Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[DarloRich]

I mean, in the long run, Volkswagen and Porsche recovered from their associations with Nazism. Porsche (the man) wasn't even properly de-Nazified.

Only after the companies were restarted after the war under different leadership. Volkswagen was restarted by a British army major. Porsche by the son/nephew (?) of the founder. Mind you he was in the SS, apparently!

 

[brad465]

Bad news guys, AI is now woke

Apple AI tool transcribed the word 'racist' as 'Trump'

Experts have questioned the company's explanation that it is due to the two words being similar.

www.bbc.co.uk

Apple says it is working to fix its speech-to-text tool after some social media users found that when they spoke the word "racist" into their iPhones it typed it out as "Trump."
The tech giant has suggested the issue with its Dictation service has been caused by a problem it has distinguishing between words with an "r" in them.
"We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today," an Apple spokesperson said.
However an expert in speech recognition told the BBC this explanation was "just not plausible."
Peter Bell, professor of speech technology at the University of Edinburgh, said it was more likely that someone had altered the underlying software that the tool used.
Videos shared online, external show people speaking the word "racist" into the Dictation tool.
Sometimes it is transcribed correctly - but on other occasions it is turned into "Trump", before being quickly restored to the correct word.
The BBC has not been able to replicate the mistake, suggesting Apple's fix is already taking effect.
Prof Bell said Apple's explanation of phonetic overlap did not make sense because the two words were not similar enough to confuse an artificial intelligence (AI) system.
Speech-to-text recognition models are trained by inputting clips of real people speaking alongside an accurate transcript of what they say.
They are also taught to understand words in context - for example, they could distinguish the word "cup" from "cut" if it was within the phrase "a cup of tea".
Prof Bell says the situation with Apple is unlikely to be a genuine mistake with its data because its English language model would be trained on hundreds of thousands of hours of speech, which should give it a high level of accuracy.
For "less well-resourced languages" he said it could be an AI training issue.
But he said in this case: "it probably points to somebody that's got access to the process."
A former Apple employee who worked on its AI assistant Siri told the New York Times:, external "This smells like a serious prank."
Apple had to row back on another AI-powered feature last month after complaints from the BBC and other news organisations.
It suspended its AI summaries of news headlines after it displayed false notifications on stories - including one where it said tennis player Rafael Nadal had come out as gay.
The company announced yesterday it would be investing $500bn (£395bn) in the US over the next four year, including on a large data centre in Texas to power Apple Intelligence.
The company's chief executive Tim Cook also said it may have to change its policies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) after President Donald Trump has called for an end to DEI programmes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Feb 2025 ==

Depends how much Musk cares.

It's hard to see how Tesla recovers with him involved at the moment. Dreadfully stained brand.

His money is involved, so I am going to guess "a lot".

This may sound weird but I think he’s so cooked now mentally that I’m not even sure he’s the hard nosed businessman he once was.

I am almost certain he has next to no involvement in running the companies he is CEO of, and only really turns up for publicity stunts. First of all being CEO of something like 4 companies at once, and run a pseudo-government department, is stupid and nobody in this state can put all their efforts into running any of the properly. Second, he appears to spend almost all his waking time surfing X/Twitter, which definitely means he's not doing anything for the other companies. Perhaps though given his current nature, it's a good thing for those companies he's not running them properly.

 

[najaB]

This video was shared on the official Instagram channel of the current office holder of POTUS.

In accordance with forum policies on offensive language, no comment is provided.

 

[Gloster]

This video was shared on the official Instagram channel of the current office holder of POTUS.

In accordance with forum policies on offensive language, no comment is provided.

This has apparently been around for a week or two, but only now has Trump posted it on his channel. It can reasonably be inferred that, in the absence of any critical comments by Trump, that he approves or endorses it, although he may not have actually had any part in its production.

However, yet another ‘new low‘ to chalk up.

 

[najaB]

It can reasonably be inferred that, in the absence of any critical comments by Trump, that he approves or endorses it, although he may not have actually had any part in its production.

More to the point, it hasn't been taken down.

 

[AlterEgo]

Quite apart from the horrific content, the AI is just awful. Horrible.

 

[dcbwhaley]

Depends how much Musk cares.

It's hard to see how Tesla recovers with him involved at the moment. Dreadfully stained brand.

And the association with his name demeans a very fine engineer and scientist

 

[Bayum]

It wouldn’t surprise me if in ten or twenty years time, collusion between Trump and Putin during the last 4 years was unearthed. This whole scenario has played too easily into their respective hands with extremely little payback or consequence to Russia.

 

[brad465]

The Human Centipede 4: Musk's first Cabinet meeting featuring Donald Trump:

Live updates: Elon Musk joins Donald Trump's first White House cabinet meeting

The billionaire adviser to the president spoke at the beginning of the meeting with the heads of agencies such as the state department and Pentagon.

www.bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting of his second term ended up becoming an extended hour-long question and answer session between the president and reporters.

He confirmed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will be heading to the White House on Friday, unveiled plans to sell $5m (£3.9m) "gold card" visas and announced that tariffs on the European Union are coming "very soon".

