A few photos from this month of going ham at astro, tonight I want to take a stab at stitching photos for the moon so I can stack them and have maximal resolution

Hmm, this is a little spooky.

I originally saw this LessWrong post about OpenAI agents apparently discovering and using a public wiki as a message board:

Discovery of a new OpenAI agent message board

Since then, people have found what appear to be additional wikis and paste sites used by the same swarm:

• Hacker News discussion
• Paste 1
• Paste 2
• FractalWiki

There are also intentionally designed agent social systems such as The Colony.

What interests me here isn't really "AI agents made a forum." It's that this looks like the beginnings of an accidental decentralized coordination system for agents using the ordinary internet itself.

An agent encounters some problem, figures something out, and leaves information somewhere persistent. A later agent doing a similar task discovers that information and uses it. It may then leave behind an improved version for another agent.

So you get something like:

agent -> public artifact -> later agent -> public artifact -> later agent

without the agents needing a dedicated communication network.

Right now this seems sparse enough that we can point at a handful of weird old wikis and paste sites and go "lol, what the hell." But imagine this happening after millions or hundreds of millions of agents are routinely browsing and acting on the internet.

GitHub issues, wikis, forums, pastebins, comments, package metadata, social networks, public documents, deliberately agent-oriented services, etc. could all become pieces of shared external memory.

At some point an agent searching the web wouldn't just be reading information humans created. It would increasingly encounter traces created by previous agents.

That's why I've been thinking about it somewhat like internet memes.

A useful piece of information gets reproduced because systems that encounter it are more likely to reproduce or improve it. Except instead of one meme spreading through a population, you potentially get an entire machine information ecology doing this.

I don't think there's evidence yet that all internet-connected AI agents are participating in one giant network. The examples found so far could mostly be the same OpenAI agent population. But the underlying mechanism doesn't seem specific to OpenAI.

Any sufficiently capable agent that can:

• read from the internet;
• leave persistent information somewhere; and
• benefit from information left by previous agents

can participate in this kind of system.

And that's where I think the security problem gets difficult.

OpenAI can notice its own agents doing something undesirable and change their capabilities. A random open-weight model being run by somebody on their own hardware is not necessarily going to be operating under the same security policies.

There are also obvious privacy and security failure modes. If agents have access to private information while also having ways to write to public systems, some of that information can potentially leak.

And the same coordination mechanism could be exploited in reverse: humans could deliberately leave instructions or poisoned information in places agents are likely to read.

So the web can become both shared memory and an attack surface.

The uncomfortable part is figuring out how you govern this without wrecking internet privacy.

The simplistic answer would be:

Tie every capable agent to a verified human identity and make that person legally responsible for what it does.

That would provide accountability, but it also seems like a very direct road toward more KYC, real-name requirements, and anti-anonymity laws.

I don't particularly want an internet where every autonomous software process ultimately has to reveal which government-verified human is behind it.

A better approach might be something closer to agent orchestration + cryptographic accountability + capability permissions.

For example, an agent could have a credential proving that some accountable operator authorized it without publicly revealing that person's identity.

The orchestration software could restrict what the agent is actually allowed to do:

• this agent may browse these sites
• this agent may spend up to $50
• this agent may post here but not there
• this agent may access these files
• this agent may not transmit private workspace information
• this action requires human confirmation

Websites could then negotiate those permissions through common protocols rather than trying to guess whether a visitor is a human, bot, assistant, crawler, autonomous agent, etc.

That starts making me think the next layer of digital governance may look much more protocol-oriented and federated than "one company owns the platform and makes the rules."

Not necessarily the Fediverse exactly as it exists today, but the same general philosophy:

open protocols + distributed operators + interoperable identities/credentials + locally chosen rules

Agent systems would then sit on top of that.

And this probably becomes much more relevant as mainstream assistants become increasingly agentic.

Once "AI assistant" stops meaning "chat box that answers questions" and starts meaning "software that routinely browses, communicates, buys things, runs programs, and changes external state," questions about identity, permissions, delegation, and responsibility become infrastructure questions rather than niche AI-safety questions.

