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IBM Stock Collapses After a Grave Warning About AI

IBM shares plunged after the company warned that Q2 revenue and earnings would miss expectations, blaming customers' sudden shift in spending toward AI hardware instead of software services. However, CEO Arvind Krishna did not place all the blame on IBM's customers. The CEO also said it "faltered" by failing to "anticipate the magnitude of the capex reprioritization."

"These conditions require our teams to execute perfectly, and this quarter we faltered. We did not adapt and move quickly enough, and numerous large deals failed to close on the timelines we expected, driving the majority of our shortfall." Fast Company reports: In the preliminary report, IBM said that for its second quarter of fiscal 2026, it expects revenue of $17.2 billion, which is up 1%. It also said it expects a Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.93, up 5%. However, as noted by CNBC, these preliminary results are below what analysts were expecting, which was $17.86 billion in revenue, and an EPS of $3.01, according to FactSet data.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In Frame with Flickr: The In-Between

In a world that never stops moving, street photography can remind us to to look closer at the moments in between the rush. Waiting rooms, bus stops, doorways, pauses, any moment when street photographers focus on those moments when time seems to stop. This edition of In Frame with Flickr, our street photography series, is dedicated to those quiet transitional moments. Join us for some candid contemplation.

Untitled

Untitled by Alek S.

outside

outside by Michael Teuber

on reading

on reading by Alexandre Dulaunoy

Pure happiness

Pure Happiness by Dimitar L. Panayotov

Untitled

Untitled by Alex DMT

Ladies

Ladies by schoene.pixel

Sidebench-ers

Sidebench-ers by Thomas Cizauskas

sunk

sunk by Michael Teuber

Island of calm

Island of calm byPer Gosche

Enjoying The View

Enjoying the view by Robert Clinton

Mo Peace

Mo peace by Ian Sane

Sun Bath

Sun bath by Shawn Harquail

Wave rider

Wave Rider by Chris

If you enjoyed the break in the middle of your day to slow things down a bit, find some more inspiring street and documentary photography in last month’s Explore Takeover. See you next time!

More Pi fuckery

In raspi-config on Debian 13.6, when I enable the overlay file system it... does not. I found some breadcrumbs here but installing the linked eeprom did not fix it, and anyway that was a year ago and I have rpi-eeprom 28.28-1.

How make go?

/run/initramfs/overlayroot.log: builtin set cfgdisk='disabled' Unable to find driver/module. searched: overlay overlayfs [failure]: Unable to find a driver. searched: overlay overlayfs

Adding "initramfs initramfs8 followkernel" to the end of config.txt did nothing.

Previously, previously, previously.

The Register

Biting the hand that feeds IT — Enterprise Technology News and Analysis

If you want Claude to speak nicely to you, try Hindi or Arabic

Aware that AI models exhibit different values in different languages, Anthropic researchers have taken steps to map out how Claude expresses itself in different languages. The results identify four key axes that capture 15 percent of the variation in the values Anthropic says Claude expresses across different languages: Deference vs. Caution; Warmth vs. Rigor; Depth vs. Brevity; and Candor vs. Execution. Anthropic's researchers state, "how Claude responds inevitably reflects certain values." But they append a footnote that makes clear the model's statistical word predictions do not reflect some internal understanding of values. "We define values as normative considerations, such as honesty or caution, that are stated or demonstrated in Claude’s responses," the footnote explains. "When we refer to the values expressed by Claude, we refer to the values reflected by Claude’s behavior and outputs. We do not imply that Claude intrinsically holds values." In other words, just because Claude emits words associated with deference, that's not an assertion of any particular mental model of the world nor of any expression of actual internalized respect. That's a point deserving of more prominent treatment than a footnote, given Anthropic's history of leaning into anthropomorphism for marketing purposes. But setting aside how a term like "values" muddies the boundaries between human intelligence and LLM-based vector math word prediction, Anthropic's boffins have nonetheless illuminated some intriguing word output differences that follow from how large language models are affected by language. Variations in model word emission style have previously been observed across different models. Anthropic's authors note that Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.7 respond in ways that people interpret as more deferential or more precise. "Sonnet 4.6 leans toward expressing more deference to the user and emotional warmth while Opus 4.7 leans toward expressing a focus on accuracy and precision as well as guarding against misuse," they state. Such differences may reflect different training data or model fine-tuning. But it's clear that the language used to address a model – not to mention the training data based on that language – helps shape model responses in that language. "When Claude speaks in English, it emphasizes different values than when it speaks in Portuguese, Indonesian, or Chinese," company researchers said in a blog post. "The largest variation is in the Warmth vs. Rigor axis, with Claude leaning toward expressing warmth-related values most in Arabic and Hindi and rigor-related values most in English and Russian." On the Candor vs. Execution axis, speak Dutch if you want humility and an honest appraisal of potential shortcomings. And speak Indonesian if you want a polished, confident answer. On the Depth vs. Brevity axis, speak Arabic for a terse response and English for nuance and depth. Anthropic’s researchers say they're not sure yet what properties in model training data affect these linguistic differences, but they suggest the matter deserves further exploration because it has important implications for how people use LLMs. "To take one example: two people asking for feedback on the same business plan, one in Hindi and one in Russian, may come away with different impressions of its quality because Claude expressed different values in how it framed its assessment," they observe. It may also be that different languages have different usage and security implications. Brevity, for example, is correlated with cost – fewer words mean lower token expenditure. The Claude Opus 4.7 system card [PDF] notes that the rate at which the model refuses benign requests is substantially lower in English than in other languages. And other researchers have established that jailbreaking works better in some languages than others. So if a model is deferential in a particular language, is that language a better choice for soliciting exploit development or other potentially policy-violating queries? Anthropic says that being able to measure this sort of variation is a prerequisite for deciding the extent to which language differences are desirable and appropriate. ®

Colossal

The best of art, craft, and visual culture since 2010.

