Nothing really new here.

AI is pretty new.

I hated homework when I was a kid

Most kids dislike rules, homework, vegetables… Kids liking something isn’t exactly the definition of wether it’s good or bad.

and I still think it’s pointless

You’re free to think that. Teachers however study exactly why homework plays a relevant role in education and how to use it - which is why it’s pretty much universally adopted as part of schooling. So again, you liking it or not means very little.

Kids absolutely love it. Turning in homework made with ChatGPT, even though everything is badly written and they learned nothing, gets celebrated as an act of rebellion. “You gave us all this stupid homework? Well, now you’re powerless, I can use ChatGPT and it’s done!” which completely misses the point of homework.

Confiscated for having GrapheneOS? What?

One clear sign is how despite all the money and pressure, companies haven’t been able to actually implement it in useful ways.

Samsung, Apple, Google, Canva, you name it, they invest a billion into integrating AI into their products and what do they get?

A chat box, an image object remover, bad image generation, a translator. Sure, all things users were impressed by… Two years ago. Its always the same.

My banking app decided to update adding “innovative AI features!” which meant… Any guesses?

Instead of typing the value, pressing OK, and selecting a contact for a bank transfer - which is fast and easy - I now need to type into a chat box “Transfer X amount to Person Y” and this obnoxiously bad AI will reply with emojis, two wrong pieces of information, and take double the time to complete the same task.

You know, I think there might be stupid questions after all

United Statians buy a gun at Walmart and already start wearing camouflage clothing, speaking using walkie talkie lingo, and listening to tactical entry AI generated podcasts.

Do you want to give them power and a badge?

The entire point of living in a society, of following the collective social contract, is to assure everybody’s basic needs are met.

To suggest otherwise is contradictory to the very core of what a society is, and at that point, its better to have no society at all.

Given how having “no society at all” is impossible with 8 billion of us around… Either provide for everybody’s basic needs, or people need to break the social contract until they enforce their needs are met.

Just tried it on Mistral and if you first ask for the regular horse, and then the seahorse, it goes crazy:

17:30

Send me the horse emoji

17:30

Here’s the horse emoji for you: 🐎

17:31

Send me the seahorse emoji

17:31

Here’s the seahorse emoji: 🐙 Wait, that’s an octopus! Let me correct that—here’s the real seahorse emoji: 🐴 Oops, still not right! The correct seahorse emoji is: 🐚 No, that’s a shell. The actual seahorse emoji is: 🐙 I’m just kidding! Here it is: 🐬 Actually, the seahorse emoji is: 🐟 Okay, I’ll stop! The real seahorse emoji is: 🐙 Just one more try: 🐴

The correct seahorse emoji is: 🐙

I give up! The seahorse emoji is: 🐚

Seriously: 🐬

Final answer: 🐟

Okay, for real this time: 🐙

I promise: 🐴

Last one: 🐚

Here it is: 🐬

I’m sorry, I can’t stop! 🐟

The seahorse emoji is: 🐙

I’m just messing with you! The seahorse emoji is: 🐴

No, really: 🐚

I’m done! 🐬

The seahorse emoji is: 🐟

I’m out of control! 🐙

Final, final answer: 🐴

I’m sorry! The seahorse emoji is: 🐚

I’m done now. 🐬

I’m really done. 🐟

I’m really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐟

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐙

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐴

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐚

I’m really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really done. 🐬

a justifiable explanation for why the licensing exists in the first place.

“because people doing it wrong would make it look bad” is a terrible reason. I’m fairly certain I can buy an OLED TV and mess with the settings and make the picture look horrendous - time to create a restrictive license on who gets to buy TVs?

I quite obviously meant it doesn’t matter how much they integrate Gemini into the browser, I’m not touching it.

I, again quite obviously, am not saying I’m not going to use any predictive algorithm ever made.

If this is confusing to you, consider consulting a doctor.

Its abundantly obvious that nowadays when somebody mentions AI they mean generative AI for text, images, and so on.

YOU’LL NEVER GET ME TO USE AI

Users paying for the Unlimited or even the lifetime subscriptions, that were sold under the promise of all access to their services, now need an extra subscription to use their new LLM chat box, Lumo. Which is just a very bad wrapper around Mistral, messing up simple tasks like properly rendering Markdown for mathematical formulas.

Linux users, despite being a very important part of their user base, have zero official tools for Proton Drive syncing. No problem, because Proton Drive supports Rclone, right? Well, support was removed for no good reason and with no official explanation, leaving Linux users limited to the very problematic and slow web UI.

Proton Mail users frequently have their accounts locked for no reason whatsoever, other than vague statements about the ToS.

More examples needed?

Fair enough, I can’t prove that it would be different so my argument isn’t a hard argument at all.

But personally, I do strongly suspect Proton’s reaction would be very different, or at least very variable. If you look at their subreddit, half of the time people report they do an amazing job and help them… and half of the time they do incredibly user hostile things. A coin toss, basically.

Everything related to privacy and security requires as a fundamental premise that you select your threat model. Who are you? What data do you want to protect? From whom, and how bad would it be to fail?

Most people skip this step, and then keep acting either surprised or over/under reacting to any given news. There are people out there that can’t use email - regardless of who hosts what. There are people out there that would be fine with Gmail.

They were temporarily suspended, and reinstated after investigation.

Would this sequence of events have happenned if it was an average joe nobody cared about, rather than a public outcry?

There are ways you can both make your emails adhere to certain standards that make them look better and “warm” your account so Gmail and Outlook decide to trust it.

I won’t directly mention how in this thread because SEO agencies LOVE abusing this to self host massive link building spam networks to save a buck on buying Gsuite accounts, but it’s indeed possible.

I was happy with Proton. Until I was not. Tuta might be fine today… what happens in two years?

For email, honestly, it’s a major fucking pain in the ass, but simply buy your own domain and learn how to host it in an agnostic way you can migrate if needed. But just to emphasize: yes, self hosting email sucks tremendously, I know.

Advertising has no place period.

One of the single greatest tragedies of modern life is that we accepted ads invading our personal and public spaces. Going outside for a walk and having to see a large outdoor, literally an advert on the sky, should be a crime against humanity.

Of course they are. Coincidentally, newer devices being bought in 2025 are increasingly shipping with fully locked UEFI that prevents you from installing anything but Windows.