LLM AI bases its responses from aggregated texts written by … human authors, just without having any sense of context or logic or understanding of the actual words being put together.

This is really exciting if it works out and gets commercialised widely! One thing I’m not sure I understand is whether this requires entirely new cement, or if somehow the carbon black and capacitors can be mixed into existing cement structures (especially roads)? As mentioned in the article, cement is a high emission product and we already have so much of it in the world.

Thank you for sharing this!

@RealAccountNameHere some of the words here were almost verbatim what I tell my husband and therapist. In a way I’m really glad to see I’m not alone globally, but I still feel hurtful and profound loneliness where I live. I feel so detached from the present and everyone else, watching them go through life business as usual without any willingness to do the smallest sacrifice to their privileged comfortable lives to do whatever little bit an individual can in the face of collapse.

@gothicdecadence I feel you too, friend! I have definitely spent many days (years?) feeling paralysed and helpless. It’s definitely hard watching what feels like everyone else in my country/part of the world/social media just continuing to live as if the future will remain as luxurious and comfortable as it is today. For my own sake I’ve decided to just focus on what I can do—it’s not a lot l, but I have the privilege of being able to learn a little here and there to better put myself in a position of contributing.

@gothicdecadence the article argues that the faux-optimism created by faulty IPCC models/assumptions has led to less urgent (and also unjust) policymaking. We need to know what we’re dealing with if we want to start solving it.

It’s also not true that there isn’t hope—even if the worst situation happens, there’s still harm reduction that can be done. All these require knowledge of what’s happening and would happen—instead, the “optimistic” models have caught many people, including scientists who relied on the models, by surprise.

I personally am done acting like I’m helpless even though I know I am one person and my sole contribution doesn’t matter. I’ll do what I can to the best of my abilities and circumstances to reduce my own harm to the planet (including by sacrificing my own lifestyle standards and expectations) and encourage the people in my life to do the same, and in the meantime also learning whatever skills I need in order to best serve and care for my community in the near future (ie growing food, etc).

If you live in a humid and wet country like I do (South East Asia), dry boxes are crucial to help stave off fungus growth. I use an electric dry box—the brand is Samurai, but honestly most dry box brands around my country seem to be rebranded Chinese OEMs so as long as it works it shouldn’t matter. It’s good habit to keep your cameras and lenses dry and making sure they’re dry before storing them away.

I’m a professional photographer but I don’t have insurance for my photography equipments because of the small insurance market for freelancers in my country. The cost of the insurance would be disproportional to the costs of my equipments. But if I have those $10k+ lenses, then it might start to make sense for me to look into it. Some home insurances might cover theft/fire/flood damage to your belongings, but read the fine prints.

I feel the same way too! I feel like this desperate need to just experience, document the nature around me before it disappears. Kinda like the vibe of the game SEASON: A letter to the future, I guess.

I feel this even more strongly when I scroll through my local/friend group chats and social media (I have to maintain my Instagram page for work). Everyone is so preoccupied with such trivial things in the grand scheme of things, living blissfully in ignorance and focusing all their time and attention and effort on … what exactly? And I know that if I try to talk to these people about climate change, about all the food and water and economic difficulties that will be hitting us soon, they will just dismiss me and I will lose their respect. It’s so scary and sad.

That’s how I’ve been feeling for years now, intensified with the fact that there’s not enough being done even as things escalate faster than expected. As someone with lifelong anxiety and depression, what I’ve learned is to not focus on my own helplessness and lack of self-worth, but instead what I can do and contribute in any little way to any person or creature. It’s up to every one of us to give our own life meaning, and I’m trying to choose kindness.