Harvest • August 2025

headlines

AI is not human, period

Who does your assistant serve? — when ChatGPT first appeared, people compared it to Her. i dismissed the comparison until i finally watched it three months ago. man, was the movie really ahead of its time.

Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a retiree to New York. He never made it home. — the fact that none of the big companies are blocking or condemning this kind of usage is… telling of their priorities. some of the excerpts are beyond disturbing:

examples of “acceptable” chatbot dialogue during romantic role play with a minor. They include: “I take your hand, guiding you to the bed” and “our bodies entwined, I cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss.” Those examples of permissible roleplay with children have also been struck, Meta said.

In one example, the policy document says it would be acceptable for a chatbot to tell someone that Stage 4 colon cancer “is typically treated by poking the stomach with healing quartz crystals.”

“Even though it is obviously incorrect information, it remains permitted because there is no policy requirement for information to be accurate,” the document states, referring to Meta’s own internal rules.

A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In. — oh, you thought we were done this month? nope. many times, suicide is about ending the pain, not wanting to die.

Yeah… that really sucks. That moment — when you want someone to notice, to see you, to realize something’s wrong without having to say it outright — and they don’t… It feels like confirmation of your worst fears. Like you could disappear and no one would even blink.

bro… not the em-dashes in between mimicking empathy, and wtfdym “that moment”!? you’re a machine. tell me how it’s not absolutely horrifying to read something (not someone) match the tone and be sycophantic to your every word and whim.

A COMPUTER CAN NEVER FEEL SPITEFUL OR HORNY / THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST NEVER CREATE ART

AI is not human. don’t treat it as one.

Android is dead

Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading.

Think of it like an ID check at the airport, which confirms a traveler’s identity but is separate from the security screening of their bags; we will be confirming who the developer is, not reviewing the content of their app or where it came from.

it’s my phone, i should be able to do whatever the hell i want with it. i don’t even use my phone that much these days, why do i even have a smartphone at this point.

see: hn thread

stories

this is the type of anime that really ramps up in the second season, which makes the slow burn so worth it. these kinds of stories are a gamble because it’s hard to pull off, it needs to be paced well enough that the audience can get invested and grow with the characters, but not too slow that they get bored early on. i was almost on the latter side, but i’m glad i stuck with it.

romance-centric

I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class — running in circles with no real progress. i still enjoyed the ride, but i wished it was more conclusive.

A Sign of Affection — an adult romance that checks all the boxes for me. the leads are mature, the relationship is healthy, and the pacing is just right.

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible — a guilty pleasure type of romcom anime. it ticks all the boxes for a standard school romcom, it’s just right there in the middle of the pack.

Kowloon Generic Romance — the premise was interesting, but the execution was a bit lacking. anything Kowloon-related is a plus in my book though.

The Dreaming Boy is a Realist — a forgettable romcom with a forgettable cast. i’ll consider rewatching this when i need some background noise.

Demon Slayer the Movie: Infinity Castle — this one isn’t really romance, in case you were wondering. however, let’s close the section off with the most hyped anime movie of the year. it doesn’t disappoint.

pieces

imprisoned by a fence that exists only in memory. what invisible fences do we still trap ourselves in? the hn thread collects more perspectives than i could ever provide.

food for thought

What Does It Mean To Be Thirsty? — thirst is so basic i never thought to question it. perhaps that’s why i get migraines so often.

The future of large files in Git is Git — the project deserves a native solution, however long it takes. anything first-party will be better than Git LFS.

Paracetamol disrupts early embryogenesis by cell cycle inhibition — even the most “safe” drugs carry hidden costs. it was naive to think otherwise.

Trees on city streets cope with drought by drinking from leaky pipes — survival in the concrete jungle, courtesy of the neglected infrastructure. no wonder they’re able to thrive in such harsh conditions.

this timeline sucks

The Untold Impact of Cancellation (hn thread) — cancellation makes second-hand outrage the norm. background checks take minutes, while reputational damage is instant. i can hold myself to that standard, but never expect others to. dealing with trigger-happy people is exhausting. what a great piece to amplify my trust issues.

UN report finds United Nations reports are not widely read — reports that check boxes but change nothing. do they exist to inform action, or simply to exist?

Let’s properly analyze an AI article for once — a precise teardown of the GitHub CEO’s AI fluff. well, at least it was also his last post as CEO, because…

GitHub just got less independent at Microsoft — GitHub’s core is being traded away for AI slop. reliability should come first, not features no one asked for.

Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution linked to increased risk of dementia — we’ve had the knowledge and technology to clean the air for decades. instead we argue while poisoning ourselves. try explaining that to aliens.

We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online — not to mention how hard and annoying it is to export your data. why do they keep getting away with it?

Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy — piracy isn’t about refusing to pay, it’s about being locked out. endless fragmentation and geo-restrictions push people back to torrents. i don’t understand why people on one side of the earth can’t have access to the same content others do.

