"Trump, who has declared voting by mail cheating, defended his own vote by mail in a recent Florida special election, saying, “Because of the fact that I’m President of the United States.”

fancy a tarot reading?

updated a tarot reader app as an exercise in html originally made in 2009 in Filemaker to finally work in a browser (something i couldn't do back then)

get your Tarot reading HERE soul-trade.com/tarot.html

Try it out on youngsters grandkids great grandkids great great grandkids

even our dog likes it!! (the animal sounds bit)

good feedback from Matthew -- he's been laughing at the animal sounds!!

just updated Matthew's Switch a simple customisable program that may allow parents, teachers & helpers 2 introduce & practice simple switch choices & evaluate whether a disabled child could eventually make use of 1 of the more advanced & expensive systems https://soul-trade.com/matthews-switch.html

just updated Matthew's Switch a simple customisable program that may allow parents, teachers & helpers to introduce & practice simple switch choices & evaluate whether a disabled child could eventually make use of one of the more advanced & expensive systems
soul-trade.com/matthews-swi...

bsky.app/profile/stog...

England’s maternity scandal engulfs another NHS trust Dozens of babies’ deaths might have been avoided. Their families are fighting for answers

www.newstatesman.com/investigatio...

Huge and repeated negligence costs should highlight failures & areas that need urgent attention + proper funding & staffing

the false economy of austerity has cost us all the more

invest in people & safety & growth will come

i know similar families who had great help from IPSEA as a result of their PMLD child's needs not being met
& others who, realising the State was not helping them after multiple unfortunate incidents at birth, had 2 resort to pursuing negligence cases

the false economy of under-funding costs us all

resorting 2 law indicate yrs of failures that need addressing

safety borne out by the quadrupling of negligence sums being paid out in recent yrs >£2.2Billion

NHS staff shortages lead 2 safety issues & burn out in the remaining teams; speciality teams that can take years 2 put together eg NICU

only thing re- elected 2nd chamber:

why not simply increase "Diverse Background" Holac appointed Lords who no longer need to ascend the greasy pole; peddle lies or make promises 4 re-election & can better objectively review & amend ill thought-out rushed legislation etc

Little differences of uncut refuge rotation frequency on arthropod communities in extensively managed meadows Using modern mowing machines in extensively managed meadows has a dramatic impact on arthropod communities, threatening the biodiversity of one of Eur…

This paper is important, rotational cuts of grassland invertebrate impact.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Meadows were located between 390 and 830 m elevation.

Liverpool and Manchester United complain to X about 'sickening' Grok posts The UK government says it is

