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A jargon-free explanation of how AI large language models work - "Want to really understand large language models? Here's a gentle primer." [link-heavy FPP!] [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 11:59 PM PST - 28 comments

WGA writers union reaches agreement to end strike vs Hollywood studios "The Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board and WGAE Council all voted unanimously to recommend the agreement. It will now go to both guilds’ memberships for a ratification vote." WGA's updated chart comparing what the studios offered on May 1st to what the writers got after their 148-day strike [PDF], including writers room protections, streaming residuals based on actual viewership numbers, and more. [more inside]
posted by mediareport at 10:31 PM PST - 63 comments

Google Podcasts is shutting down Google just announced that it is shutting down Google Podcasts in 2024, despite having been installed more than 500 million times since its 2018 launch. They are encouraging users to switch to YouTube music instead.
posted by mijustin at 9:39 PM PST - 53 comments

A story, in cartoon form, about how doctors dismiss women's physical pain.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:31 PM PST - 33 comments

Sixty-two Films That Shaped the Art of Documentary Filmmaking by Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Oct 2020.
posted by Westringia F. at 7:36 PM PST - 17 comments

TikTok, emojis and anime now as physical body language. Touching fingers, silently screaming into your hand, the Bella Swan hair tuck—each of these internet mannerisms all require a grossly exaggerated performance.
posted by spamandkimchi at 7:08 PM PST - 18 comments

Apparently back in 1975, Graham Chapman of Monty Python and Douglas Adams not quite yet of Hitchhiker's Guide wrote a television show. It's an incomprehensible mess that's entirely worth watching. Out Of The Trees [32m]
posted by hippybear at 11:43 AM PST - 25 comments

The US Federal Trade Commission and more than a dozen state attorneys general have filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the e-commerce giant has unlawfully leveraged its market dominance to stamp out would-be competitors.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:55 AM PST - 38 comments

A precious object finds its way home.
posted by bq at 9:44 AM PST - 2 comments

Canada’s House speaker Anthony Rota sorry for honoring Nazi veteran [Washington Post] The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons has apologized for celebrating a man who served in a notorious Nazi military unit during World War II. Speaker Anthony Rota introduced 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka of North Bay, Ontario, to fellow lawmakers on Friday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr’s visit to Parliament. After Zelensky addressed the body, thanking Canada for supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia and urging it to stay committed, Rota pointed out Hunka and described him as a war hero “who fought [for] Ukrainian independence against the Russians, and continues to support the troops today.” But on Sunday, Jewish groups condemned the honor, saying Hunka had been a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, a Waffen-SS unit composed of ethnic Ukrainians. [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 5:14 AM PST - 214 comments

Anytime a company lays someone off, there’s a possibility the person will take something with them. Coke, holder of the world’s most famous trade secret, was particularly attuned to that risk. It had an intelligence-bureau-style classification scheme, like other corporations that deal in proprietary information, and it had software that tracked employees’ data use. That summer, as more and more employees learned they were leaving, the data loss prevention system began to ripple with alerts. from The Plot to Steal the Other Secret Inside a Can of Coca-Cola [Bloomberg; ungated]
posted by chavenet at 4:07 AM PST - 46 comments

Ever read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince? Turns out you are not alone. It has been translated into 500+ different languages and dialects, including Irish - see above. Swiss engineering entrepreneur Jean-Marc Probst has, over the last 40 years, collected most of them, and a mass [N = 9,000+] of ancillary material, into one searchable place. Ten minute overview from lingthusiast imshawn getoffmylawn.
posted by BobTheScientist at 3:47 AM PST - 12 comments