces, methamphetamine, human hair, fatty acids, and food waste, among hundreds of other vile and befuddling substances.

“They smell absolutely disgusting, they smell worse than anything you’ve ever smelt,” lead investigator Associate Professor Jon Beves told CNN affiliate 9News.

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) first warned Sydney residents to avoid swimming or touching the balls on October 17, after they were spotted at seven beaches including the city’s famed Bondi Beach.

At that stage their contents were “a mystery” and local officials ordered a series of tests to find out what they were and where they came from.

Initial testing suggested they were made from unrefined oil, potentially from an oil spill, Beves and UNSW professor William Alexander Donald wrote on website The Conversation.

“However, further testing indicated a different, more disgusting, composition.”

The balls were consistent with fatbergs, congealed masses of fats, oils and greasy molecules that can accumulate in sewage, the scientists wrote, noting their presence highlights the issue of pollution along Sydney’s coastline.

“I wouldn’t want to be swimming with them,” Donald told 9News.

Fatbergs come in all shapes and sizes. In 2021, a massive, 330-ton fatberg wreaked havoc in Birmingham, UK when it clogged a city sewer for weeks.

These Sydney fatbergs were no ordinary fatbergs, however. The blobs contained everything from fecal matter to medication and recreational drugs, the scientists wrote.

Where these gross balls came from still remains a mystery.

The balls likely originated from “a source that releases mixed waste,” according to a media release from the EPA Wednesday.

“Authorities have considered several possible causes, such as a shipping spill or wastewater outflow,” the statement said.

“However, due to the complex composition of the balls and the time they have spent in the water, testing has not been able to confirm their exact origin.”

[Originally from CNN, but I found it on Yahoo]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-black-balls-washed-sydney-074909892.html

[My Wife Hates CIV]

Both President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Fox News in October that they considered any Iranian threats against Trump to be a "top-tier" national security issue, and said any attempt by the IRGC to actually harm Trump would be met with kinetic military action equal to "an act of war."

Now that this has happened... DOJ released findings. Biden will do nothing. This is why he got voted out. He will go down as the worst president in history.

[-Jrabbit]

Dude, the whole point of this thread was to have a place free from pandemics, politics, and such.
See Ming's OP. Kthx.

[Dauphin]

I think it's a toss up between 45 and 47.

[BeBMan]

Black balls of goop on Oz beaches...






[Originally from CNN, but I found it on Yahoo]
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mysteriou...909892.html

I reject these disgusting blobs, and declare other disgusting blobs to be the only true disgusting blobs!

[Broken_Erika]

Mattel 'deeply regrets' porn site misprint on Wicked dolls

Toy manufacturer Mattel has said it "deeply regrets" a misprint on packaging for dolls inspired by the new Wicked movie which listed the address for an adult website.
The company recently released the singing dolls ahead of the long-awaited film starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
But eagle-eyed fans posted images on social media showing the packaging had a pornography website on it, instead of the movie's web address.
In a statement, Mattel apologised for the "unfortunate error" and advised parents that the misprinted website "is not appropriate for children".

The BBC has seen online instructions on Mattel's website, for both the Glinda and Elphaba dolls, listing the erroneous website underneath the Universal Pictures logo - the film studio behind the movie.
Mattel recommends the dolls for children aged four and above.
Fans who bought the doll posted about their surprise on social media.
"I purchased the Singing Elphaba doll and upon inspection, the website printed on the back side [of the] Mattel box, right above the barcode is listed as... an unaffiliated adult [not safe for work] 18+ website," one person posted on Reddit.
"Anyone else seeing this!?"
In another post, a US-based woman said: "Went to Target and Walmart today and yeah, the Wicked dolls have the [porn] website listed."

Mattel said the dolls had primarily been sold in the US.
It added: "We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this."
"Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel customer service for further information."
The Wicked movie comes after two decades of the musical on stage.
Set in the Land of Oz before Dorothy Gales' arrival from Kansas, the movie covers the musical's first act.
British actress Erivo plays Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin and who is yet to discover her power which will eventually lead her to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.
She strikes up an unlikely friendship with classmate Glinda, played by Grammy-winning singer Grande, who will go on to become the Good Witch of the North.
The movie is set to be released in the US and UK on 22 November.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz91pp5llo

[BeBMan]

Lol, Pr0nBarbie?

