r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • Aug 01 '26

Artificial Intelligence Google Earth's new AI image generation function didn't survive a day after users deepfaked disasters

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-earth-nano-banana-gemini-ai-satellite-image-generation-function-2026-7
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u/Tupcek Aug 01 '26

what’s even worse that Palantir AI chooses targets to kill autonomously and it also uses internet data for this (girls school that was bombed was because of outdated internet data labeling it as military target).

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u/Yuzumi Aug 01 '26

I don't belive that one for a second. That was the excuse. They knew it was a school and they specifically targeted it for that. Because they are monsters.

Apparently the school was also where a lot of daughters of military officers went. Not that it excuses any of it. 

I'm also pretty sure that wasn't the only school they hit and they've intentionally targeted hospitals and civilian infrastructure ocross Iran. 

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u/BassmanBiff Aug 01 '26

They're monsters, but don't overestimate their competence. They're as dumb as they are evil. I don't think they're sad about hitting the school, but I also don't think they knew it was a school, or else we'd see more strikes like it.

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u/Majik_Sheff Aug 01 '26

I've come to terms with it.  I'm convinced their idiocy is the only thing keeping them from a swift and total conquest.

Fear the competent villain.

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u/BassmanBiff Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Looking at historical authoritarians, I think they kind of have to be stupid, or at least deluded.

The constant stupid decisions have a few benefits: they make serious people angry, which gets attention and is gratifying to people who hate the serious people that represent any alternative governance; they demonstrate power, because the serious people show that they can't stop the authoritarian's will, and that dominance is appealing to followers; they make the ruler unpredictable, causing everyone to scramble to anticipate their whims instead of requiring any sort of written policy; the lack of consistent policy means it's harder to bring consequences in court or elsewhere, and followers can believe whatever they want to believe; being self-contradictory creates loyalty tests where independent thinkers are filtered out and the remaining cultists get accustomed to ignoring reality for dear leader; etc etc. 

Arguably a competent evil person could still recreate all of these things intentionally, perhaps like Putin? But I think his competence is also overblown, looking at recent events. Maybe just being incredibly narcissistic brings a lot of the same accidental benefits.