I think the main difference between original trilogy and KOTOR series would be whether or not the Force has a will - original series treats the Force extremely closely to the concept of Tao (Lucas being a methodist buddhist), without any particular ‘agenda’

KOTOR2, especially Kreia, treats the Force more sapiently, and as something that can be killed - which seems to contradict Obi-Wan’s original description of it in a New Hope (if the Force is created by living things and binds the universe together, then surely you could only “destroy” the force if the universe and living things in it are gone).

OTOH, you could easily say that Kreia is unreliable, which would make this interpretation simply Kreia’s perspective, rather than KOTOR2 trying to adjust canon. Or you could also say that Obi-Wan is simplifying things greatly since he doesn’t have much time, and he isn’t exactly truthful about other things, either. (And it’s been a few years since I played the KOTOR games so I could be misremembering)

It’s also fair to say that George Lucas doesn’t always follow George Lucas’ original vision… (i.e., midichlorians, which certainly depart from original buddhist inspirations). Personally, taking the “original vision” and cleaving to whatever was made first isn’t important to me, so long as you can tell a good story I don’t mind what retcons/worldbuilding changes happen.

Probably falls under same case law with Sony’s VCRs being able to record cable TV way back when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc. Though this predates use of internet for streaming/piracy/etc, supresupreme court could interpret differently now

I think DS9 works if you consider it more as a “show about star trek” rather than just as “star trek”. E.g., it’s a good deconstruction of what is “necessary” for a utopia, or for looking at the limits of how a utopia van operate in practice.

DS9’s characters and their dynamics are my favorite amongst any star trek show, but I think it’s fair to say that the show does not stick to the core world building “pillars” of star trek. However, I think it would be unfair to dismiss it as simply edgy for the sake of edginess.

(Similar to KOTOR and star wars - really cool how the game turns the idea of the Force on its head, but definitely not in line with George Lucas’ vision. I would still want to see a movie about this anyways)

I agree that it’s too early, but disagree that it would never be possible. If the EU can successfully move away from Microsoft like they’re trying to do now, then I think that will provide an excellent model for moving away from other tech monopolies.

Personally, I prefer social communities to not be so heavily monetized. On the other hand, it would be nice if Frendica ran a bit better, but I can hardly complain if I’m not giving any time/money to that project to make it so.

Ghibli might be a more interesting case study - Miyazaki repeatedly said that he did not write his stories with an audience in mind besides himself, but his movies quite clearly have universal appeal. His stories are quite clearly grounded in his own culture, but they touch on universal human experiences.

However, there are definitely stories with a specific audience in mind that do not have universal appeal (e.g., Transformers smut fanfic) though generally authors are aware of this.

I think there are also folks who write stories with an idea in mind of universal appeal, but do not understand themselves enough to actually do so - things they take for granted as “common sense” may not actually be human universals. Or, because they fail to say anything at all in their work, it ends up fading into the background. (I don’t believe in sociopolitically “neutral” works, we are all shaped by our beliefs and cultures).

These works aren’t necessarily bad, either- I think Andy Weir has said a few times in interviews that his works aren’t meant to be “political”, but the two that I’ve read (The Martian, Project Hail Mary) are both a sort of “sci fi optimism” about people from different nations coming together to solve a problem. That may be “common sense” to some people, but it is certainly NOT a universal (even if I do share the outlook that people of Earth should work together to help each other regardless of national boundaries).

Exactly. Star Trek takes place in utopia - and the creators’ version of utopia is one with equality, freedom, and respect for all. If someone’s version of utopia doesn’t align with this, I think that says a lot more about them than it does about how “woke” Star Trek is

The article is 5 paragraphs long. Is it really that hard to read it and answer your question? Nevermind, I think I misread your comment. Sorry!

What Sony is specifically trying to do is see if any AI song can be traced to specific songs- e.g., if someone prompted “make me a song in the style of Lady Gaga”, would Sony be able to conclusively determine this based on the outputting song?

I am a bit skeptical of this working, but then again, there were some image generators spitting out gettysburg watermarks.

I think you misread it - 71% said drive. 29% is still pretty bad, but it is kind of a “who is buried in grants tomb” question.

Yes, it’s disingenuous for him to bring up all the time used for humans to evolve as well. If we’re going to go that far, we also ought to include the energy/time used by the engineers who created ChatGPT, and all the energy used by plants/animals in the evolution leading to those engineers. Not to mention all the time/energy/training of all the people who created the training data over the past few centuries.

Frankly, at that point, any human artist is more “efficient” than AI - they’re able to master their field in mere decades.

I think if he meant it that way he would have said that, instead of talking about the energy that humans use and particularly talking about food.

Ah, adverse possession is also an excellent tactic! Of course, that’s also something that takes time, but definitely not a bad idea

Not every action has to solve every issue immediately. Things take time. Long term, tenants’ unions are ideal, best coupled with legislation to break up these property management companies and private equity firms that have a stranglehold on shelter.

A mass rent strike is an excellent demonstration of people power and a good first step in that kind of long term operation. If you have a better idea on an action that both mobilizes a large number of people and has an immediate impact, you should certainly share it. There are plenty of avenues of attack here.

I think it’s fair to expect students to use computers in a programming class. I don’t know if there’s a need for students to be using computers for the entire school day

Yep - I’ve already been bugging my grandma to get a passport so that she will be able to vote if SAVE act passes (she changed her name when she married, but doesn’t have a passport since she’s never left the country). Gotta avoid doomerism and make the fascists fight for every inch we can.

I’m torn on this - Christianity (particularly evangelical christianity) has had an extremely negative effect on democracy in our country and has caused physical harm to others.

However, I think most people with a conscience subscribe to some form of philosophy or religion (even if atheists aren’t “loyal” to any particular perspective and may not even use titles/categories to describe their value system) and I think it’s fine for your morals/conscience to influence decision making. Even a purely scientific decision making process could be considered a form of philosophy.

That being said, most organized religion is about obedience to the tenets of said religion, not a method of asking questions about the world to try to find the most just way to proceed.

Taking a case is different from outright barring state authorities from accessing evidence.

See the Luigi Mangione case for an example of state having free access to evidence even in a federal case… Feds don’t seem to have any trouble with sharing evidence there.

I know everyone wants to be a doomer about things like this, but Minneapolis has demonstrated clearly to the nation what organization can do. This is a good way to provide solidarity with neighbors who cannot go out and work due to ICE occupation. By making it so that nobody pays rent, it means landlords will not be evicting those who are most vulnerable right now.

It’s a good strategy.

Yet another instance in which the “free speech” right didn’t actually care about the 1st amendment, they just wanted to say the n word on Twitter without people yelling at them.

I wonder if they realize how obvious it is to others that their morals are a lie

Strangely, I find old Star Trek more comforting in times like these. Though perhaps that’s the nostalgia talking