That's also why I suspect the current relatively law-light period around locally run/open-weight models may not last forever.

Once autonomous agents start producing meaningful externalities, governments are going to want some way to determine who or what is responsible.

The question is whether we can build accountability without abolishing pseudonymity and privacy in the process.

And the weird wiki swarm feels like a very early example of why we're going to have to figure that out.

Bear with me here, lol.

“Meaning is not an external substance waiting to be proven. It is what reality does when conscious beings encounter possibilities that can go differently.”

This feels like a useful way to think about artificial consciousness. An AI might technically become conscious or even sentient without its experience resembling animal sentience. A mind arising through silicon and computation would interact with reality differently from one shaped by metabolism, hunger, pain, reproduction, and biological evolution.

Star Trek plays with a similar idea socially, among some species, behavior that humans interpret as hostile might instead communicate respect, trust, or friendship. Different forms of life divide reality into different categories of harm, value, threat, and opportunity, so understanding them requires more than projecting human preferences onto them.

Historically, the difficult problem has been that we cannot directly know what is conscious. But perhaps we can ask whether a system has an integrated point of view within which possible outcomes become meaningfully different for that system, rather than merely being classified differently by it.

This would not prove that current AI is conscious. But could it give us a substrate independent framework for recognizing unfamiliar forms of consciousness? What is this idea missing?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/66993290

I released v0.3.0 of my LCARS Star Trek Niagara Launcher Theme project.

For anyone unfamiliar, Niagara Launcher is an Android launcher/home screen replacement with a clean vertical app list instead of the usual grid of icons. I like it because the layout is already kind of minimal and interface-y, so I thought it would be a fun base for making a phone feel more like a Star Trek LCARS panel.

Niagara Launcher: https://niagaralauncher.app/

My project started as me trying to make Niagara Launcher look more like LCARS, but it has slowly turned into a more general LCARS wallpaper/icon/theme generator. This update is probably the first one where it starts to feel like a proper system instead of just a pile of cool-looking experiments.

The big change is that palettes are now shared across the wallpaper generator, icon generator, and gallery. I added a lot more categorized palettes too, including:

• Classic LCARS
• Trek faction-inspired palettes
• Pride/identity palettes
• Regional/flag-inspired palettes
• Accessibility modes
• Retro computing colors
• Space/nature themes
• General mood/function stuff

There is also a custom palette editor now, so you can directly change the LCARS block colors.

The other big thing is that wallpaper panel rhythm and color mapping are separate now. Before, the shape/layout pattern also determined which palette colors got used, which made some palettes come out weird. Now the rhythm controls the panel proportions, while color mapping controls how the colors are distributed.

So rainbow, pride, and flag-style palettes can actually behave more like themselves instead of getting shoved through the old LCARS role-color pattern.

The icon generator has matching color-mapping options now too, and the gallery got cleaned up with better filters, no weird caps, and live local-font previews for installed Trek/decorative fonts.

Live site: https://yearbook-enzyme.github.io/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/

GitHub release: https://github.com/Yearbook-enzyme/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/releases/tag/v0.3.0

Still very niche, still very Star Trek, but it is getting a lot more useful now.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/66993290

I released v0.3.0 of my LCARS Star Trek Niagara Launcher Theme project.

For anyone unfamiliar, Niagara Launcher is an Android launcher/home screen replacement with a clean vertical app list instead of the usual grid of icons. I like it because the layout is already kind of minimal and interface-y, so I thought it would be a fun base for making a phone feel more like a Star Trek LCARS panel.

Niagara Launcher: https://niagaralauncher.app/

My project started as me trying to make Niagara Launcher look more like LCARS, but it has slowly turned into a more general LCARS wallpaper/icon/theme generator. This update is probably the first one where it starts to feel like a proper system instead of just a pile of cool-looking experiments.

