I was hung in Salem. I’m hung at home, too.

That’s literally their issue with it. The thinking goes, if you’re essentially praying, but not praying to god, then you must be working with the devil.

I’m pretty sure an Amish vegan would starve/freeze to death (especially if you consider handmade fabrics growable in the climates they live in or transported without the use of engines or horses), but if one existed, they’d also have to refuse to pay their taxes. They’d also obviously have to be one of the Amish who don’t use modern medical care or all manner of modern technology for work. I’m also not sure how resource intensive Amish tools are- if they have traditional blacksmiths, where do they get the metal?

But really, it depends on your inputs: the quickest/simplest ways to cool the planet would also probably render it unlivable for most humans- there are probably a few ways an AI could generate massive ash clouds that block out enough sunlight to bring the temperature down. In that scenario, there would probably be some humans who survive, but they’d probably be in places with very small and non resource intensive populations, so most of eastern North America is automatically out.

Probably not, vegans still contribute to global warming, just less so in one area. Even if there existed a person who made perfect consumption choices in every case, they still occasionally need to travel by motor, they use some form of heating, and they use buildings which used cement at some point in their construction or during renovations. Also, we’re all pretty inefficient digesters, and the more fiber you eat, the more methane you emit.

I’m an American who was permanently living in the US until several years ago. I wanted to go to grad school, and my employer offered to pay 50%, as long as it was a related degree. I looked at programs in statistics (not my ideal, but it was a good overlap between programs my company would reimburse and ones that interested me) for a mid range state school nearby and it would have been something like $4-5k per semester out of my pocket all told.

For about double the cost to me per semester (so the standard full cost), I was able to buy plane tickets, cover visa fees and my entire cost of living for six months to study in my ideal program at a great university in Germany (it would be similarly expensive in many European countries and cheaper in many European or Asian countries).

The only reasons not to make that choice are that you don’t speak other languages (though many international programs are offered in English and even other anglophone countries have cheaper universities than the US) or that you’re too settled in the USA. If you’re not from the USA, what could possibly draw you there with an additional $100k fee?

People can be really ignorant about technology. I’ve met people who were surprised that you could log into your email on another continent. She might have thought it was locked behind her password and as long as she didn’t submit error reports, the company couldn’t access it. I don’t know where the idea comes from, but I’ve met a concerning number of people who don’t know that most platforms can read direct messages sent between users on their platforms.

That she was just venting to something she mistakenly thought was impossible for a human to read.

Not every mental illness affects your grasp of logic or perspective on reality. Obsessive compulsive disorder can be absolutely debilitating even though the person might completely understand the reality of their situation, know that they don’t actually benefit from and in fact are harmed by, for example, checking the windows and doors every night in the exact same way many times, but still be unable to stop themselves. They aren’t delusional, just prisoner to compulsions they can’t resist. I’m not suggesting that OCD is always severe enough to make someone consider euthanasia or is always resistant to treatment, but it certainly could be.

I could also see someone with substance abuse disorder that they’ve tried and failed to treat for decades making that decision (while sober after detoxing and withdrawal). I would want them to keep trying, because I know how great sobriety and how valuable a life built post addiction can be, but I wouldn’t consider them to be of unsound mind in that scenario.

I’m just listing examples in my family, but I’m sure there are others.

Well yeah, but there are lots of situations where your intent with a threat matters. Saying “I’m gonna kill you!” to your brother when he throws a water balloon at you is rightfully not considered a legal threat. Saying “I finally bought a gun and I’m gonna kill you!” might fall into either category for me personally, depending on whether they had actually recently bought a gun.

I’m really not trying to be difficult here and I do absolutely see how this could be ruled a legitimate threat, I just don’t think it’s 100%. I’m leaning towards 80% (assuming she didn’t actually recently get a gun), given that this is Florida.

Regarding the diary, I was actually thinking of that exact scenario, with the stipulation that the diary is locked. I would be interested in whether that aspect of the law has been tested yet, but it’s probably not that common.

I don’t know if that was meant to reply to me, but I meant whether another human was involved in the training, not the threat. It’s definitely an imprudent thing to write, but I don’t know if a reasonable person would assume that another person would be able to read it. “Training” is a pretty nebulous concept, and the anthropic release doesn’t mention that humans are involved.

I’m not trying to say that this lady is making good decisions, but I probably wouldn’t vote that this was written so that another human might read it, if I were on the jury. Maybe my gut feeling’s off and everyone knows that training involves people (which I’m sure would come up during the trial), in which case I’d probably consider it a clear threat.

I appreciate the links! I still don’t think it’s a slam dunk either way, because even in Anthropic’s release, it never actually says that a human will be involved. “Training” could be anything, and while intent does not always matter, a threat is one of the few crimes where it really does.

That’s why I said she was probably SOL on that side, but the other requirement for it to be considered an illegal threat is less cut and dry

The article very much states that it is in fact illegal to write down a threat under Florida law.

I don’t know that that’s my read here. The emphasis on the below quote from the article is mine.

Heller faces a charge of making a written threat of violence under Florida law. Florida Statute 836.10 makes it a second-degree felony to send, post, or transmit a written or electronic record threatening to kill or injure someone, carry out a mass shooting, or commit an act of terrorism. The communication must be made in a manner in which another person may view it.

It sounds like it’s not illegal to write the threat down, but it’s illegal to share it with others. If you do keep a private journal, or write your feelings onto slips of paper and burn them (idk if this is actually common, but it’s always been recommended to me after a breakup), that’s not illegal, even if you describe wanting to do something illegal. It’s the sort of hair splitting that wouldn’t normally be relevant, but could make a huge difference here.

Of course, she probably will be legally considered to have sent, posted, and transmitted it, so she’s SOL on that end, but she could credibly (imo) claim she was unaware that another person might view it.

Yeah, but it’s not potable anymore

Incarnate!

I saw a documentary once where a wasp had a specific routine when arriving back home, and they showed the routine normally several times and then they showed the wasp doing the exact same thing after having been beheaded- no head to clean, but the wasp swiped its foreleg in the general area, then continued on the rest.

This was given as a difference between wasps and humans, or more generally, between instinctual and considered actions.

At first I worried a little, because I noticed how much I did on autopilot. Then I realized how much everyone does on autopilot and then I worried a lot.

I think if we were able to continue walking around without our heads, people absolutely would.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

Colonialism is problematic because it robs people of resources and self-determination, and creates a underclass. Slavery is remarkably good at doing all of those things.

It turns out colonialism has consequences

Anti-aboriginal sentiment is very weird to me as a non-Australian: sometimes it feels subtle (like calling a war dance aggressive and unpleasant- that’s kind of the goal and shouldn’t be a wild thing to say) and sometimes they just call aboriginal people King Kong.

It’s always a great object lesson on not playing devil’s advocate (because I could see myself defending someone calling a war dance aggressive, but I would 100% regret that choice with the additional context).

He’s been in AA since he was 17, he doesn’t even have that excuse. It’s just the Laura Loomer syndrome