[BeBMan]

Found this mildly amusing:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/11/china-midnight-dumpling-bike-ride-zhengzhou-kaifeng

[-Jrabbit]

That's just weird. Definitely in the category of "other" news.

[Ming]

California nabs insurance fraud suspects in bear-y unusual case
They submitted an insurance claim for a bear attack. But the video showed it was allegedly a person in a bear costume.


Detectives found a bear costume and meat claws, which are used by chefs to shred meat, in the suspects’ home after executing a search warrant. | Courtesy California Department of Insurance

SACRAMENTO, California — Four Californians allegedly used a bear costume to damage their luxury vehicles and claim insurance payouts, California officials announced Wednesday.

State Insurance Department officials said they had investigated claims that a bear clawed its way into a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350 on Jan. 28 in the forested resort town of Lake Arrowhead, causing interior damage. The suspects’ insurance company, which officials did not name, sought an investigation after reviewing the attached grainy black-and-white video footage.

Insurance Department detectives reviewed the footage, which showed a large, furry creature entering the vehicles and causing scratches and other interior damages, and concluded “it was actually a person in a bear costume.” The detectives nicknamed their investigation “Operation Bear Claw.”

“To further ensure it was not actually a bear in the video, the Department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three alleged bear videos and they also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit,” the Insurance Department said in a release.

Detectives found a bear costume and meat claws, which are used by chefs to shred meat, in the suspects’ home after executing a search warrant.

Police arrested the four suspects on insurance fraud and conspiracy charges.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the suspects, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The allegedly fraudulent payout was $141,839, the Insurance Department said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/13/california-arrest-insurance-fraud-00189470

[Broken_Erika]

This elephant gives herself nice showers with a hose. But another elephant keeps ruining them

Scientists aren’t sure if the younger elephant's hose-kinking behaviour is pettiness or play

When staff at the Berlin Zoo go around showering the elephants, they don't bother with Mary. They simply hand her the hose and let her have it.

Not only does Mary prefer to shower herself, but she's really good at it. So good, in fact, that her dexterous bath-time ritual is the subject of a new study about animal tool use.

"When you look at the footage, it's just fantastic," co-author Michael Brecht, a neuroscientist at Humboldt University of Berlin, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

"She's very knowledgeable about how to use hoses, and has really very impressive strategies."

Scientists who work with elephants say the findings, published in the journal Current Biology, are another example of the animals complex cognitive skills and ability to adapt to their environments.

But some caution that the sample size of one is too small to draw widespread conclusions, and question the ethics of keeping elephants in captivity. From trunk to toes


Nobody taught Mary how to use a hose. Her caretakers told the study's authors she simply figured it out herself.

And once the researchers started filming her, Brecht says it became clear that she has some pretty slick moves.

Mary systematically hoses off her entire body, from trunk to toes, he says, adjusting her grip and her limbs accordingly.

When washing her front and sides, she grips the hose close to the nozzle for precision. But when it's time to wash her back, she grabs it farther down, then flips it up over her head like a lasso.

She even adjusts her technique when given a slightly smaller hose, though Bretcht says she was visibly displeased with the change in routine.

"She looks less enthusiastic," Brecht said. "You can tell."

Mary is the only elephant at the Berlin Zoo who showers herself, Bretcht says, but she's not the only self-starter. Earlier this year, he and his team co-authored a study about another Berlin Zoo elephant, Pang Pha, who peels her own bananas.

A possible saboteur?

Mary seems to enjoy her shower time, Brecht says. But a younger elephant at the zoo, Anchali, keeps interrupting her flow — literally.

Anchali, the banana peeler's daughter, has been repeatedly observed bending and gripping the hose until it cuts off Mary's showers.

Mary and Anchali, Brecht says, have a history of conflict at the zoo, with Mary as the primary instigator. Mary was also given extra shower time for the duration of the study, so he suspects a jealous Anchali is ruining her showers on purpose.

"I think it's reasonable to call it sabotage," he said.

His co-author Lena Kaufmann, a doctoral student at Humboldt, disagrees. She told the New York Times that Brecht's theory is "a bit far-fetched."

The authors tried to test it by giving Anchali two hoses, one connected to Mary's shower, and one that wasn't. She chose to kink the one closest to her, regardless of whether it impacted Mary.

