There is pushback on Flock, and, from some of the stories where officers were using them to "follow" someone for a date or what not, yes, they need to be held accountable. With a huge system, comes huge responsibility, and unfortunately, a lot of humans don't have that. But, what will probably happen, is some huge "9/11" type event will happen, that perhaps the flock cameras could have tracked or help prevent and just like with 9/11, the public will "demand" government do something about it. After 9/11, the TSA came along. Now, you get to show up at the airport an hour or more to be searched, in some cases groped, you can't take shampoo on board with you, you can't do this, you can't do that, you have to have a "real ID" to fly and on and on. You can bet, that if something happens that perhaps a flock could have helped in some way, the public will demand Washington do something. And, politicians, D or R, will jump on that, and VOLLA! Cameras everywhere, tracking everyone, not just in vehicles, but walking, bicycles etc. And don't think that eventually, they will start sending you tickets for speeding, or jaywalking thanks to the cameras. Heck, with all of the connectivity/GPS in vehicles, I'm surprised they don't send tickets already! And, perhaps states will get rid of the "gas tax" and other fees and just tax you based on how many miles you drive, thanks to the cameras & connectivity on your vehicle. It's happened before...it will happen again.

When I say "sweater" I mean a pullover....down here mostly just simple cotton sweaters, not terribly heavy....

They just turn off your water heater.

What good does turning the gas off to the water heater do....?

If you can cope at 12C in a T-shirt ... up to you, I wear a real jacket and a scarf.

Ugh...had to get on ChatGPT and find out what the fuck 12C was in F.

Ok, so about 54F...roughly. That's cool...I guess depends a bit on how high your humidity is. In the New Orleans area, it can be 54F and very humid...if the wind is coming in off the lake it can be quite chilly....but if lower humidity, more into winter months,...that's not too cold...I'd be wearing a sweater or a jacket....not both.

Last week it was high-90's and low 100's along the central coast (Santa Cruz & Monterey). It cooled down at night, but I also don't have A/C because I almost never need it, maybe for 3-5 days every 3-4 years it would be appreciated.

You can't get a couple window units to have AC when you need it?

You can put them up and take them down pretty readily......better than baking/roasting on those days when you really don't need to.

I don't think training a model with copyrighted data is any kind of gray zone at all.

Running inference against such a model _might_ be infringing.

But I don't see the legal argument that model training would be.

Think of model training as lossy data compression. You provide an input, it produces a compressed artifact, and it can no longer reproduce the original when you uncompress it. It can produce _something_. It cannot reproduce the original.

On slashdot, we all agree that format shifting copyrighted works should be allowed and unrestricted, right?

If there is applicable case law here about how lossy a "reproduction" can be before copyright has something to say about it, that would be relevant. Do you know of any?

I think you're repeating something that feels emotionally valid but in my experience, isn't factually (or legally) accurate.

I have found AI models to be frustratingly _obedient_ of copyright.

I'll be in a situation where I ask a specific question about what a document says, and the AI repeatedly says the work is copyrighted and it can't just tell me what it says _verbatim_, but it can answer specific questions for me in its own words (while telling me to check the original).

Two examples from my life are procedural questions about what Roberts Rules of Order would require in a given situation, and, what ASD STE-100 says about how to name/word things.

The applicable US law would appear to be USC 17 Sec 106 and 107, which on one hand limits derivative works, but on the other, allows fair use for purposes of teaching, scholarship, or research.

(USC references provided by AI, btw. Which I haven't read)

I used to agree with you, and then oddly enough, about 25-30 years ago, I came across this signature on another regular slashdot posters postings:

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

(AI tells me the attribution is "The Red Lily", Anatole France, 1894)

Talk shows have been exempt from the equal time law right up until 2026.

Not quite true....

NEWS shows are exempt.....talk shows and other entertainment shows most decidedly are not exempt.

Yep.

Unions like SEIU pull this carp all the time. And the politicians they contribute to help them do it.

In Michigan, for example, they "organized" home care "workers" ... who are overwhelmingly just relatives of disabled people. (The state saves a bundle by providing some funds to pay family members for taking care of their own disabled family members.)

How did SEIU do that, you ask, when state law says that the "employer" in this program is the disabled person himself? Why, they got the state Dems to change the law, so that solely for the purpose of collective bargaining, the "employer" is the state! Easy peasy.

For no other purpose though - they "cared" so deeply for these "workers" that they sure as heck were not going to make them true state employees, lol.

Most of the relatives of disabled people were like "WTH is this?" and threw the "organizing" ballots in the trash. So SEIU "won" the "election" to "organize" the "workers". (creating a worldwide shortage of scare quotes in the process)

Utter bottom feeding scum.

And so much for the "less expensive" uber/lyft rides now that the UNIONS will jack up rates so they can get THEIR cut!

But ... but ... I've been told here on /. that police showing up at your door because of a social media post that you've made, say, is perfectly fine, is evidence of the system working, and has no chilling effect at all?

There are layers and layers of irony, I guess ...

The very essence of journalism in a Western world is to expose wrong doing and nobody being exposed likes. Journalism isn't meant to be rage-bait or hallmark moments for clicks that it degenerated into. It meant to cover and expose uncomfortable realities so individuals can be informed.

Our society requires privacy to function. This is because government (and that includes individuals with personal motivations within government structures) at all levels have power to selectively prosecute anyone they don't like. Our legal system is set up in a way that every law abiding citizen can be investigated (where investigation is the punishment) and their life ruined if there is a pretext (probable cause). Flock is an easy way to manufacture such pretext.

You can't have qualified immunity and Flock. Pick one. If you pick two, you end up living in a 40K style dystopia where "Innocence proves nothing".