TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  78

  Top AI inventor Geoffrey Hinton reluctantly concluded that AI will probably humanity fairly soon

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  geoffrey hinton, major inventor of artificial intelligence: .

  “if you take the existential risk seriously, as i now do—i used to think it was way off, but now i think it’s serious, and fairly close—it might be quite sensible to just stop developing these things any further, but i think it’s completely naïve to think that would happen.

  there’s no way to make that happen.

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  TonusOH

  It depends on what we're referring to. There is no one all-encompassing AI, and that would be very difficult to implement even if we wanted to. But AI systems can break things, not out of a desire to do harm, but because they are not configured correctly and people come to expect them to be perfect. We're human, we learn as we go. Sometimes we have to learn the same lessons over and over.

  But, yes- most of the time, the quick and easy solution is to turn it off. Very few AI systems will be able to prevent that, unless we program them to.
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  32

  Elder Arrested For Decades Long Abuse

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  not sure if this has already been posted:.

  https://kdvr.com/news/affidavit-religious-elder-abused-raped-children-for-decades/ .

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  TonusOH

  Fisherman: Are you saying this guy is guilty even if charges were dropped and no trial to convict him?

  I'm saying that I believe his accusers. Maybe this large group of disparate people with many accusations of misconduct and sexual assault over many years are making it all up. I don't think they are.

  Fisherman: According to you everybody is s guilty simply because they are accused.

  I didn't say that every accusation against any person is true. Where did you get that idea?
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  32

  Elder Arrested For Decades Long Abuse

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  not sure if this has already been posted:.

  https://kdvr.com/news/affidavit-religious-elder-abused-raped-children-for-decades/ .

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  TonusOH

  They mention an "arrest affidavit." I didn't know what that was, it apparently is a report that the arresting officer files. Based on the article, it looks like a number of people went to the police to file charges, and the affidavit lists the accusations in order to present a cause for the arrest. I fear this will not end well for the victims.

  My guess is that they'll look for anything they can charge him with, but he probably will not be charged with most of the crimes and may be acquitted of any that he is charged with. These are very tough cases to prosecute- there is probably little or no physical evidence, and witness testimony in such cases (that occurred many years prior) can be very inconsistent and easy to attack in cross-examination.

  It is a reminder of how damaging the WTS's policies and actions have been over the decades. You have to wonder how many men like this are out there, who will essentially get away with serial rape for many years, aided by misguided policies and people unprepared to deal with the issue and unwilling to seek help.
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  36

  DISSOCIATION - Based on Covid 19

  by gavindlt in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear friends,.

  i think you all know me as a person who has always strived, despite my imperfections to only ever wanting to be and remain in the “truth”.

  it is in fact what i so desperately want for my son ashton and my baby girl honey bee, to be lovers of truth and grow up to be a loyal servants of jehovah god and his son, jesus christ.

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  TonusOH

  Keep in mind that the WTS prefers to have as much control as they can over the rank and file. When they talk about having the freedom to choose anything, it is usually because it's a thorny issue and they want to be sure they have an excuse they can fall back on. That's when they say that a particular issue is up to "each individuals conscience, and between them and Jehovah." That's when you know it's an issue they would rather not commit to because it might be an inconvenience for them.
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  11530

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  TonusOH

  That would be hysterical, if someone bought the .com domain and redirected it to lloydevans.info.
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  39

  Is 1914 still a major belief in JW land ? Or has it been abandoned ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just wonder about this topic as it is now 109 years since that date and what was expected to take place has never happened ..

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  TonusOH

  They can hang on to 1914 for a while longer by dropping the "generations" explanations. They almost did so in 1995. Why did they bring it back? I can only assume that they want to use it as a way to keep the expectations up, to maintain the idea that time has almost run out. That is what hinders the WTS- they need to keep people in expectation of an event that will happen very soon.

  But at some point, enough time will pass that the date becomes worthless or even detrimental. And at that point, expect "new light" and "adjustments in thinking." But they will probably have to find something else to keep the pressure up, otherwise they will lose more and more people.
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  13

  Likes and Dislikes. How about making the identities known to the poster?

  by nicolaou in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  i haven't a clue if it's technically feasible but i think if you're going to hit the dislike button on a post you should be open to discussion with the poster.. just your own topics and posts of course.

  what do you think simon?.

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  TonusOH

  I don't pay it much mind, though I do frequently upvote and occasionally downvote posts. If your vote showed up, it would corrupt the system, IMO. People would feel pressured to return a positive vote, or would be less likely to upvote someone who downvoted them before, regardless of how they felt about the comment in question. People would be less likely to downvote posts to avoid retaliatory downvotes or confrontations. And so on.

  PS: I only ever upvote Simon's posts, since I bet he can see who did it and I don't want to be on his bad side.
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  18

  Watchtower (Study) August 2023 gaslighting and deflecting again.

  by was a new boy in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  'they turn the story around to make it seem like you are at fault, deflecting attention and blame away from them to make you feel guilty.

  this type of emotional manipulation is called gaslighting.. .

  deflection is manipulation, and if it's coupled with other toxic relationship behaviors, it may be necessary to remove yourself from the situation.'.

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  TonusOH

  Beth Sarim: life forever on hold.

  And that is what is so tragic about it. My mother is a very smart and ambitious person, and she basically stopped living in the early 1970s because she was waiting for the end. She is in her mid-80s now, and still waiting for an end that she insists is "very close" and "right around the corner," etc.

  If the WTS had said in 1975, "the end is very close, and by close we mean at least 48 years away," I bet she would not be a JW today.
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  11530

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  TonusOH

  It looks like a basic template that you are supposed to replace with your own content after you start the site. I guess some web hosts will do that now, so that the site is not just a blank page. But it should show something to indicate that it is "under construction." Or maybe he uploaded a random site template so it wasn't a blank page? Can't say.

  But really, if you get a new site and are directing people to it, you should have a page that welcomes them and explains that you're still building it.

  In the meantime, he should link to lloydevans.info
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  15

  How many new converts do you remember as a JW?

  by SydBarrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  inspired by the "whats the reason you think jw's are in decline" thread.

  my belief is that almost all the growth, at least in the western world is due to jw's having kids.

  i was a 4th generation jw from birth till about age 20, so the timeframe i can comment on would be my teen years.

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  TonusOH

  I was born in, became inactive around 2000-2004. I can't say how often we saw new people in the congregation, or how many of those were new converts developed from a door-to-door visit. I do recall hearing some brothers and sisters relate how they were converted via a d2d visit and Bible study. But I never really thought about it, which is odd in retrospect.