Daily Archives: August 26, 2020

Whole brain emulation (WBE), mind upload or brain upload (sometimes called "mind copying" or "mind transfer") is the hypothetical futuristic process of scanning the mental state (including long-term memory and "self") of a particular brain substrate and copying it to a computer. The computer could then run a simulation model of the brain's information processing, such that it would respond in essentially the same way as the original brain (i.e., indistinguishable from the brain for all relevant purposes) and experience having a conscious mind.[1][2][3]

Substantial mainstream research in related areas is being conducted in animal brain mapping and simulation, development of faster supercomputers, virtual reality, braincomputer interfaces, connectomics and information extraction from dynamically functioning brains.[4] According to supporters, many of the tools and ideas needed to achieve mind uploading already exist or are currently under active development; however, they will admit that others are, as yet, very speculative, but say they are still in the realm of engineering possibility.

Mind uploading may potentially be accomplished by either of two methods: Copy-and-transfer or gradual replacement of neurons. In the case of the former method, mind uploading would be achieved by scanning and mapping the salient features of a biological brain, and then by copying, transferring, and storing that information state into a computer system or another computational device. The biological brain may not survive the copying process. The simulated mind could be within a virtual reality or simulated world, supported by an anatomic 3D body simulation model. Alternatively the simulated mind could reside in a computer inside (or connected to) a (not necessarily humanoid) robot or a biological body.[5]

Among some futurists and within the transhumanist movement, mind uploading is treated as an important proposed life extension technology. Some believe mind uploading is humanity's current best option for preserving the identity of the species, as opposed to cryonics. Another aim of mind uploading is to provide a permanent backup to our "mind-file", to enable interstellar space travels, and a means for human culture to survive a global disaster by making a functional copy of a human society in a computing device. Whole brain emulation is discussed by some futurists as a "logical endpoint"[5] of the topical computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics fields, both about brain simulation for medical research purposes. It is discussed in artificial intelligence research publications as an approach to strong AI. Computer-based intelligence such as an upload could think much faster than a biological human even if it were no more intelligent. A large-scale society of uploads might, according to futurists, give rise to a technological singularity, meaning a sudden time constant decrease in the exponential development of technology.[6] Mind uploading is a central conceptual feature of numerous science fiction novels and films.

The human brain contains, on average, about 86 billion nerve cells called neurons,[7] each individually linked to other neurons by way of connectors called axons and dendrites. Signals at the junctures (synapses) of these connections are transmitted by the release and detection of chemicals known as neurotransmitters. The established neuroscientific consensus is that the human mind is largely an emergent property of the information processing of this neural network.[citation needed]

Neuroscientists have stated that important functions performed by the mind, such as learning, memory, and consciousness, are due to purely physical and electrochemical processes in the brain and are governed by applicable laws. For example, Christof Koch and Giulio Tononi wrote in IEEE Spectrum:

Consciousness is part of the natural world. It depends, we believe, only on mathematics and logic and on the imperfectly known laws of physics, chemistry, and biology; it does not arise from some magical or otherworldly quality.[8]

The concept of mind uploading is based on this mechanistic view of the mind, and denies the vitalist view of human life and consciousness.[citation needed]

Eminent computer scientists and neuroscientists have predicted that specially programmed[clarification needed] computers will be capable of thought and even attain consciousness, including Koch and Tononi,[8] Douglas Hofstadter,[9] Jeff Hawkins,[9] Marvin Minsky,[10] Randal A. Koene, and Rodolfo Llins.[11]

However, even though uploading is dependent upon such a general capability, it is conceptually distinct from general forms of AI in that it results from dynamic reanimation of information derived from a specific human mind so that the mind retains a sense of historical identity (other forms are possible but would compromise or eliminate the life-extension feature generally associated with uploading). The transferred and reanimated information would become a form of artificial intelligence, sometimes called an infomorph or "nomorph".[citation needed]

Many theorists have presented models of the brain and have established a range of estimates of the amount of computing power needed for partial and complete simulations.[5][citation needed] Using these models, some have estimated that uploading may become possible within decades if trends such as Moore's law continue.[12]

In theory, if the information and processes of the mind can be disassociated from the biological body, they are no longer tied to the individual limits and lifespan of that body. Furthermore, information within a brain could be partly or wholly copied or transferred to one or more other substrates (including digital storage or another brain), thereby from a purely mechanistic perspective reducing or eliminating "mortality risk" of such information. This general proposal was discussed in 1971 by biogerontologist George M. Martin of the University of Washington.[13]

An uploaded astronaut could be used instead of a "live" astronaut in human spaceflight, avoiding the perils of zero gravity, the vacuum of space, and cosmic radiation to the human body. It would allow for the use of smaller spacecraft, such as the proposed StarChip, and it would enable virtually unlimited interstellar travel distances.[14]

The focus of mind uploading, in the case of copy-and-transfer, is on data acquisition, rather than data maintenance of the brain. A set of approaches known as loosely coupled off-loading (LCOL) may be used in the attempt to characterize and copy the mental contents of a brain.[15] The LCOL approach may take advantage of self-reports, life-logs and video recordings that can be analyzed by artificial intelligence. A bottom-up approach may focus on the specific resolution and morphology of neurons, the spike times of neurons, the times at which neurons produce action potential responses.

