GROK 3.0 is wonderful and terrifying. Plus some helpful info about epistemic scope/context per GROK chat.

"It's the kind of Clarkean technology magic that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck." - Dr Bruce R. Long

Open an Imgur account and you can use the Longshot simple social media post tool for free right here.

I got tired of all of the free trial social media post and schedule tools that would severely limit my ability to simply post a given image and some text across the social media platforms that I use: Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, Substack, Blogger. So I used LLMs to generate a very basic system (which I had to tweak a bit, again using LLMs) which at least prevented me having to copy and paste to each new social media site.

TO USE

1. Log in manually to all of the social media sites you want to post to in the same browser window using different tabs. *Required

2. Go to this page.

3. Enter the content in the form fields, and use the post buttons to publish.

4. Go to the auto-opened pages and check and post.

YOU NEED AN IMGUR CLIENT ID

This is so you don't have to upload your images to this blog, but still don't have to use URLs for images, which approach often fails in social media sites.

 

Go to imgur to set up an imgur client ID. 

NO TO imgur

If you don't want to use imgur, there's a less powerful clipboard based version here which uses your local system's clipboard to store the image for you to paste into each target site.

NEXT VERSION

Update 1: Make the post action for each target SM site automatic too. This might take some time as it involves the use of each target platform's API.

Chinese Renhai Class Destroyer One Third the Cost of Australia's Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer and Has About Twice the Firepower

I'm no expert on matters nautical, nor matters martial or military. However I decided to check out the specifications of the Chinese Renhai class missile destroyer which was in international waters off Australia's East coast this week.

It's a monster. It has two banks of universal vertical launch system - or missile tubes - one that accomodates 64 missiles and the other which houses 48. It has 16 more 'missile tubes' than the 64 cell + 32 cell USA Arleigh Burke class missile destroyer.

Source of Following Data: Wikipedia

Class overview
Builders	Changxingdao-Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai, and Dalian Shipyard, Liaoning
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Cost	CN¥6 billion (US$888 million) per unit including R&D (FY 2017)[1]
Built	2014–present[2]
In service	2020–present[3]
Planned	16[6]
Building	4[4]
Active	8[5]
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer Guided-missile cruiser (per NATO)
Displacement	11,000 tonnes (standard)[7] 12–13,000 tonnes (full load)[8]
Length	180 m (590 ft 7 in)[8]
Beam	20 m (65 ft 7 in)[8]
Draught	6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)[2]
Installed power	6 × QD-50 turbine generators (5 MW (6,700 hp) each) Total: 30 MW (40,000 shp)[9]
Propulsion	COGAG 4 × QC-280 gas turbines (28 MW (38,000 hp) each) Total: 112 MW (150,000 shp)[9]
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)[2]
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)[2]
Complement	300+[10]
Sensors and processing systems	Type 346B Dragon Eye (C/S-band) radar[11] X-band radar[11]
Electronic warfare & decoys	Electronic warfare system[11] Type 726-4 decoy launchers[12]
Armament	1 × 130 mm H/PJ-45 gun[13] 1 × 30 mm H/PJ-11 CIWS[13] 1 × 24-cell HHQ-10 short range surface-to-air missile launcher[14] 112 GJB 5860-2006 VLS cells[8] HHQ-9 long range surface-to-air missiles[8] YJ-18A anti-ship missiles[8] YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles[15] CJ-10 land-attack cruise missile[8] Anti-submarine missiles[8] 2 × sets[16] of 324mm torpedo tubes[14] Yu-7 torpedoes[16]
Aircraft carried	2 medium-lift helicopters[17] Harbin Z-9[17] Changhe Z-18[17] Harbin Z-20[18]
Aviation facilities	Stern hangar[17] Helicopter landing platform[17]

Hobart class Air Warfare Missile Destroyer

As you can see from the above data, the Renhai class is about US$888 million per unit including research and development costs. 

The Hobart Class, which has just less than half the armaments, is more than twice the price. The data below shows the unit price of the Hobart class at AUS$3.01 billion, or roughly USD$2.1 billion according to today's exhange rate.

