A study conducted in Germany found that men with higher IQs are less inclined to traditional values, but the lead author, psychologist and intelligence researcher Maximilian Krolo of Saarland University, said the researchers did not find these differences among women.

The middle distribution of Gen Z’s feelings about AI range from apprehension to downright hatred. Despite the fact that more than half of Gen Z living in the U.S. uses AI regularly, according to a recently released Gallup poll, less than a fifth feel hopeful about the technology. About a third says the technology makes them angry. And nearly half say it makes them afraid.

Gallup’s own senior education researcher, Zach Hrynowski, blamed the bad vibes at least partially on the dwindling job market. The oldest Zoomers, he told Axios, are the angriest, as they are “acutely aware” of the ability of a technology to transform cultural norms without a second thought, unlike a Gen Xer who is trained to see new technology as toys and are still “playing around with AI.”

Indeed, job prospects for the recently graduated Gen Z are abysmal; Bloomberg just reported that 43% of young graduates are “underemployed,” meaning taking on jobs that require less education than they have.

[...]

This is not just a Gen Z problem, either. In the American heartland, data centers are being proposed at a pace that local communities never anticipated and for which they were never asked permission, and they’re increasingly pushing back.

The numbers are serious. According to a report from 10a Labs’ Data Center Watch, at least $18 billion worth of data center projects have been blocked and another $46 billion delayed over the past two years owing to local opposition. At least 142 activist groups across 24 states are now actively organizing to block data center construction and expansion. A Heatmap Pro review of public records found that 25 data center projects were canceled following local pushback in 2025 alone, four times as many as in 2024, with 21 of those cancellations occurring in the second half of the year as electricity costs grew.

The concerns driving this resistance are less about existential AI risk and more about typical kitchen-table complaints; communities consistently cite higher utility bills, water consumption, noise, impacts on property values, and green space destruction as their primary objections. Water use is mentioned as a top concern in more than 40% of contested projects, according to a Heatmap Pro review of public records.

The policy change follows years of Meta and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot of political convenience toward President Donald Trump and his base. Following Trump’s second electoral victory, Meta quickly changed its speech rules to allow for anti-transgender slurs and dehumanization of immigrants, The Intercept previously reported, aligning the company with longtime MAGA culture war grievances.

Asked about the new restrictions on the word “antifa,” Meta spokesperson Erica Sackin pointed to a March transparency report that noted the company would “remove QAnon and Antifa content when combined with content-level threat signals.” The report does not explain what those signals are. Meta did not respond when asked if the company had discussed its antifa speech rules with the Trump administration.

Meta largely outsources the enforcement of its Community Standards rules to low-paid contractors whose interpretation and application of the policies can vary. The company’s automated, algorithmic content moderation systems are also famously glitchy. This combination can result in erratic censorship, particularly when political ideology is classified as violent or terroristic.

anybody else old enough to remember Pearl Jam testifying before congress on this? Just me? Ok... -sneaks off-

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17474967

Ramsey Khalid Ismael — better known as Johnny Somali, the infamous American streamer arrested in Japan, Israel, and South Korea for his provocative behavior — has been imprisoned in South Korea.

This appears to be part of the "Parents Decide Act" announced earlier in April by Gottheimer, as just one step in the process. So expect a lot more to come. Some bullet point plans from it:

- Require operating system developers like Apple and Google to verify users’ ages when setting up a new device, rather than relying on self-reported ages.
- Allow parents to set age-appropriate content controls from the start, including limiting access to social media, apps, and AI platforms.
- Ensure that age and parental settings securely flow to apps and AI platforms, so content is tailored appropriately for children.
- Prevent children from accessing harmful or explicit content - including inappropriate AI chatbot interactions - by creating a consistent, trusted standard across platforms.

Currently, the bill is only in the introductory stage so it hasn't yet passed and become law, so if this is important to you in the US you may want to speak to your representatives.

Source [web-archive]

I am sorry, but isn't it 99% not about "children protection" but general surveillance for everyone wrapped up in a "pretty" package that plays, again, on fears as the parenting and unforeseen future backed up with the "time-saving" features for those who are in a hurry within the same system?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/41310487

posting she-ra adjacent memes weekly to sustain moral: 15

Virginia signs national popular vote bill into law, joining interstate compact with 17 other states and District of Columbia

A national majority vote for president is one step closer to reality after the Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger, signed the national popular vote bill into law, joining an interstate compact with 17 other states and the District of Columbia.

Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, states would assign their presidential electors to the winner of the popular vote, regardless of the results within the state. The compact takes effect when states representing a majority of electoral votes – 270 of 538 – pass the legislation and thus would determine the winner of the presidential contest. With Virginia, the compact now has 222 electors.

Every state that has so far enacted the compact has Democratic electoral majorities, including California, New York and Illinois. But legislation has been introduced in enough states to reach the 270-elector threshold, including swing states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The man who suggested people drink bleach during the COVID pandemic is back with another hit.

Donald Trump reportedly thinks soda is good for him, because it kills grass — and therefore it must also kill cancer cells.

The wild revelation comes via Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s administrator for Medicare and Medicaid, who shared the anecdote on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast Tuesday.

“Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass if you pour it on grass, so therefore it must kill cancer cells inside the body,” Oz told Trump Jr. in disbelief, to which Trump Jr. just laughed and shrugged knowingly.

A few days ago I made a post to gauge this community's opinion on whether it should allow nice comics by bigoted artists. I think we have a consensus.

The majority of comments were very in support of banning comics by artists like Stonetoss and Jago. I heard from queer people who said they'd feel safer if the rules were changed. A lot of people were concerned about this community becoming a "Nazi bar", the comment expressing that feeling got a LOT of upvotes.

The people against the change had two main arguments: anti-censorship, and personal responsibility. A few people equated active moderation practices with book burning. Nearly all of these "against" comments were downvoted or ratiod, and tended to have a lot of arguments underneath them, while the "pro" comments went uncontested.

On the internet, 10% of people will disagree with just about anything. With that in mind, I think we've reached a consensus. The community wants a rule change so that users can't post inoffensive comics by bigoted artists.

That means no more Jago comics. I see a lot of people in the comments under the Jago posts, getting angry and saying they want this rule change. People aren't happy with the user who's posting all the Jago comics.

Mods, this is what we want. Please change the rules and get Jago's comics outta here.

This has been featured around the Innernet recently, so why not here? Personally, my biggest skepticism is that I suspect it actually needs a mix of dark soy sauce and a much lighter sauce that floats on top?

I dunno though, maybe the 'trenches' are so deep that it works with simple soy sauce? Pretty dang clever, either way.

In the spirit of Starship Troopers, if you'd like to know more:
https://www.boredpanda.com/dishes-sauce-images-appear-3d-print-japanese-redestu/