Tootfinder

"nothing about us without us"? good. "only we can moderate ourselves, all other input is unwelcome"? bad

This is the Wikipedia definition for human intelligence. Artificial intelligence (in the form of LLMs) does literally none of these things.
It doesn't act by itself, it isn't self-aware[1], it doesn't learn[2], it doesn't understand or form concepts[3], it doesn't logic or reason[4], it doesn't recognize patterns[5], plan, innovate, solve problems, make decisions[6], retain information or even use language to communicate[7].
LLMs are a simulated model (aka it's not real) of human intelligence. Models, in scientific parlance, are just that: they don't try to explain how a process works, they try to achieve the same outcome as a natural process (usually in an effort to perhaps learn something about that process).[8]
There simply is no "AI". Anyone telling you about how LLMs are sentient or sapient or will murder us is 100% bullshitting.
[1] There is nothing to be aware about, they don't have physicality. They're literally long lists of numbers.
[2] Models themselves are static, they're the result of machine learning, but can't grow beyond the initial state.
[3] LLMs don't "know" anything. It's matrix multiplications without permanence or embodiment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding
[4] Because they can't understand or form concepts, they can't reason about them.
[5] This requires memory, which LLMs don't have. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_recognition_(psychology)
[6] Memory and understanding are required. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision-making
[7] All it does it getting an input in the form of a lot of numbers and returns statistically likely follow-up numbers.
[8] "A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model

So the wave of spam-registrations I figured wouldn't really affect us here on the tiny server with registrations closed and clear instructions that only users who know us personally are welcome and we will check.
Turns out no. Our server has run out of email credits from sending lots of email-validation messages.
Hope everyone remembers their passwords, coz password-reset emails and notification emails and whatnot won't be going out for a little while.
All .jp addresses and about half of them bounced as not real email anyway.
Started 10am yesterday, not an hour gone by without some since.
Nothing even clicking those activation links I don't think, certainly nothing filling in the "So who do you know then?" form to create an account.
With email notifications not working, replies to moderation actions could be slower. Not that there's ever much really.
I've turned registration off entirely. Probably should be that way anyhow really here. If you want an account, ask someone who has one personally.
#spam #mastodon

I've been meaning to go to the #Congleton #UKtrains