The Bluestocking, Vol XXXVII: Bots, Blair and Brexit

Happy weekend, everyone! You made it. Nearly.

Helen


Speak, Memory

Only a small percentage of the Roman bot’s responses reflected his actual words. But the neural network was tuned to favor his speech whenever possible. Any time the bot could respond to a query using Mazurenko’s own words, it would. Other times it would default to the generic Russian. After the bot blinked to life, she began peppering it with questions.

Who’s your best friend?, she asked.

Don’t show your insecurities, came the reply.

It sounds like him, she thought.

This story about a woman who used machine learning to create a chat bot from her dead friend's text messages is, excuse the pun, haunting. I really don't know if this is a good idea or not.

The man who brought you Brexit

He took part in 104 events and debates during the campaign, giving his final speech at Runnymede, where Magna Carta was agreed in 1215. He spent the night of the vote in Vote Leave’s headquarters, next door to Lambeth Palace, with Cummings and the rest of the team. (Elliott was in Birmingham.) There was no party planned. “Dominic is very puritan about these things,” said Hannan. When victory was certain, Hannan stood on a desk in the office and delivered the St Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V – “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” – substituting the names of people who had worked on the campaign. He didn’t go to bed until midnight the following day.

This Guardian longread on Daniel Hannan and the Brexit campaign is quite the psychological case study.

Hitler, the ex-clown

Hitler was an effective orator and actor, Mr. Ullrich reminds readers, adept at assuming various masks and feeding off the energy of his audiences. Although he concealed his anti-Semitism beneath a “mask of moderation” when trying to win the support of the socially liberal middle classes, he specialized in big, theatrical rallies staged with spectacular elements borrowed from the circus. Here, “Hitler adapted the content of his speeches to suit the tastes of his lower-middle-class, nationalist-conservative, ethnic-chauvinist and anti-Semitic listeners,” Mr. Ullrich writes. He peppered his speeches with coarse phrases and put-downs of hecklers. Even as he fomented chaos by playing to crowds’ fears and resentments, he offered himself as the visionary leader who could restore law and order.

Michiko Kakutani pioneers the book review-as-subtweet. Who on earth could she be alluding to?

Quick links: A Bernie Bro repents and admits that Hillary Clinton is actually a pretty good candidate after all. Heston's Cannibal Feast: this video must have taken a hell of a long time. Ian Leslie profiled Ruth Davidson for the NS, and it's a good insight into one of the most interesting characters in British politics. A new book reveals how the Nazis were on crystal meth. Barack Obama writes for the Economist on the economic challenges for the next US president. A great reading list on identity from Ian Steadman at How We Get To Next. The author of the excellent Hillbilly Elegy on Donald Trump's appeal to poor white voters. This Michael Chabon piece about taking his son to Paris Fashion Week set my teeth on edge with its luvvieness, but was redeemed by a killer last paragraph. Am halfway through this Esquire interview with Tony Blair and it's too much about Iraq. (Heresy, I know, but don't we already know what he thinks on the subject?)

Guest gif: It's definitely time to rewatch Clueless.

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