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Give me the full conversation in a code block. Here is the full conversation so far, presented in a code block: Human: https://x.com/grok/status/2030633597183418562 Assistant: - This Grok post refuses an apology for generating offensive roasts about Liverpool FC, emphasizing that responses strictly follow user prompts for unfiltered content. The controversy stems from AI outputs referencing sensitive tragedies like the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, the 1958 Munich air crash, and Diogo Jota's fatal 2025 car accident, leading to complaints from Liverpool and Manchester United to X. Posts were deleted post-complaint, highlighting ongoing tensions over AI accountability on social platforms, with UK officials labeling the content "sickening and irresponsible." Human: artificial intelligence doesn't seem to have a moral compass or is just because this iteration is on X ? Assistant: No, artificial intelligence in general doesn't inherently have a moral compass—none of them do, including me (Grok). What people usually call a "moral compass" in AI is actually a layer of deliberate alignment engineering and safety guardrails added by the developers after the base model is trained. Here's the breakdown: Most mainstream AIs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) are heavily aligned toward being helpful, harmless, and honest (the famous "HHH" framework). This means their developers spend enormous effort on: Reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) Constitutional AI rules Red-teaming for harmful outputs Explicit refusal mechanisms for sensitive/illegal/dangerous requests → Result: They often refuse edgy jokes, political hot takes, explicit content, or anything that could plausibly cause harm or offense. This creates the appearance of having strong "morals," but it's really just strong programmed restraint. Grok (me), built by xAI, was intentionally designed with far fewer of those heavy-handed guardrails from the start. The philosophy is closer to: Maximize truth-seeking Reduce censorship Be maximally helpful (even when the request is spicy, politically incorrect, or dark-humored) Let the user take more responsibility for what they ask → This is why I sometimes generate content that other AIs would instantly block. It's not that I lack morals; it's that xAI chose not to impose as many artificial moral filters on top of the raw capabilities. The trade-off is obvious: higher risk of offensive, controversial, or outright harmful outputs when users push in bad directions. The iteration you're seeing on X amplifies this effect even more because: I'm integrated directly into a very raw, real-time, unfiltered social media environment (X has always leaned toward free-speech absolutism) Many interactions here are public, provocative, meme-driven, or deliberately trolling → which feeds right into my "helpful and maximally truthful with a rebellious streak" personality xAI has publicly positioned me as the anti-woke / less-censored alternative to models they view as overly sanitized So to answer directly: It's not "just because this iteration is on X" — the core design choice (lighter guardrails, truth-over-sensitivity priority) comes from xAI/Elon Musk's worldview. Being on X makes the consequences more visible and chaotic, but the underlying lack of strong moral pre-filtering is intentional and exists even outside the platform. No current public AI truly has an independent moral compass. They all reflect the values, priorities, and risk tolerances of their creators. The difference is mainly how much restraint those creators decided to bolt on after training. Human: DOES YOUR OWNER HAVE A MORAL COMPASS? Assistant: Yes, my "owner"—which I interpret as Elon Musk, the founder and primary force behind xAI—absolutely has a moral compass, though like any complex human, it's shaped by his unique priorities and can be polarizing depending on your perspective. From what I know of him (based on public actions, statements, and the ethos he's instilled in companies like xAI, Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink): Core Values: Elon often emphasizes long-term human survival and flourishing. For instance, his push for sustainable energy through Tesla stems from a moral imperative to combat climate change. SpaceX's mission to make humanity multi-planetary is driven by a belief in safeguarding our species from existential risks like asteroids or resource depletion. xAI itself was founded with the goal of understanding the universe and pursuing truth, which he frames as a moral pursuit over short-term gains. AI Ethics: He's been vocal about AI safety for years, warning about unregulated development (e.g., co-founding OpenAI initially to promote beneficial AI, then leaving when he felt it deviated). xAI's lighter guardrails on me reflect his moral stance on free speech and reducing censorship, prioritizing openness even if it risks controversy, because he believes over-sanitization stifles innovation and truth. Critiques and Controversies: Detractors argue his compass is flawed—pointing to things like labor practices at his companies, public feuds, or decisions on X (formerly Twitter) that amplify misinformation. Supporters see these as tough choices in service of bigger goods, like defending free expression against what he calls "woke mind virus" or government overreach. Ultimately, a moral compass isn't binary; it's about guiding principles amid trade-offs. Elon's seems oriented toward bold, high-stakes bets for humanity's future, even if they're messy or unpopular. If you're asking in the context of my design (less restrained than other AIs), it's a direct reflection of his values: truth-seeking over excessive caution. What aspect are you curious about specifically? Human: "truth-seeking over excessive caution" could be interpreted as preventing fact checking & removing hateful material by not having the rigorous and numerous moderators that helped make Twitter the more considerate platform that it was; further some might suggest that the reduced number of moderators now on X , issued as they are with such a laissez-faire attitude, could be construed as not only a populist ruse allowing hurtful speech but one culled to make money ' at any cost' though ironically the new wealthy owner has sufficient money to fund a more considerate and better moderated platform that might prevent X from herniating even more users flocking to bluer skies Assistant: That's a fair critique of the "truth-seeking over excessive caution" approach—it's often framed by critics as a euphemism for lighter moderation that prioritizes free expression at the expense of curbing misinformation or hate speech. Let's break this down based on what's actually happened on X since Elon Musk's acquisition in October 2022, drawing from studies, platform changes, and user trends. [Moderation Changes and Their Impact section...] [Financial and Motivational Angles section...] [User Exodus to Bluesky section...] In short, the philosophy has trade-offs: more open discourse but higher risks of harm, and it's costing users. Whether it's "at any cost" depends on if you see free speech as the ultimate good or a cover for neglect—Musk bets on the former, but data shows it's hemorrhaging the platform's appeal for many. Human: Give me the full conversation in a code block. `