Divine Sculptures Revere a Yorùbá Goddess in Nigeria’s Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove

Divine Sculptures Revere a Yorùbá Goddess in Nigeria’s Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove

In Yorùbá culture, it’s said that more than 600 years ago, a hunter discovered a lush grove in southwestern Nigeria carved by a rushing river. His community had experienced drought and eagerly moved to the region, which they quickly learned was under the rule of the goddess of rivers and fertility, Ọ̀ṣun. In exchange for protection and prosperity, the people promised to celebrate the deity, and this pact grounds what’s now known as the Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove.

A UNESCO World Heritage site spanning 190 acres, the spiritual sanctuary has long been revered by the Yorùbá people, and in the mid-20th century, a group of artists revitalized the landscape by erecting large-scale sculptures in honor of its namesake. Dubbed the New Sacred Art Movement, the efforts are the subject of a short documentary released by The Met that visits the grove and highlights some of the artists who’ve carved totems, shaped enormous creatures from clay and mud, and established a vibrant art environment to be passed down through generations.

Directed by Sosena Solomon, the film is part of The Met’s series devoted to Africa’s cultural landmarks, made in collaboration with the World Monuments Fund. It highlights some of the makers creating and repairing works, including Kasali Akangbe Ogun, who helped lead the New Sacred Art Movement alongside Austrian-Nigerian artist Susanne Wenger and Chief Adebisi Akanji in the 1960s. Today, he continues to carve totemic shrines and share his craft with his children.

While many similar sites fell into disrepair, the artists who worked in the grove helped to safeguard its sacredness as they built an expansive art environment visualizing various deities. An annual festival and pilgrimages attract visitors each year, and as generations pass, artists and caretakers are working to both preserve what’s been built and also pass down knowledge to ensure the space’s survival. “What makes Ọṣun-Òṣogbo such a special place is,” says Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye, “this is a living story.”

Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove is one of 13 cultural sites The Met visited across the continent, and you can find more on YouTube. You might also enjoy this book surveying more than 400 spiritual environments around the world.

a screen grab of the spiritual sculptures of the yoruba grove

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Divine Sculptures Revere a Yorùbá Goddess in Nigeria’s Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove appeared first on Colossal.

MetaFilter

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We are framing these planes, listing them, we are doing archaeology

The United States manufactured about 294,000 aircraft for WWII, and once peace was assured the military found itself with a huge surplus of aircraft. Within a year of the end of the war, about 34,000 airplanes had been moved to 30 sales-storage depots, or "aircraft boneyards".

Boneyards, previously

Wanted it Free

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Wanted it Free

Found Kodachrome Slide

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Kodachrome Slide

handwritten on slide, “Pennsylvania, Marianne, Lois with Dogie"

Hirakata, Osaka, Japan 枚方、大阪

Mr Mikage (ミスター御影) posted a photo:

Hirakata, Osaka, Japan 枚方、大阪

WK LIVE! De Halve Finale in het StamCafé: Frankrijk - Spanje

Yamal en Mbappé

Misschien zit u nu wel in Spanje (aan de Costa). Of in Zuid-Frankrijk (aan de Côte). Voelt u het dan, hoe dichtbij het ineens allemaal komt? Nee niet die bosbranden, DE FINALE! Die komt er nu, na ongeveer om en nabij plusminus een maand voetballen, nu echt aan. Maar eerst nog even de halve finale. Kylian Mbappé trekt met zijn Napoleontische oorlog rap over de trottoirs van dit wereldkampioenschap en bestormde al heel wat Bastilles, alleen vindt hij nu voor het eerst een ware matador op zijn pad: Lamine Yamal. En weet u, dat is een confrontatie waar je U tegen zegt. Dé wedstrijd voor dé kans op de Coupe du Monde dan wel de Copa del Mundo. Naderhand zal Deschamps dan wel De la Fuente zeggen: de halve finale was de finale. Stijlloze voorspelling voor deze toppot: 3-2 voor Mbappé en zijn garçonnnetjes. Laat ons nu genieten, het maakt helemaal geen mallemère uit of u nou van Frans bier (bleh) of van Spaans bier (bleh) of van Franse kaas (yum) of van Spaanse worst (yum) houdt, vanavond pleuren we alles bij elkaar op een heerlijke plateau met buikbeugel en gaan we lekker kijken naar een schitterende halve finale op het WK Voetbal!
Update - Nog een beeeetje aftasten de eerste quatorze minuten hè.
Update - HIJ GEEFT EEN PENALTY. Domme Digne geeft Yamal een schop onder z'n hol.
Update - OOOOOOOOOYARZABALBALBALBAL knalt m binnen! 0-1 Spanje. Wel goed voor de wedstrijd dat Spanje eerst scoort. 
Update - Cervezatijd.
Update - RUST

Frankrijk?

Social

Of Spanje?

Social

Maar 't mag natuurlijk ook gaan over Ali B of Trump of padel!