James Aponte

Not for me, "AI" aimed at consumers has very little offer anyone who actually does at a professional level the creative things it mimics. I write better than an LLM, an artist does better art than an image generator, a musician makes better music than an "AI" music tool.

I can’t begin to tell you how damaging “the world isn’t fair, get used to it” line has been to every child’s psyche growing up and therefore has led to a world that stays unfair. If we teach children to get used to an unfair world, we are destroying the possibility of a better world.

I continue to think that one of the reasons this country is falling apart is the wholesale abandonment of public virtue as a broadly shared aspiration. Or even something people should be embarrassed about if they don’t have it.

Werner Herzog on AI-Generated Movies: 'They Look Completely Dead' Herzog spoke with Conan O'Brien about the concept of truth and why AI is a

Werner Herzog voice:

“I’ve seen movies, short films, completely created by artificial intelligence. Story, acting, everything. They look completely dead. They are stories, but they have no soul…They are empty and soulless.”

One, that's not how copyright works and there will be an entire battalion of IP lawyers who will be happy to correct Open AI of this misapprehension, likely to the tune of billions of dollars, and two, fuck this shitty thieving waste of proteins and lipids

A black and white portrait of me sitting at a 3/4 angle, eyes looking into the lens. My hat has a Puerto Rican flag on it that remains in color, contrasting the black and white image around it.

I finally caved and had an actual photographer take my picture

“It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

here's my stance on moving out of america and not fighting against all this until im dead in the ground and back with my parents.

what can you do to fight this fascism? at its most basic level you can circulate good information. the right is excellent at pushing its narrative. the left sucks at it. we too often assume "everybody" has seen a story or some morsel of info already. they prob haven't.

share that story, video, etc

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - FDR

There👏are👏more👏of👏us👏than👏there👏are👏of👏them👏

I think the coolest thing you can do right now is live with integrity and care about the people around you, not just your friends and family but your community. Deny the lie they want you to believe, that taking as much as you can while giving nothing back is the goal.

One of these rich dudes invested in a food company with all proceeds going to kids in need. The other started Sundance Institute, boosting the lives of countless artists. Hey modern rich dudes, don't be a typical greedy AI crypto-prick, be like these two.

my favorite robert redford story is that mike nichols considered him for dustin hoffman's part in THE GRADUATE. during their conversation nichols asked redford something like, "have you ever struck out with a girl?" and redford's response was basically, "i don't understand the question"

a man with long blonde hair and a beard is holding a fishing rod Alt: Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson

When you use your fame and wealth from your artistic success to further good causes in the country and the world AND to help up-and-coming, young, independent, and outside artists find their own path and flourish

If you've been stressed about fascism in the US (and who the hell isn't?), I literally cannot recommend more strongly getting OUT and going to REAL EVENTS like this with people in your community who are DOING SOMETHING. An absolute balm for the soul - and it's HOW WE WIN.

Confusion, Anger, Relief: Korean Engineer Tells of Week in U.S. ICE Detention More than 300 employees at a Hyundai battery plant returned home after being detained in a Georgia immigration raid.

It should be way bigger news that Trump effectively killed any attempt by foreign countries to build new factories in the United States with this idiotic ICE move. Just incalculable long term damage.
Trump just killed his "build America" push www.wsj.com/world/asia/c...

🫡

It's clear to the rest of us, the majority, that our lives don't matter to Trump or institutions of power in this country.

Just look at how everyone, including the Yankees and former Presidents, come out to condemn Kirk's murder and offer sympathies as this country unleashes ICE on brown people.

This is the line that Dems need to push. It can't be simply. "Political violence is bad" it MUST be "Political violence is bad and Trump and his ilk are responsible for creating conditions ripe for political violence"

the right will give lip service to condemning political violence and then pivot to calling for migrants, blacks, women and trans kids to be abused and mistreated.

The term "slop" really gets under their skin, so we need to keep using it.

And it's rich calling us lazy when cutey here wants to create push-button podcasts with no work at all.

"Ugh! These people who want to research and put in the work are so LAZY!"

It's very satisfying how baby capybaras are just normal capybaras scaled down. A pleasing species

Last week, I saw a guy lay out an argument that Congress/cabinet should be chosen by random lottery selection.

My knee-jerk reaction was, "That's insane, we'd have so many unqualified people in charge."

Every day since has systemically destroyed any of my reasonable arguments against it.

This is a really important point about Trump's polling numbers that you would not get from most coverage about him

Human directors can and have completed unfinished or damaged works and that is artistically valid.

This is just a tacky commercial for AI filmmaking designed to supplant human artists

They’re using a famous filmmaker to increase acceptance for AI film. “Why wouldn’t you want this? Do you hate Orson Welles?”

Even hate-watching will help them, so don’t do that.

the msm has turned "must be objective" into "we cant assert basic facts"

About this Florida vaccine story:

When they were little - 1 yr and 3 1/2 - my two older boys, who’d had all their shots, got whooping cough.

We asked their pediatrician what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been vaccinated.

“Oh, they’d have died.”

It’s time for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries to step down | Mehdi Hasan This fascist moment, this age of Trump, demands outspoken, unrelenting and fearless opposition. We all deserve better

"It is past time for both Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to step down and step aside. This fascist moment, this age of Trump, demands outspoken, unrelenting and fearless opposition... we all deserve better."

I make the case, in my latest for The Guardian, for new leadership:

Imagining how galvanizing a simple "Democrats will never find common ground with racist thieves" would be, instead of being served this putrid gruel.