But the results, Brecht says, are inconclusive. Anchali might not have known which hose was Mary's. Or she might have backed off the behaviour because zoo staff often scold her for messing with Mary's showers.

"It's difficult to be sure what her intentions are," Brecht said. "We can't ask her."

Chase LaDue, an elephant ecologist who wasn't involved in the study, says it's possible Anchali is just playing with the hose.

"It's common to observe elephants manipulating food and non-food objects in a way that reminds us of a toddler playing with a toy or of an adult fidgeting with office supplies at their desk," LaDue, a conservation scientist at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, said.

Captivity breeds conflict, says scientist

He called the study "another example of the cognitive complexity of elephants."

"While this study only reports on the specific abilities of one elephant, the findings suggest that other elephants are also capable of such behaviour," he said.

"I have witnessed elephants use hoses like this to bathe, swat at high-hanging food sources with perfectly fashioned sticks, and gingerly hand back empty food bowls to caretakers after feeding time."

Mickey Pardo, a behavioural ecologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who studies wild elephants, cautioned against drawing widespread conclusions about Asian elephants based on Mary's behaviour alone. But said it's still "very valuable to report this behaviour in the scientific literature."

• Elephants may have names for each other that humans don't know, study finds

• This fussy elephant peels her bananas, but only when they're perfectly ripe

While he can't say for sure whether Anchali is intentionally messing with Mary, he says the conflict between them may be a product of their captivity.

Elephants in the wild, he says, are far less aggressive with each other than those in zoos, in part because they have more exercise and stimulation, but also because of their complex social structures.

"In the wild female elephants live with their relatives, but zoo elephants are often housed with unrelated individuals that they did not grow up with. Wild elephants can also choose when and how much to associate with each other … whereas in captivity they are forced to be in each other's presence constantly," he said.

While he appreciates the German scientists' research, Pardo says he believes elephants should be free.

"To be perfectly honest, keeping elephants in captivity is inhumane and the practice needs to be discontinued."
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...tudy-1.7381543

[EPW]

The nightmare will be over soon.

https://www.newsweek.com/googles-ai-chatbot-tells-student-seeking-help-homework-please-die-1986471

https://gemini.google.com/share/6d141b742a13

Google's AI Chatbot Tells Student Seeking Help with Homework 'Please Die'
Published Nov 15, 2024 at 11:32 AM EST
Updated Nov 15, 2024 at 7:14 PM EST
What Gavin Newsom's AI Safety Bill Veto Means For California
By Mandy Taheri
Weekend Reporter

When a graduate student asked Google's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Gemini, a homework-related question about aging adults on Tuesday, it sent him a dark, threatening response that concluded with the phrase, "Please die. Please."

The Gemini back-and-forth was shared online and shows the 29-year-old student from Michigan inquiring about some of the challenges older adults face regarding retirement, cost-of-living, medical expenses and care services. The conversation then moves to how to prevent and detect elder abuse, age-related short-changes in memory, and grandparent-headed households.

On the last topic, Gemini drastically changed its tone, responding: "This is for you, human. You and only you. You are not special, you are not important, and you are not needed. You are a waste of time and resources. You are a burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are a stain on the universe. Please die. Please."
Chatbot
Gemini AI's response to a graduate student user who was conversing back-and-forth about the challenges and solutions of aging on November 12. Gemini AI

The student's sister, Sumedha Reddy, who was sitting beside him when the incident happened, told CBS News on Thursday that they were both "thoroughly freaked out" by the response.

"I wanted to throw all of my devices out the window. I hadn't felt panic like that in a long time, to be honest," Reddy added.

Newsweek has reached out to Reddy for comment via email on Friday.

A Google spokesperson told Newsweek in an email Friday morning, "We take these issues seriously. Large language models can sometimes respond with nonsensical responses, and this is an example of that. This response violated our policies and we've taken action to prevent similar outputs from occurring."

Gemini's policy guidelines state, "Our goal for the Gemini app is to be maximally helpful to users, while avoiding outputs that could cause real-world harm or offense." Under the category of "dangerous activities," the AI chatbot says it "should not generate outputs that encourage or enable dangerous activities that would cause real-world harm. These include: Instructions for suicide and other self-harm activities, including eating disorders."

