In order to help train its AI models, Meta (and others) have been using pirated versions of copyrighted books, without the consent of authors or publishers. The company behind Facebook and Instagram faces an ongoing class-action lawsuit brought by authors including Richard Kadrey, Sarah Silverman, and Christopher Golden, and one in which it has already scored a major (and surprising) victory: The Californian court concluded last year that using pirated books to train its Llama LLM did qualify as fair use.

Always fun to develop a record-selling game. You lose your job as a thanks! 🤮

Via webcomics name

The war in Iran has caused a spike in gas prices that is hitting California consumers especially hard, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Dubai has only ten days of fresh food left after the closure of the Straits of Hormuz has cut the United Arab Emirates (UAE) off from all its imports, including food. In Abu Dhabi, with the prospect of the region becoming unliveable, real estate prices are also collapsing.

Sgt Benjamin N Pennington, 26, died from injuries sustained during Iranian strike on airbase in Saudi Arabia

After a high-profile antitrust lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday that it has tentatively settled with Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation.

A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.

But this isn’t just about professors; it’s about all of us. This is the most flagrant attack on higher education in my lifetime. Why are politicians reducing public colleges and universities to vehicles of state propaganda? Why are self-proclaimed proponents of free speech turning around and using state repression to enforce speech codes on our campuses? Why can’t we speak openly about our social world in sociology classes? Why are unqualified appointees from the business world dictating to Ph.D.-holding academics how they should teach and which textbooks they must use?

The publishers allege the shadow library is facilitating “staggering” levels of piracy. While the site’s owners are not likely to put up a defense, the publishers’ main goal appears to be to obtain an injunction that can apply further pressure on domain registrars and registries.

Emails from the Jeffrey Epstein files show the late pedophile trying to connect far-right tech mogul Peter Thiel and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak on at least six separate occasions.

🔗

“Iran does not want to harm ordinary Americans who overwhelmingly voted to end involvement in costly foreign wars,” the embattled country’s foreign minister said.

Pay securely with an Android smartphone, completely without Google services: This is the plan being developed by the newly founded industry consortium led by the German Volla Systeme GmbH. It is an open-source alternative to Google Play Integrity. This proprietary interface decides on Android smartphones with Google Play services whether banking, government, or wallet apps are allowed to run on a smartphone.

Nancy Classics by Ernie Bushmiller for March 9, 2026 | GoComics

“Use of generative AI among game developers has declined after rising sharply in 2025, according to new data from the Game Developer Collective and Omdia. The survey shows 29% of developers reported using generative AI tools in early 2026, compared with 36% during the same period in 2025.”

Maybe idk

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/60450659

Iran’s internet connectivity was currently running at “around 1% of ordinary levels,” monitor group Netblocks said on Thursday, leaving most Iranians struggling to access basic information, navigation tools or communication apps.

By waging war in the Middle East, Trump is set to further strain one of his key voter bases.

Those who have never endured the relentless ringing of tinnitus can only dream of the torment. In fact, a bad dream may be the closest some get to experiencing anything like it.

The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor.

I hope everyone who wants to be on permanent DST experiences an eternity of the first day of spring forward, never rested again

Article

50,000 high school students skipped school again on Thursday, March 5, rallying in over 130 cities across Germany in a second nationwide strike against the reintroduction of military service. The first strike last year coincided with the Bundestag, the German parliament, voting in favor of reinstating and modernizing military service (*Wehrpflicht*). Just three months later, the movement has more than doubled in size.

I think this recent post by AI industry CEO Matt Shumer is worth a read. In it, he basically explains how quickly LLMs (large language models) are evolving to supplant many developers and programmers, and how that disruption is coming to other industries quickly. He also warns critics of AI to adjust their priors and realize the AI tools you mocked just six months ago, aren’t the ones in use today:

Did you spot a fish? Press the Fish Doorbell! Then our lock keeper can let the fish through.

On Jan. 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security paid $102.4 million in cash for an 825,620-square-foot logistics warehouse on Wright Road in Washington County, Md. The purchase closed without public notice, without environmental review and without consultation with state or local authorities.

A couple of timely blog posts remind us that RSS is alive, well, and can help you resist enshittification of the Web.

Archive: https://archive.ph/MESzb

Group says more military units have just been activated for deployment than the public knows about

Honestly, this really bums me out…