Source: Wikimedia

Source of Following Data: Wikipedia

Class overview
Name	Hobart class
Builders	Navantia (designer) AWD Alliance (project coordinator) ASC (primary shipbuilder) Forgacs Group and BAE Systems Australia (module builders)
Operators	Royal Australian Navy
Preceded by	Perth-class destroyer and Adelaide-class frigate
Cost	A$9.1 billion (2020)[1][2][3] for 3 units + ToT (est.) A$3.03 billion (2020) per unit (est.)
Built	2009–2020
In commission	2017–present
Planned	3
Active	3
General characteristics (as designed)
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,000 tonnes (6,900 long tons; 7,700 short tons) full load
Length	147.2 metres (483 ft)
Beam	18.6 metres (61 ft) maximum
Draught	5.17 metres (17.0 ft)
Propulsion	Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) arrangement 2 × General Electric Marine model 7LM2500-SA-MLG38 gas turbines, 17,500 kilowatts (23,500 hp) each 2 × Caterpillar Bravo 16 V Bravo diesel engines, 5,650 kilowatts (7,580 hp) each 2 × controllable pitch propellers
Speed	Over 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	Over 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	186 + 16 aircrew Accommodation for 234
Sensors and processing systems	Aegis combat system Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1D(V) S-band radar Northrop Grumman AN/SPQ-9B X-band pulse Doppler horizon search radar Raytheon Mark 99 fire-control system with two AN/SPG-62 continuous wave illuminating radars 2 × L-3 Communications SAM Electronics X-band navigation radars Ultra Electronics Sonar Systems, hull mounted sonar and towed sonar[4] Ultra Electronics Series 2500 electro-optical director Sagem VAMPIR IR search and track system Rafael Toplite stabilised target acquisition sights
Electronic warfare & decoys	ITT EDO Reconnaissance and Surveillance Systems ES-3701 ESM radar SwRI MBS-567A communications ESM system Ultra Electronics Avalon Systems multipurpose digital receiver Jenkins Engineering Defence Systems low-band receiver 4 × Nulka decoy launchers 4 × 6-tube multipurpose decoy launchers
Armament	Missiles: 48-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch System firing: SM-2 Standard missile RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile SM-6 missile (Sydney) Tomahawk cruise missile (Brisbane) 2 × 4-canister Harpoon missile launchers (Brisbane) 2 x 4-canister Naval Strike Missile launchers (Hobart & Sydney) Torpedoes: 2 × 2-tube Mark 32 Mod 9 torpedo launchers firing MU90 Impact torpedoes Guns: 1 × 5"/64 calibre Mark 45 mod 4 main gun 2 × 25mm M242 Bushmaster Mk 38 mod 2 Typhoon RWS 1 × 20mm Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried	1 × MH-60R Seahawk

  

The Ethics of Deep Learning AI and the Epistemic Opacity Dilemma: When You Don't Know What Exactly the Deep Learning System is Doing.

The Ethics of Deep Learning AI and the Epistemic Opacity Dilemma https://blog.apaonline.org/2020/08/13/the-ethics-of-deep-learning-ai-and-the-epistemic-opacity-dilemma/… via @apa_blog

The Ethics of Deep Learning AI and the Epistemic Opacity Dilemma https://t.co/bs0bqWIneG via @apa_blog

— Bruce Long (@BruceRLong) February 20, 2025

Piantadosi, S. (2023). Modern language models refute Chomsky's approach to language. [Unpublished manuscript]. Retrieved from https://lingbuzz.net/lingbuzz/007180 

Informational Identity Theory and Traditional Process-orientated Identity Theory: The Difference.

Consciousness, that elusive and deeply personal experience of being, has puzzled philosophers and scientists for centuries. What is it? How does it arise?

A compelling new perspective comes from philosopher Bruce R. Long, who proposes an informational identity theory of consciousness. This theory posits that consciousness is not some mysterious substance or epiphenomenon, but rather identical to certain kinds of information processing.

Identity theory is not new, so what's the new proposal? It's about emphasising complexly processed cognitive and perceptual information, rather than brain processes.

Long argues that specific types of information, when structured and processed in particular ways, constitute conscious experience. It's not just any information, though. It's information that is intrinsically semantic – meaning it carries inherent meaning – and is organized in a way that allows for complex representations and self-awareness. Think of it like this: a digital image is just a collection of data, but when that data is processed and interpreted by a computer, it forms a meaningful image that a human can perceive. Similarly, certain kinds of organized, meaningful information, when processed by a suitable system (like a brain), are consciousness.

This informational identity theory stands in contrast to more traditional, process-focused identity theories. Those theories often identify consciousness with specific brain processes. Long's theory, however, focuses on the information being processed, not just the physical processes themselves. Consciousness, in this view, is identical to adequately complexly processed information within perceptual and cognitive information processes. It's not simply caused by these processes; it is these processes at the informational level of description. This distinction is crucial. It means that consciousness could potentially arise in any system capable of processing the right kind of semantic information in the right way, not just biological brains.

This informational identity theory offers several intriguing possibilities. It suggests that consciousness isn't limited to biological brains. If we can create artificial systems that process the right kind of semantic information in the right way, they too could potentially be conscious. It also provides a framework for understanding different levels of consciousness, from the simplest awareness to complex self-reflection, as variations in the complexity and organization of the underlying information.

Long's theory is still being developed and debated, but it offers a fresh and potentially groundbreaking approach to understanding consciousness. By focusing on information as the fundamental building block, it provides a bridge between the physical world and the subjective experience of being, opening up new avenues for both scientific investigation and philosophical inquiry. It challenges us to rethink what it means to be conscious and suggests that the key might lie in understanding the intricate dance of information that makes up our inner lives.

Reference

What is Informational Identity Theory?