Internation Events X - Why such a long break...?

[TheLastWolf]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

I've been wondering how you are doing in that.

Bah, I'm a thousand miles away in a green paradise 

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, TheLastWolf said:

Bah, I'm a thousand miles away in a green paradise 

Really?  I thought you were going to U there.  Ah, me mistake make.

[TheLastWolf]

5 hours ago, Zorral said:

Really?  I thought you were going to U there.  Ah, me mistake make.

Not a problem, anyway is the Brazil elections going to affect F1?

[Zorral]

From a report compiled in Australia:

Extremists use video games to recruit vulnerable youth. Here’s what parents and gamers need to know

https://theconversation.com/extremists-use-video-games-to-recruit-vulnerable-youth-heres-what-parents-and-gamers-need-to-know-193110

Quote

 

... The tactics far-right extremists use to recruit

Former white supremacist Christian Picciolini has explained on Reddit how far-right extremist recruiters target “marginalised youth” using popular games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Call of Duty.

They “drop benign hints and then ramp up” when players are “hooked” on their message, Picciolini said. Of his own experience of being recruited, he said:

They appealed to my desperate need for identity, community and purpose. I was bullied and they provided safety. I was lonely and they provided family. That’s how they draw people in, with a sense of belonging and ‘humanitarianism’.

Far-right extremists will often interpret games to suit their own positions. For instance, they’ll point to the inherent superiority of a fantasy game species, such as elves, to draw false and racist parallels with reality.

They’ll also use gaming to find and build connections with others who share their views. By playing together they can reinforce each other’s beliefs, bond over “dark humour” and use the game to act out violent fantasies.

And while moderating sites to remove extremist content is important, it’s complex to do in democracies for a range of technical, legal and ethical reasons. Moderation should not be relied on as the only method for addressing far-right extremism online.

Extremists can also find ways to avoid moderation, such as by using coded language. For instance, 88 and 1488 are both associated with neo-Nazism – but most people wouldn’t know it.

Read more: Can gaming 'addiction' lead to depression or aggression in young people? Here’s what the evidence says

What can we do about it?

As counter-terrorism expert Greg Barton recently told Channel 7, far-right extremists aim to prey on young, vulnerable young people as part of a potential radicalisation process:

It’s the sort of predatory behaviour where they’re trying to win their confidence that’s the concern. The video, the games, that’s just the bait to get them hooked.

As you’d expect, extremists use plenty of other hooks too. These include gyms and fitness groups, wellness culture and even animal rights and environmentalism. So recruitment via games is part of a wider problem. ....

 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Thought Right wingers would prefer the manly Orcs to Elves. But okay.

In other news, treat yourself to KFC while celebrating the Night of Broken Glass

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

1 hour ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Thought Right wingers would prefer the manly Orcs to Elves. But okay.

In other news, treat yourself to KFC while celebrating the Night of Broken Glass

 

I was just going to post that.

Jesus Christ. Someone needs to lose their job. 

[The Anti-Targ]

When I asked my wife if she knew what Kristallnacht was she didn't know (and neither did I until right now). But when I asked her what The Night of Broken Glass was she knew immediately.

If someone at KFC was doing a human check on AI generated promotional material, and they didn't know their German history in German language terms then they could have completely missed the fact that this is a night that shall ever dwell in infamy rather than being a fun celebration of sparkly things.

Who needs to lose their job? Personally I think the company that provided KFC with the AI software for picking anniversaries that can be appropriately* used to promote the consumption of fast food. 

 

*Is there really any national/cultural/religious anniversary that is appropriate to promoting the consumption of fast food? I guess it should really be "not completely bloody inappropriate".

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

When I asked my wife if she knew what Kristallnacht was she didn't know (and neither did I until right now). But when I asked her what The Night of Broken Glass was she knew immediately.

I knew what it is. Any remotely competent marketing zombie should be at least as well informed as me. 

3 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Who needs to lose their job? Personally I think the company that provided KFC with the AI software for picking anniversaries that can be appropriately* used to promote the consumption of fast food. 

Whoever decided that an AI should generate their social media promotions without a competent marketing zombie checking its work for a start. Maybe the programmer who forgot to add the "Kristallnacht=Nazi=bad" line of code to the algorithm? I'd start there. 

3 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

*Is there really any national/cultural/religious anniversary that is appropriate to promoting the consumption of fast food? I guess it should really be "not completely bloody inappropriate".

None. I was going to say, "limit themselves to the ones that don't involve ethnic cleansing", but that would eliminate most of them really. The big American ones at least. Boxing Day?  

 

[A wilding]

8 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Whoever decided that an AI should generate their social media promotions without a competent marketing zombie checking its work for a start. Maybe the programmer who forgot to add the "Kristallnacht=Nazi=bad" line of code to the algorithm? I'd start there.

If I was a betting man then I would bet that the programmer was told by a corner cutting manager "of course we will have someone manually checking every promotion!" In fact there may well have been such a step in the process, only someone subsequently turned it off or removed it.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Trump is unhinged in his attacks on establishment Republicans.  

