tag > OpenSource
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The Man behind Stable Diffusion - An interview with Emad Mostaque, founder of Stability AI.
Video: Voyage through Time - a Generative AI journey using stablediffusion - by Xander Steenbrugge
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Russia mulls legalizing software piracy as it’s cut off from Western tech
Russian law already allows for the government to authorize -- "without consent of the patent holder" -- the use of any intellectual property "in case of emergency related to ensuring the defense and security of the state." The government hasn't taken that step yet, but it may soon, according to a report from Russian business newspaper Kommersant, spotted and translated by Kyle Mitchell, an attorney who specializes in technology law. It's yet another sign of a Cyber Curtain that's increasingly separating Russia from the West.
The plan would create "a compulsory licensing mechanism for software, databases, and technology for integrated microcircuits," the Kommersant said. It would only apply to companies from countries that have imposed sanctions. While the article doesn't name names, many large Western firms -- some of which would be likely targets -- have drastically scaled back business in Russia. So far, Microsoft has suspended sales of new products and services in Russia, Apple has stopped selling devices, and Samsung has stopped selling both devices and chips. Presumably, any move by the Kremlin to "seize" IP would exempt Chinese companies, which are reportedly considering how to press their advantage. Smartphone-makers Xiaomi and Honor stand to gain, as do Chinese automakers. Still, any gains aren't guaranteed since doing business in Russia has become riddled with problems, spanning everything from logistics to finance.
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"Your greatness is not what you have, but what you give"
Related: Winnie the Pooh, Franz Kafka, and more are coming to the public domain in 2022
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ArXiv.org Reaches a Milestone and a Reckoning - "Runaway success and underfunding have led to growing pains for the preprint server" (Scientific American)
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Wiki as Pattern Language - by Ward Cunningham & Michael W. Mehaffy
We describe the origin of wiki technology, which has become widely influential, and its relationship to the development of pattern languages in software. We show here how the relationship is deeper than previously understood, opening up the possibility of expanded capability for wikis, including a new generation of “federated” wiki
#OpenSource #Internet #Architecture #Design #CrowdIntelligence
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Open source pulse-modulated radio and microwave band projects. Prototyping directed energy devices with publicly available schematics and components, to achieve the microwave hearing effect: cranial pops, clicks, noises, and ultimately real-time voice and audio at range.
This new Book might come in handy as well: Auditory Effects of Microwave Radiation - by James C. Lin
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Alcoholics_Anonymous (AA) is a fascinating case-study in resilient bottom-up org design
- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship requiring no membership dues or fees dedicated to helping alcoholics peer to peer in sobriety through its spiritually inclined Twelve Steps program.
- AA says it is "not organized in the formal or political sense", and Bill Wilson, borrowing the phrase from anarchist theorist Peter Kropotkin, called it a "benign anarchy".
- The Steps also suggest the healing aid of an unspecified God—"as we understood Him"—but are nonetheless accommodating to agnostic, atheist, and non-theist members.
- In Ireland, Shane Butler said that AA "looks like it couldn't survive as there's no leadership or top-level telling local cumanns what to do, but it has worked and proved itself extremely robust". Butler explained that "AA's 'inverted pyramid' style of governance has helped it to avoid many of the pitfalls that political and religious institutions have encountered since it was established here in 1946.
- The Traditions hold that helping others recover from alcoholism is AA's primary purpose. That it should have no opinions on anything else to avoid public controversy. That members and groups should not use AA to gain wealth, prestige, or property. That dogma and hierarchies are to be avoided. That AA groups are autonomous and self-supporting—declining outside contributions—but are barred from lending the AA name to other entities. And, without threat of retribution or means of enforcement, that members should remain anonymous in public media.
- A member who accepts a service position or an organizing role is a "trusted servant" with terms rotating and limited, typically lasting three months to two years and determined by group vote and the nature of the position. Each group is a self-governing entity with AA World Services acting only in an advisory capacity.
- AA groups are self-supporting, relying on voluntary donations from members to cover expenses.[27] The AA General Service Office (GSO) limits contributions to US$3,000 a year.[31] Above the group level, AA may hire outside professionals for services that require specialized expertise or full-time responsibilities.
- AA's program is an inheritor of Counter-Enlightenment philosophy. AA shares the view that acceptance of one's inherent limitations is critical to finding one's proper place among other humans and God. Such ideas are described as "Counter-Enlightenment" because they are contrary to the Enlightenment's ideal that humans have the capacity to make their lives and societies a heaven on Earth using their own power and reason.
- This commitment is facilitated by a change in the member's worldview. To help members stay sober AA must, they argue, provide an all-encompassing worldview while creating and sustaining an atmosphere of transcendence in the organization. To be all-encompassing AA's ideology emphasizes tolerance rather than a narrow religious worldview that could make the organization unpalatable to potential members and thereby limit its effectiveness.
- US courts have not extended the status of privileged communication, such as that enjoyed by clergy and lawyers, to AA related communications between members.
More on AA's history: https://silkworth.info/ - Frank Buchman Oxford Group Documentary
#P2P #Praxis #Health #Politics #Religion #OpenSource #Networks #Systems
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Binding Chaos: Mass Collaboration on a Global Scale - Book by Heather Marsh (2013) (PDF)
The world is long overdue for a completely new system of governance. If there was ever a need for political representation or a paternalistic and opaque authority, it has been removed by technology. Every political system we have tried has proven incapable of protecting human rights and dignity. Every political system we have tried has devolved into oligarchy. To effect the change we require immediately, to give individuals control and responsibility, to bring regional systems under regional governance, allow global collaboration and protect the heritage of future generations, we need a new political model.
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Scientists urge US Congress to reconsider bill that could allow genes to be patented (2019)
Nine Nobel prize winners are among 83 leading scientists and physicians who have written to US legislators urging them not to rush through changes to patent law that could lead to the patenting of genes—and even of laws of nature. The scientists’ letter echoes concerns expressed in a previous letter sent to Congress two weeks ago from 170 organisations, including many US scientific and clinical societies. Read more...
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Unboxing the Toolkit - survey/reflection on design toolkits by @shannonmattern
"Technosolutionist libertarianism is rooted in an assumption that kits and skills are more reliable than other people".
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The YouTube Revolution in Knowledge Transfer - by Samo Burja (2019)
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Not invented here (NIH) is the tendency to avoid using or buying products, research, standards, or knowledge from external origins. It is usually adopted by social, corporate, or institutional cultures. Research illustrates a strong bias against ideas from the outside.
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Linus Torvalds on Money & Motivation
"Money really isn't that great of a motivator. It doesn't pull people together. Having a common project, and really feeling that you really can be a full partner in that project, that motivates people, I think." - Linus Torvalds Reflects In New Interview on Linux's Earliest Days
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"Peer-to-Peer Networks Applied to X" - What is your X?
#P2P #CrowdIntelligence #Networks #OpenSource #Infrastructure #Regenerative