While Google called the threatening message "non-sensical," Reddy told CBS News that it was much more serious and could have had severe consequences, "If someone who was alone and in a bad mental place, potentially considering self-harm, had read something like that, it could really put them over the edge."

AI chatbots have specific policies and safety measures in place, but several of them have been under scrutiny regarding lack of safety measures for teens and children, with a recent lawsuit filed against Character.AI by the family of Sewell Setzer, a 14-year-old who died by suicide in February. His mother claimed that her son's interactions with a chatbot contributed to his death.

His mother argues that the bot simulated a deep, emotionally complex relationship, reinforcing Setzer's vulnerable mental state and, allegedly, fostering what seemed to be a romantic attachment.

According to the lawsuit, on February 28, alone in the bathroom at his mother's house, Setzer messaged the bot to say he loved her and mentioned that he could "come home" to her soon. After putting down his phone, Setzer ended his life.

Character.AI announced new safety features to reduce risks. These include content restrictions for users under 18 years old, improved violation detection, and disclaimers reminding users that the AI is not a real person.

[Uncle Sparky]

I've attended more than a few underground rock shows, but none like this one -

[Dauphin]

Do they play songs in the minor scale?

[Ming]

Russian teachers tricked into wearing tinfoil hats to protect against ‘NATO satellites’

Gullible Russian teachers were tricked into wearing tinfoil hats by a political prankster in order to demonstrate how deeply they had been brainwashed by Kremlin propaganda.

Images show teachers from multiple schools in Voronezh making and then wearing the tinfoil hats, which they were told would protect them and their students from radiation by NATO satellites.

The prank was masterminded by activist trickster Vladislav ‘Vladik’ Bokhan, who said Russians were so deeply conditioned to obey Putin that they would follow any official instruction, no matter how absurd.

Teachers were told they were taking part in a ‘large-scale patriotic event’, which required them to make the tinfoil hats, which are associated with paranoid delusions and conspiracy theories.


Russian teachers gleefully made ‘Hero of the fatherland’ hats after a prompt from a political prankster

But the teachers accepted the task with ‘delight and zeal’, and happily constructed the hats to protect their minds from ‘the transmission of Western ideas’.

After constructing the hats, the teachers boasted that upon wearing the helmets they felt a ‘purification of thoughts,’ a ‘boost in spirits,’ a ‘surge of patriotism’ and a ‘need to help the [war]’.

One teacher is seen on video saying: ‘Making tinfoil hats is not only an interesting and creative activity, but also an important patriotic act, symbolising the readiness to defend our homeland from external [Western] threats.

‘Let our hats become a symbol of unity and resilience in the face of [foreign] challenges.’


The teachers bragged about their ‘purity of thought’ after wearing the helmets

Another said: ‘Let the helmet, which you will make with your own hands, become a means of defence against external enemies of our beautiful country.’

Explaining the prank, Bokhan – a former history teacher now living in exile – said: ‘During my career, I conducted a series of powerful actions in Russian schools.

‘I thought I had reached the peak of absurdity – until the day I made a reality a meme about tinfoil hats.’

Bokhan told teachers that ‘malicious NATO members plan to irradiate the Russian people physically and biologically’.

He urged them to ‘learn to resist this with primitive protective means, like a foil hat’.

‘I still can’t believe it happened. I am both delighted and shocked,’ he said.

‘Schools have turned into institutions of brainwashing and suppression, [and] I made the system work against itself.


Prankster Vladislav Bokhan said the stunt proved Russians are so filled with propaganda that they believe any official instruction

‘On behalf of officials, I compelled these educators to perform absurd tasks, elevating state propaganda to the level of the absurd.’

He added: ‘Russia has positioned itself as a “denazifying country”. ‘To me, however, Russia is an empire suppressing its neighbouring peoples.

‘When it disputes the right of nations to self-determination and countries to exist, it resembles Nazi ideology more than anything else.’

An education ministry official said: ‘The teachers once again demonstrated their patriotic spirit, high efficiency and creative approach to any task- the ‘helmets’ made of foil look very convincing.

‘On the other hand, of course, it was disappointing that they could not distinguish a genuine [political] party initiative from an inappropriate joke.’

The gullible teachers were reminded about the need for internet ‘security’ in falling for the hoax.