The person who dominated the meeting was not Trump or a cabinet member, but Elon Musk, who has become one of the president's top advisers. At the meeting, the tech billionaire defended his efforts to slash federal government jobs but admitted his team will make mistakes along the way.

Democrats, meanwhile, have been firing back at both Trump and Musk, with one senator calling them "out-of-touch billionaires" who "do not know what they're doing".

That's not the only thing that's been happening today - earlier lawmakers on the Doge subcommittee gathered to probe US spending cuts to foreign aid, and Donald Trump is expected to sign some more executive orders further cutting federal spending later this afternoon.

We're closing our live coverage. For more analysis, read my colleague Bernd Debusmann Jr's five key takeaways from today's cabinet meeting.

 

[edwin_m]

We also note the passing of the SS United States, still officially the world's fastest ocean liner. Currently being towed to Florida to be deliberately sunk in the "Gulf of America".

There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

 

[brad465]

The old thread on Andrew Tate is locked, so am putting this here as it also may have relevance to Trump. The Tate brothers appear to have their travel ban abruptly lifted and are now heading for the US. By happy coincidence last week there were reports Trump was pressuring the Romanian authorities to lift it. While we can't say for sure this was the reason for the ban being lifted, this at the surface looks like blatant criminal case interference:

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate leave Romania on jet bound for the US, sources tell BBC - live updates

Prosecutors confirm the brothers' request to be able to leave Romania has been accepted, but they remain under investigation.

www.bbc.co.uk

What we know - and don't know - so far
​

As we've reported, sources have told the BBC that Andrew and Tristan Tate left Romania on a private jet bound for the United States from Bucharest earlier this morning.

We do know from Romanian authorities that they very much maintain "judicial control" and the case has not been dropped.

What has changed is the Tate brothers' request to be able to leave the country has been given the green light, but both will be expected to return to Romania.

We don't yet know where in the US the private jet is destined for, but we are monitoring where it might be heading. We are also waiting to hear from the Tate brothers themselves.

Why have they been allowed to leave Romania now? And what part did the US, if any, have to play?

These are some of the questions we're trying to answer, and we'll bring you more information as we get it.

 

[Gloster]

Andrew Tate is an odious **** whose every tweet and ‘thought’ is lapped up by gullible young men. I wonder why Musk and Trump seem so fond of him.

 

[Harpo]

Andrew Tate is an odious **** whose every tweet and ‘thought’ is lapped up by gullible young men. I wonder why Musk and Trump seem so fond of him.

So many options for those four stars!

 

[brad465]

Looks like we can "look forward" to a second Trump visit:

Zelensky told to leave White House after angry spat with Trump and Vance

The Ukrainian leader was told to leave the White House after an angry exchange with the US president.

www.bbc.co.uk

Keir Starmer hands Donald Trump a letter from King Charles - it's an invitation for a second state visit, which he calls "unprecedented".

Trump says he's happy to accept the invitation.

Given he's been showing cognitive decline, if the visit is put off till nearer the end of his term, it's possible he either won't survive to have the visit, or would have to withdraw for health reasons. IMO if this hypothesis played out, this would be the best of both worlds: flatter Trump with a visit to put off bad treatment, but then not actually have to do the visit.

 

[simonw]

Looks like we can "look forward" to a second Trump visit:

Zelensky told to leave White House after angry spat with Trump and Vance

The Ukrainian leader was told to leave the White House after an angry exchange with the US president.

www.bbc.co.uk

Given he's been showing cognitive decline, if the visit is put off till nearer the end of his term, it's possible he either won't survive to have the visit, or would have to withdraw for health reasons. IMO if this hypothesis played out, this would be the best of both worlds: flatter Trump with a visit to put off bad treatment, but then not actually have to do the visit.

Or just tell him that the visit was a great success without him coming here.

 

[dosxuk]

Looks like we can "look forward" to a second Trump visit:

Is that balloon still available?

 

[brad465]

Is that balloon still available?

I remember the West Somerset Railway also had a nameplate for their American steam loco called "Trump's revenge", which was being shown off when the last state visit occurred.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Feb 2025 ==

Oh and it just so happens Trump is now claiming he didn't call Zelensky a dictator, despite a Truth Social post clearly showing he did (so he is either gaslighting, flip flopping, forgetting, or all of the above):

Zelensky told to leave White House after angry spat with Trump and Vance

The Ukrainian leader was told to leave the White House after an angry exchange with the US president.

www.bbc.co.uk

The BBC's political editor Chris Mason points out that Trump previously referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "dictator". Does he still believe that?

"Did I say that, I can't believe I would say that", Trump replies.

For context: Following criticism from Zelensky on the meeting held between the US and Russia last week, Trump described the Ukrainian leader as a "dictator" - echoing Russia's claims - in reference to the fact Kyiv has not held an election since 2019.

An election was scheduled for May 2024, but it was suspended because Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia began its full-scale invasion.

Image caption,
The Truth Social post from 19 February in which Trump called Zelensky a "dictator without elections"

 

[DarloRich]

Just a heads up. It might be worth seeking out the Trump/Vance tag team assault/press conference against Zelensky that has just taken place

Wowsers. Never seen the like. Mafia protection rackets are more subtle!

