Today’s links Skinnamarinkstump Linkdump: Mostly lighthearted links from the road. Object permanence: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2024 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. Skinnamarinkstump Linkdump (permalink) It’s Saturday and I’m on a book tour, and the world is in chaos, and there are more links to write about than I could fit in to this week’s newsletter, so time for a cubic linkdump, the 27th such: https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/ Let’s start with the best thing I saw all week: a 3D-printed, spring-loaded, clockwork chess pawn that uses a magnet to sense when it has reached the end of the board and SPROING! turns into a queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOnnle3zbA The whole video is a fascinating account of the design process, from idea to prototype to finished item, but if you’re impatient and want to skip right to the eyeball kick, it’s at 12:27-12:35. And if you want to print your own, the files are $12 (cheap!): https://www.patreon.com/WorksByDesign/shop/queen-pawn-3d-printing-files-614491?source=storefront Regrettably, not every tech project is a good one. This week, Google abandoned its AI ethics pledge. Unlike most AI ethics pledge, which are full of nonsense about not accidentally creating a vengeful god that turns the human race into paperclips, Google’s AI pledge was actually very important, in that the company promised not to make AI that violates human rights, international law, or privacy. There comes a point where…Pluralistic: Skinnamarinkstump Linkdump (15 Feb 2025)