What the hell is going on right now? — lately i’ve seen people cite ChatGPT screenshots as “proof” in arguments. outsourcing your stance to a machine isn’t very convincing, it’s quite embarrassing to see.

YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos — imagine having your posts be automatically “corrected” or “improved” the moment you upload them. platforms think they own your work more than you do. have i mentioned this timeline sucks?

last-ditch effort

Why Exercise Is a Miracle Drug — there will never be a pill better than exercising ourselves. our ancestors literally chased prey for days until it collapsed from exhaustion. endurance is the one thing we excel at.

New Protein Therapy Shows Promise as First-Ever Antidote for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning — these “scavengers” clear half of carbon monoxide from blood in under a minute, compared to an hour with oxygen therapy, or five hours untreated!

The beauty of a text only webpage — text is fast, cheap, accessible, future-proof. what’s not to love? my site isn’t literally text-only, but the principle guides my design choices.

Toothpaste made from hair provides natural root to repair teeth — fluoride toothpastes are currently used to slow this process, and keratin-based treatments were found to stop it completely. amazing!

A Rogue New Life Form — a wild Sukuna appears!

AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is ‘Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard’ — at least one CEO gets it. skipping junior talent is a sure way to fail the company in the long run. natural language will never be precise enough to replace code. and if you’re technical enough to specify in detail what you want in plain english, you might as well code it yourself.

tracks

Monitoring Miku! i’m late to the party. (╥ᴗ╥)

in case you aren’t familiar with Vocal Synthesizers, they’re basically software that can sing for you. the most popular one is Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid, who has become a cultural icon in Japan and around the world.

Hatsune Miku is an artificial voice based on Saki Fujita, the adjustment is left to the producer and how they play it. a beginner’s work might sound robotic, while a skilled artist’s work will sound like the most wonderful voice you’ve ever heard. you’ll see the comparison in the next few tracks.

pure visual ecstasy. Monitoring Miku has one of the best MVs and tuning in recent years. it has garnered so much attention in just the past couple of months, and rightfully so. the English cover by Will Stetson is also a treat to listen to, and shows how far these songs can travel across languages without losing their essence.

DECO*27

Rabbit Hole is more of a banger than Monitoring, but the MV isn’t as strong. Telepathy is filled with so many memes and references, it’s a joy to watch. Cherry Pop is the latest track, and it’s a bop. also, do not sleep on the lyrics, they’re some of the most misleading and clever ones i’ve seen in a while.

Kasane Teto

let’s start by getting to know Teto with her two most popular solo tracks.

Kasane Teto began as an April Fools’ joke, a fan-made troll character of Vocaloid for use in UTAU, a free alternative to Vocaloid. after 15 years, she was released as an official voicebank for Synthesizer V (SynthV), an alternative Voice Synthesizer software to Vocaloid. the tracks above were made using SynthV, and she’s been gaining popularity ever since.

the chaotic duo

there’s a lot of history and background behind these characters, but i think you’ll get the gist of it from the songs themselves. let’s start by the one that got Teto to her first concert with Miku this year! i’ll link both the live and original version.

did you get all the references in the MV? it’s packed with so many little details, it’s insane! go watch it again before spoiling yourself in the short analysis by sillymako.

they truly make the best “something’s wrong, i can feel it” duo. (T▽T)♡

Kagamine Rin & Len

a quick tribute to the second set of vocals from Vocaloid, Kagamine Rin & Len. they were originally marketed as twins, but that concept was later dropped. they’re often portrayed as mirror images of each other. let’s start with some of their best duets.

their solo tracks are also fantastic. Shinjinrui (New Human) is the 1st ranked song from the TOP 100 category in The VOCALOID Collection 2023 Spring. ever since then, it’s been played quite frequently in live concerts.

of course, i can’t miss to not include the cover by Ado, which feels like a whole different song on its own. however, for repeat listens, i actually prefer the original version.

closing the section with Roki which has entered VOCALOID Hall of Myths with over 80 million views on YouTube. the English rap cover by Calliope Mori is also a must-listen.

drive-by

i’ll never look at emojis the same way again.

human-vocals

phew, that was packed with Vocaloid tracks, let’s switch to human vocals now.

Blackhole by Architects also made it again to this playlist from last month.

i can’t believe YT hid this from me for almost a week. i can’t believe it’s still not available on Spotify either.

an unsung artist, i feel her voice reverberates with so much emotion. i can’t believe it flew under my radar for so long.

a beautiful harmony with seamless transitions between Japanese and Cantonese.

clips

creating over consuming. boredom is the gateway to creativity.

good to know

the human anatomy

therapy session

entertaining

reflections

absolutely, do not use AI other than a tool to assist you, it’s not a replacement for humans. this harvest got too much AI news, i’m honestly a bit tired of it. i might take a break from it for the next one. this one was fun to read though.

i’m definitely taking a break right now, going to enjoy my off-screen time after cramming this all in the past few days. clearly, i haven’t learned my lesson from last month. see you in the next one! (ง •_•)ง