 

[YorkshireBear]

Just a heads up. It might be worth seeking out the Trump/Vance tag team assault/press conference against Zelensky that has just taken place

Wowsers. Never seen the like. Mafia protection rackets are more subtle!

Maybe worth discussion in the invasion thread to keep it in one place but it is definitely quite something.

 

[alistairlees]

Just a heads up. It might be worth seeking out the Trump/Vance tag team assault/press conference against Zelensky that has just taken place

Wowsers. Never seen the like. Mafia protection rackets are more subtle!

It was indeed extraordinary. Difficult for anyone to handle well, let alone do it in a non-native language. I can’t help but think that Zelensky did not play it well though. He needed to pander to trumps ego, as part of a diplomatic charm offensive. Zelensky’s goal was to get trump to feel he could do at least as good a deal with him as he could with putin. It’s not going to do zelensky much good domestically either. But it must be incredibly difficult to adjust and negotiate with people who clearly don’t give a stuff, whilst seeing your own country destroyed and occupied, by a dictator who’s now back in favour.

 

[YorkshireBear]

It was indeed extraordinary. Difficult for anyone to handle well, let alone do it in a non-native language. I can’t help but think that Zelensky did not play it well though. He needed to pander to trumps ego, as part of a diplomatic charm offensive. Zelensky’s goal was to get trump to feel he could do at least as good a deal with him as he could with putin. It’s not going to do zelensky much good domestically either. But it must be incredibly difficult to adjust and negotiate with people who clearly don’t give a stuff, whilst seeing your own country destroyed and occupied, by a dictator who’s now back in favour.

I think this would be my take too. He had to play this cleverly and unfortunately did not get the opportunity.

 

[Lloyds siding]

The message that you must be deferential, subservient and tug your forelock to the current administration if you want support from the U.S. is a message to all heads of state. Diplomacy it isn't. If I was Zelinsky I'd walk, but he probably feels he can't, and the Don will get some minerals at a very good price.

 

[DustyBin]

What on earth have I just witnessed?!

That was extraordinary to the point that it almost looked staged (I don’t actually think it was).

 

[AlterEgo]

What on earth have I just witnessed?!

That was extraordinary to the point that it almost looked staged (I don’t actually think it was).

Trump and Vance clearly did have a strategy there - Vance started it - and I feel they probably thought Zelensky would give them an opportunity to grandstand. He did just that and was taken apart for the purpose of increasing Trump's popularity among his base.

 

[Lloyds siding]

" It'll make great television." Well, sort of, but my view is that the audience reception in the rest of the world will be different to the USA (not that they care).

 

[Falcon1200]

I could scarcely believe what I was watching; These two are the leader of the free world and his deputy?!! Hopefully many Americans will be as aghast at their behaviour as we are.

 

[DanNCL]

These two are the leader of the free world and his deputy?!!

In my opinion they're not leading the free world at all, they're leading their own bubble in cloud cuckoo land whilst back in the real world Europe and Canada put them to shame.

 

[Gloster]

I think that the time has come for Starmer to decide on which side this country stands: it is clear that his actions up to now, possibly intended to try and act as a bridge of moderation between Europe and the USA, haven’t worked. Not only is openly supporting Europe and the Ukraine the morally right, and probably more domestically and politically popular, thing to do, we can be quite sure that with the present pair in the White House, one day we will be dumped in the **** for the USA’s convenience. We have been taking the bullets, sometimes literally, for the US for a long time: the next time is likely to be much worse for no thanks or reward.

 

[DanNCL]

I think that the time has come for Starmer to decide on which side this country stands: it is clear that his actions up to now, possibly intended to try and act as a bridge of moderation between Europe and the USA, haven’t worked. Not only is openly supporting Europe and the Ukraine the morally right, and probably more domestically and politically popular, thing to do, we can be quite sure that with the present pair in the White House, one day we will be dumped in the **** for the USA’s convenience. We have been taking the bullets, sometimes literally, for the US for a long time: the next time is likely to be much worse for no thanks or reward.

Absolutely. And with Trump seemingly holding the UK in higher regard than the rest of Europe (sans Russia), it might be the wake up call that Trump needs. If it isn't a wake up call for Trump though it's still the right thing to do. Siding with leaders like Trump never ends well.

 

[sor]

I think that the time has come for Starmer to decide on which side this country stands: it is clear that his actions up to now, possibly intended to try and act as a bridge of moderation between Europe and the USA, haven’t worked. Not only is openly supporting Europe and the Ukraine the morally right, and probably more domestically and politically popular, thing to do, we can be quite sure that with the present pair in the White House, one day we will be dumped in the **** for the USA’s convenience. We have been taking the bullets, sometimes literally, for the US for a long time: the next time is likely to be much worse for no thanks or reward.

I'd be inclined to agree. The diplomatic route and fluffery like the "unprecedented" letter/state visit didn't succeed, so time for hard ball. Starting by cancelling that visit.

I doubt any promises made about not tariffing the UK would be kept either.