This is a seriously long shot… what happens if Trumpanistas actually split from the Republican Party?  Would Republicans still retain control of the House (assuming they have a majority when all votes are counted)?  Could a splintered Republican Party hand control of the HOR back to the Democrats?
 

[The Anti-Targ]

15 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Trump is unhinged in his attacks on establishment Republicans.  

This is a seriously long shot… what happens if Trumpanistas actually split from the Republican Party?  Would Republicans still retain control of the House (assuming they have a majority when all votes are counted)?  Could a splintered Republican Party hand control of the HOR back to the Democrats?
 

I assume you meant to post this in the US politics thread?

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Just now, The Anti-Targ said:

I assume you meant to post this in the US politics thread?

I did.  My sincere apologies.  If a mod would delete I would be most appreciative…

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

5 hours ago, A wilding said:

If I was a betting man then I would bet that the programmer was told by a corner cutting manager "of course we will have someone manually checking every promotion!" In fact there may well have been such a step in the process, only someone subsequently turned it off or removed it.

I'm not convinced it was the fault of an algorithm. Seriously there aren't that many holidays. You don't really need to automate that process. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

2 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

I'm not convinced it was the fault of an algorithm. Seriously there aren't that many holidays. You don't really need to automate that process. 

Just to be clear (Reichs-)Progromnacht* is not a holiday in Germany. Ironically, it's arguably the most German day in the calender (wrt 20th century).

1918 November revolution in Germany (it started on the 1st in Kiel, but it reached Berlin on the 9th) which ended the German Empire and WWI.

1923 Failed Coup attempt by Hitler.

1938 Night of the progroms (or broken glass).

1989 the Berlin Wall comes down.

 

(Reichs-)Kristallnacht is a term that isn't used anymore, as that downplays the terror. The Crystal refers to the broken windows from Jewish stores and Synagogues. So really, don't use that word.

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

1 hour ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Just to be clear (Reichs-)Progromnacht* is not a holiday in Germany. Ironically, it's arguably the most German day in the calender (wrt 20th century).

1918 November revolution in Germany (it started on the 1st in Kiel, but it reached Berlin on the 9th) which ended the German Empire and WWI.

1923 Failed Coup attempt by Hitler.

1938 Night of the progroms (or broken glass).

1989 the Berlin Wall comes down.

 

(Reichs-)Kristallnacht is a term that isn't used anymore, as that downplays the terror. The Crystal refers to the broken windows from Jewish stores and Synagogues. So really, don't use that word.

 

Yeah, "holiday" was the wrong word. Not intentional. My point is that a historically significant anniversary probably isn't something one would trust to an algorithm as part of a marketing campaign. Someone screwed up.  

I wasn't aware that "Kristallnacht" was an obsolete term. I've only ever heard it referred to that way. 

[Luzifer's right hand]

On 11/11/2022 at 12:57 AM, The Anti-Targ said:

When I asked my wife if she knew what Kristallnacht was she didn't know (and neither did I until right now). But when I asked her what The Night of Broken Glass was she knew immediately.

If someone at KFC was doing a human check on AI generated promotional material, and they didn't know their German history in German language terms then they could have completely missed the fact that this is a night that shall ever dwell in infamy rather than being a fun celebration of sparkly things.

Who needs to lose their job? Personally I think the company that provided KFC with the AI software for picking anniversaries that can be appropriately* used to promote the consumption of fast food. 

 

*Is there really any national/cultural/religious anniversary that is appropriate to promoting the consumption of fast food? I guess it should really be "not completely bloody inappropriate".

It happened in Germany and they actually used the term "Reichspogromnacht" which can't be confused with anything good in German unless you like killing Jews.

 

[Jon AS]

I think it's fairly easy to understand how the KFC thing happened, and throwing around terms like "AI" or "algorithm" makes it sound way more complicated than the simple human error that it probably was: somebody got the job of feeding their twitter bot with a list of "special occasions" at which it should send out special promotional messages. That person grabbed the first list they could find without double checking it and that's all there is to it.

The fanciest algorithm possibly involved here might be Gauss' Easter Algorithm, which would allow them to automate the process of calculating all the Christian holidays in Germany (every other national holiday has a fixed date, no calculation needed). But it might just be the case that some intern gets the job to manually change all the religious dates in a text file once per year.

[The Anti-Targ]

Wait, what? The KFC promotion used "Reichspogromnacht"? That's...I don't know what to call that sort of screw up. Thoughts of conspiracy start floating up, wondering if someone did it deliberately to try to ruin KFC's business in Germany.

[TheLastWolf]

I'm hearing rumours Iran has ordered the mass execution of 15000 arrested protesters. And worse before death.

Tell me it's false please

[kiko]

On 11/12/2022 at 12:27 PM, The Anti-Targ said:

Wait, what? The KFC promotion used "Reichspogromnacht"? That's...I don't know what to call that sort of screw up. Thoughts of conspiracy start floating up, wondering if someone did it deliberately to try to ruin KFC's business in Germany.

I have been with people while they were trying to eat KFC stuff. Fast food veterans. From their reaction, I can only assume that the conspiracy to kill that franchise in Germany is deeply rooted.