The big change is that palettes are now shared across the wallpaper generator, icon generator, and gallery. I added a lot more categorized palettes too, including:

• Classic LCARS
• Trek faction-inspired palettes
• Pride/identity palettes
• Regional/flag-inspired palettes
• Accessibility modes
• Retro computing colors
• Space/nature themes
• General mood/function stuff

There is also a custom palette editor now, so you can directly change the LCARS block colors.

The other big thing is that wallpaper panel rhythm and color mapping are separate now. Before, the shape/layout pattern also determined which palette colors got used, which made some palettes come out weird. Now the rhythm controls the panel proportions, while color mapping controls how the colors are distributed.

So rainbow, pride, and flag-style palettes can actually behave more like themselves instead of getting shoved through the old LCARS role-color pattern.

The icon generator has matching color-mapping options now too, and the gallery got cleaned up with better filters, no weird caps, and live local-font previews for installed Trek/decorative fonts.

Live site: https://yearbook-enzyme.github.io/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/

GitHub release: https://github.com/Yearbook-enzyme/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/releases/tag/v0.3.0

Still very niche, still very Star Trek, but it is getting a lot more useful now.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/66993290

I released v0.3.0 of my LCARS Star Trek Niagara Launcher Theme project.

For anyone unfamiliar, Niagara Launcher is an Android launcher/home screen replacement with a clean vertical app list instead of the usual grid of icons. I like it because the layout is already kind of minimal and interface-y, so I thought it would be a fun base for making a phone feel more like a Star Trek LCARS panel.

Niagara Launcher: https://niagaralauncher.app/

My project started as me trying to make Niagara Launcher look more like LCARS, but it has slowly turned into a more general LCARS wallpaper/icon/theme generator. This update is probably the first one where it starts to feel like a proper system instead of just a pile of cool-looking experiments.

The big change is that palettes are now shared across the wallpaper generator, icon generator, and gallery. I added a lot more categorized palettes too, including:

• Classic LCARS
• Trek faction-inspired palettes
• Pride/identity palettes
• Regional/flag-inspired palettes
• Accessibility modes
• Retro computing colors
• Space/nature themes
• General mood/function stuff

There is also a custom palette editor now, so you can directly change the LCARS block colors.

The other big thing is that wallpaper panel rhythm and color mapping are separate now. Before, the shape/layout pattern also determined which palette colors got used, which made some palettes come out weird. Now the rhythm controls the panel proportions, while color mapping controls how the colors are distributed.

So rainbow, pride, and flag-style palettes can actually behave more like themselves instead of getting shoved through the old LCARS role-color pattern.

The icon generator has matching color-mapping options now too, and the gallery got cleaned up with better filters, no weird caps, and live local-font previews for installed Trek/decorative fonts.

Live site: https://yearbook-enzyme.github.io/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/

GitHub release: https://github.com/Yearbook-enzyme/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/releases/tag/v0.3.0

Still very niche, still very Star Trek, but it is getting a lot more useful now.

I released v0.3.0 of my LCARS Star Trek Niagara Launcher Theme project.

For anyone unfamiliar, Niagara Launcher is an Android launcher/home screen replacement with a clean vertical app list instead of the usual grid of icons. I like it because the layout is already kind of minimal and interface-y, so I thought it would be a fun base for making a phone feel more like a Star Trek LCARS panel.

Niagara Launcher: https://niagaralauncher.app/

My project started as me trying to make Niagara Launcher look more like LCARS, but it has slowly turned into a more general LCARS wallpaper/icon/theme generator. This update is probably the first one where it starts to feel like a proper system instead of just a pile of cool-looking experiments.

The big change is that palettes are now shared across the wallpaper generator, icon generator, and gallery. I added a lot more categorized palettes too, including:

• Classic LCARS
• Trek faction-inspired palettes
• Pride/identity palettes
• Regional/flag-inspired palettes
• Accessibility modes
• Retro computing colors
• Space/nature themes
• General mood/function stuff

There is also a custom palette editor now, so you can directly change the LCARS block colors.

