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The Download: a blockchain enigma, and the algorithms governing our lives

MIT Technology Review

Jean-Paul Thorbjornsen, an Australian man in his mid-30s, with a rural Catholic upbringing, is a founder of THORChain, a blockchain through which users can swap one cryptocurrency for another and earn fees from making those swaps. THORChain is permissionless, so anyone can use it without getting prior approval from a centralized authority. As a decentralized network, the blockchain is built and run by operators located across the globe. During its early days, Thorbjornsen himself hid behind the pseudonym "leena" and used an AI-generated female image as his avatar. But around March 2024, he revealed his true identity as the mind behind the blockchain. If there is a central question around THORChain, it is this: Exactly who is responsible for its operations?



Incorporating Geographical and Temporal Contexts into Generative Commonsense Reasoning

Neural Information Processing Systems

Recently, commonsense reasoning in text generation has attracted much attention. Generative commonsense reasoning is the task that requires machines, given a group of keywords, to compose a single coherent sentence with commonsense plausibility. While existing datasets targeting generative commonsense reasoning focus on everyday scenarios, it is unclear how well machines reason under specific geographical and temporal contexts.





Inside the App Where Queer Gooners Run Free

WIRED

In light of Zoom crackdowns and Skype shutting down, Batemates has emerged as an alternative for "bators" who like masturbating together online. One night not long ago, Jaxon Roman sat naked in front of his laptop wearing only a pup hood as he masturbated with single-minded zeal to the attention of eight other men watching onscreen. It was a typical weekday for the 33-year-old Arlington, Virginia, program analyst. "When bros praise me and say they're enjoying [me], I get to that edge point so fast," Roman says. His favorite instances are "when they all come to what I'm doing." Sometimes, when he's feeling especially kinky, Roman, who is bisexual, likes to ask for permission before climaxing.