This is the most asinine thing they could have done. Everyone with even a slight interest has copied this code. Those takedown requests just make them look foolish.

This brings to mind a classic, timeless Soviet-era joke. There are probably a dozen versions of this floating around, but here is how I remember it:

Back in the USSR, the authorities decided to run a little social experiment. They wanted to see just how loyal the average citizen was to the State and the Partyâ"specifically, how much they would endure before they finally reached a breaking point.

They picked a random city and a massive factory on the outskirts, and sent a high-ranking Party official down to deliver the news.

He arrives on a Monday morning and calls an emergency meeting. By 8:00 AM, every worker is gathered outside the main gates. The official steps onto the podium:

"Comrades! The Party must inform you that due to temporary logistical difficulties and a lack of demand for our products, we are facing a bit of a budget shortfall. In short, we all need to tighten our belts. For the next month, everyoneâ(TM)s wages will be cut by fifty percent. Any questions?"

The crowd stood there, muttering and grumbling under their breath, but no one stepped forward. The official nodded, satisfied, and everyone went back to work.

A month goes by, and productivity hasn't dropped an inch. The official reports back to Moscow, and they tell him, "Excellent. Letâ(TM)s take the experiment further."

Another emergency meeting is called. The official returns to the podium:

"Comrades! Times have grown even tougher. Funding has completely dried up, but the work must continue for the sake of the Motherland! Therefore, starting this month, you will all be working for no wages at all. Any questions?"

Again, the silence was deafening. People stood around for a bit, shrugged their shoulders, and headed back to their stations. What else were they going to do? Another month passes, and theyâ(TM)re still working full shifts on empty pockets. Moscow is thrilled. Itâ(TM)s time for the final phase.

Monday morning, one last emergency meeting. The official looks out at the exhausted crowd:

"Comrades! Iâ(TM)m afraid the situation is dire. There is no more room for our inventory and the factory is closing effective immediately. Furthermore, since this is a small town and there are no other jobsâ"and since the state budget is emptyâ"the Party has reached a final decision: Every worker at this factory is to report to the courtyard and hang themselves by the end of the day. Any questions?"

The official waits, bracing himself for a riot, a protest, anything. Suddenly, way in the back, a lone hand goes up.

"Yes, Comrade! Speak up. What is your question?"

A weary worker looks up and asks, "Well, the boys and I were just wondering... do we bring our own rope, or will the Trade Union be providing it?

The vast majority of their users are people who don't pay anything. I very much doubt there are many people willing to pay for generated erotic fantasies. If you want to pay for actual people, there's already OnlyFans, Chaturbate, etc.

Extremely unsafe reputationally, and extremely dubious in terms of profits.

don't assume mobile devices are somehow safer than desktops anymore

Both iOS and Android are full-fledged operating systems, and the only reason they are considered safer than desktop operating systems is because their application stores are somewhat curated. That's it.

Their software stacks are very similar to desktop operating systems, except they both strip you of superuser rights by default. That doesn't mean their kernels and user space are significantly more secure; they're just a tad different.

Not updating either of them is like leaving your house key out in the open.

is that close to 99% of people on Earth contribute nothing valuable, whether it's new knowledge or new things.

AI has amassed enough data to cover most people's lives from birth to death. Yeah, it's that bad and sad.

Tests on rats and sheep show injuries consistent with those seen in humans.

Weird. I thought/read that the affected people showed no changes in their biology/chemistry/MRI, so how did they ask rats and sheep whether they experienced the same symptoms?

It would be great if they worked on performance instead. Firefox JS engine is one of the slowest on the market.

I know I will be downvoted to hell but still:

I can't disagree with the bot. It's all very sad. Yes, it looks like 90% of inexperienced jobs will be automated, and I'll find myself out on the street too. But then again, truly talented people will still have serious work to do, work that requires real intelligence rather than tons of low-effort/boilerplate code.

Secondly, this appears to be a case of discrimination. It's almost like racism. What should we call it -- "aicism"?

Lastly, yes, the PR wasn't so straightforward in the end. It only sped up computations for numbers larger than 1,000. However, the speed increase was undeniable, even though it could have been encapsulated in an if() statement.

Honestly, it could all just be market/trading sentiment. I've read and heard dozens of opinions, and they all seem like wild guesses.

Maybe before writing a 7000 word "explanation" he could first:
  * Define consciousness
  * Prove definitively that it can only run on wetware
  * Not spend 7000 words on philosophical pseudo-scientific non-sense

Just pump-and-dump schemes, like the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are.

It was the iPhone 15 - sorry, I didn't get enough sleep - and everything else about my comment was true. I've never lied on this website, nor was it my intent to do so this time. You may want to look me up before accusing me of every sin under the sun.

Second, not all AI features in iOS 26 can be disabled.

Lastly, glass effects cannot be fully disabled.

The 26th release is extremely resource-heavy, slow, and buggy. Despite a single wrong digit in my comment, that part still stands true. Have a nice day!

After my friend installed iOS 26 update on their iPhone 17, the phone became as slow as molasses. In addition to that applications sometimes freeze, and the whole experience has become unbearable. This release is extremely poorly optimized and is choke full of dubious AI features and heavy graphics effects. And most of this useless garbage cannot be disabled because ... Apple.

The real lesson is believing you actually own what you buy online. You don't. Anything digital can be revoked instantly, without explanation, and often without meaningful recourse or support.

It's only when you get enough publicity that you could be noticed and get back your marbles but sadly it will not work for the vast majority of us.

Ultimately we need better laws or lawmakers to protect our digital goods.