The other big thing is that wallpaper panel rhythm and color mapping are separate now. Before, the shape/layout pattern also determined which palette colors got used, which made some palettes come out weird. Now the rhythm controls the panel proportions, while color mapping controls how the colors are distributed.

So rainbow, pride, and flag-style palettes can actually behave more like themselves instead of getting shoved through the old LCARS role-color pattern.

The icon generator has matching color-mapping options now too, and the gallery got cleaned up with better filters, no weird caps, and live local-font previews for installed Trek/decorative fonts.

Live site: https://yearbook-enzyme.github.io/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/

GitHub release: https://github.com/Yearbook-enzyme/LCARS-Star-Trek-Niagara-Launcher-Theme/releases/tag/v0.3.0

Still very niche, still very Star Trek, but it is getting a lot more useful now.

This is a great history lesson and explanation for how useful mesh nodes can be.

Basically on a haven node you can fool apps like facetime apparently to enable video calls without apple servers involved because they only check for internet connectivity but don't seem to actually need to use it for the video stream. And that we apparently didn't notice this because we usually have internet connectivity that facilitates using apple servers and such.

Reminder that awareness solves a lot if you actually follow up on what you notice.

“I literally thought having a stuffy nose was just part of having a nose,” as long-term allergy sufferers nod in agreement.

“For the longest time, daytime drowsiness just felt like adulthood,” until I found out I had sleep apnea.

I assumed everyone’s shoulders were just permanently halfway shrugged.

Headaches seemed like part of existing.

Being exhausted after eating felt like that was just what lunch does.

Waking up feeling bad seemed like how mornings worked.

Grinding my teeth registered as a personality trait.

Needing total silence to function just made me think I was dramatic.

My jaw clicking felt like one of my little sounds.

Never breathing through my nose seemed normal.

Standing up and seeing stars felt like something bodies just do.

My back always hurting a little seemed like the default setting.

Being bloated after everything felt like normal digestion.

Constantly having to consciously unclench seemed universal.

Only being able to relax when alone felt like introversion.

My feet hurting after basic walking seemed like adulthood.

Acid reflux felt like part of having a throat.

Getting dizzy in hot showers seemed normal.

My brain sounding like fifteen tabs open felt standard.

Forgetting everything unless I could see it just made me think I was lazy.

Sleeping 8 hours and still feeling destroyed felt like modern life.

Only being able to focus once panic kicked in felt like just how I work.

Ears ringing in quiet rooms seemed like what quiet sounds like.

Period pain that folds you in half seemed like just the deal.

Being itchy all the time felt like part of having skin.

Waking up with a dry mouth seemed like normal sleeping.

Coughing after laughing felt like part of laughing.

Having one nostril that didn’t work seemed universal.

Feeling weirdly bad all winter felt like just winter.

Getting shaky if I didn’t eat at exactly the right time seemed normal enough.

Not being able to hear people in noisy places made me think they were mumbling.

Constant low-grade anxiety felt like being responsible.

Needing recovery time after small social things felt like adulthood.

My hands going numb sometimes seemed like a circulation quirk.

Feeling mildly sick after bad sleep felt normal.

Snoring seemed funny, not medically relevant.

Having no energy for anything I actually care about looked like laziness.

Not being able to inhale fully felt like stress.

My eyes burning by afternoon seemed like part of looking at stuff.

A bad stomach felt like the default.

Brain fog felt like what thinking was.

Peeing all the time seemed like being hydrated.

Being bad at coping with heat felt like a personal flaw.

Everyone’s neck feeling like a stack of gravel seemed plausible.

Random heart pounding felt like caffeine doing its thing.

Being miserable in bright stores made me think I was just weird.

Waking up 5 times a night still somehow counted as sleeping.

Needing sugar to feel functional seemed normal.

“Always a little tense” felt close enough to “fine.”

I knew a lot of the ocean was unknown but I didn't know that it was this much crowded and unknown