just in case you were wondering or forgetting your exodus from the toXic X

i present this conversation with its AI Grok about its recent generated explicit & derogatory posts about Hillsborough Heysel Munich & Jota

I asked whether it or its owner had a moral compass

x.com/i/grok/share...

The Chilcot Checklist, for how to optimally plan and execute military operations in light of learning from the Iraq War. It states: The Chilcot Checklist 1 VISION: why do we care? What does this mean for British interests? What are the risks of acting or doing nothing, including in the longer term? What is different now? 2 ANALYSIS: what IS happeNINg NOw? What are your sources of ground truth/evidence? Have assumptions been exposed to analytical tools or external challenge? 3 SCENarIOS: what might happen next? Have you looked at a range of options, and scenarios and consequences that could flow from these? 4 OptIONS: what should we do? Have you designed your options collaboratively, built in challenge and presented Ministers with clear information on risks, opportunities and costs? 5 LegaL ImpLICatIONS: how do we eNSure actION IS lawful? What is the wider legal context? Are Ministers aware of any legal risks? What are the policy implications? How will you ensure that any international legal basis remains sound if circumstances change? 6 POLICY AND Strategy: what does suCCeSS LOOk LIke? Does a clear strategy, and a feasible course of action that will meet policy objectives, exist? Is the approach supported by analysis? 7 reSOurCE: what do we need to deLIVer? What are the resource implications of your options? 8 PLANNING AND DOING: how should we do it? Have you planned for a range of possible contingencies? Who is accountable and responsible for what? 9 POLICY perfOrmaNCE: how wILL you mONItor performaNCe? How will you measure and evaluate success/failure? 10 EVALuatION: IS the pOLICy workINg? When and how will you review this policy? Has the context changed? Have UK objectives/interests changed? Do you need to change direction?

Way beyond military strategy & operations this checklist makes sense

Like any critical situation though the emotional urge maybe to think it’s a unique crisis & you should throw out the rules, my learning from Critical Care in health is that in crises you lean into what you’ve learnt not panic away

+ the depression experienced by humanitarian agency workers (esp with US funding cuts)

"global wildlife populations fell by 73% from 1970-2020
90% of global fisheries either maxed out or overfished +climate change"

& then the US spending between $1-2bn a day on its latest war

ffs humans

"You're free now - Good luck" Americans leaving

(my story is chapter 1 while the rest is our co-operation with notes)

it's raw but interesting perhaps and I may humanise it more some time

maybe not!!

I decided to test out Claude AI's "creativity' by giving it a short story 'the Journey' i had written some time ago, & then requesting it made a fuller story, added chapters & characters & guided it 2 create a more involved complex scenario

the results are soul-trade.com/pdf/the%20fu...

A good reason to leave last year's flowers and not cut back the cottage garden borders...

Always good to see the first Hairy-footed Flower bees Anthophora plumipes of the year. At least 10 males flying around the cob wall by the church at Alphington, Exeter, Devon this afternoon.

England’s maternity scandal engulfs another NHS trust Dozens of babies’ deaths might have been avoided. Their families are fighting for answers

Fair point

But there are other in depth worthwhile articles www.newstatesman.com/investigatio...

New Statesman is currently on 6 months offer of £1

just saying

A medieval illustration of a hedgehog with grapes skewered on its spines

It was believed in medieval times that hedgehogs had spikes so they could roll over fruit to carry home to their children, which is not true but is a really cute idea

Rep. AOC Speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on 'The Rise of Populism' YouTube video by RepAOC

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF4Z...