Advocates of mind uploading point to Moore's law to support the notion that the necessary computing power is expected to become available within a few decades. However, the actual computational requirements for running an uploaded human mind are very difficult to quantify, potentially rendering such an argument specious.

Regardless of the techniques used to capture or recreate the function of a human mind, the processing demands are likely to be immense, due to the large number of neurons in the human brain along with the considerable complexity of each neuron.

In 2004, Henry Markram, lead researcher of the "Blue Brain Project", stated that "it is not [their] goal to build an intelligent neural network", based solely on the computational demands such a project would have.[17]

It will be very difficult because, in the brain, every molecule is a powerful computer and we would need to simulate the structure and function of trillions upon trillions of molecules as well as all the rules that govern how they interact. You would literally need computers that are trillions of times bigger and faster than anything existing today.[18]

Five years later, after successful simulation of part of a rat brain, Markram was much more bold and optimistic. In 2009, as director of the Blue Brain Project, he claimed that A detailed, functional artificial human brain can be built within the next 10 years.[19]

Required computational capacity strongly depend on the chosen level of simulation model scale:[5]

Since the function of the human mind and how it might arise from the working of the brain's neural network, are poorly understood issues, mind uploading relies on the idea of neural network emulation. Rather than having to understand the high-level psychological processes and large-scale structures of the brain, and model them using classical artificial intelligence methods and cognitive psychology models, the low-level structure of the underlying neural network is captured, mapped and emulated with a computer system. In computer science terminology,[dubious discuss] rather than analyzing and reverse engineering the behavior of the algorithms and data structures that resides in the brain, a blueprint of its source code is translated to another programming language. The human mind and the personal identity then, theoretically, is generated by the emulated neural network in an identical fashion to it being generated by the biological neural network.

On the other hand, a molecule-scale simulation of the brain is not expected to be required, provided that the functioning of the neurons is not affected by quantum mechanical processes. The neural network emulation approach only requires that the functioning and interaction of neurons and synapses are understood. It is expected that it is sufficient with a black-box signal processing model of how the neurons respond to nerve impulses (electrical as well as chemical synaptic transmission).

A sufficiently complex and accurate model of the neurons is required. A traditional artificial neural network model, for example multi-layer perceptron network model, is not considered as sufficient. A dynamic spiking neural network model is required, which reflects that the neuron fires only when a membrane potential reaches a certain level. It is likely that the model must include delays, non-linear functions and differential equations describing the relation between electrophysical parameters such as electrical currents, voltages, membrane states (ion channel states) and neuromodulators.

Since learning and long-term memory are believed to result from strengthening or weakening the synapses via a mechanism known as synaptic plasticity or synaptic adaptation, the model should include this mechanism. The response of sensory receptors to various stimuli must also be modelled.

Furthermore, the model may have to include metabolism, i.e. how the neurons are affected by hormones and other chemical substances that may cross the bloodbrain barrier. It is considered likely that the model must include currently unknown neuromodulators, neurotransmitters and ion channels. It is considered unlikely that the simulation model has to include protein interaction, which would make it computationally complex.[5]

A digital computer simulation model of an analog system such as the brain is an approximation that introduces random quantization errors and distortion. However, the biological neurons also suffer from randomness and limited precision, for example due to background noise. The errors of the discrete model can be made smaller than the randomness of the biological brain by choosing a sufficiently high variable resolution and sample rate, and sufficiently accurate models of non-linearities. The computational power and computer memory must however be sufficient to run such large simulations, preferably in real time.

When modelling and simulating the brain of a specific individual, a brain map or connectivity database showing the connections between the neurons must be extracted from an anatomic model of the brain. For whole brain simulation, this network map should show the connectivity of the whole nervous system, including the spinal cord, sensory receptors, and muscle cells. Destructive scanning of a small sample of tissue from a mouse brain including synaptic details is possible as of 2010.[20]

However, if short-term memory and working memory include prolonged or repeated firing of neurons, as well as intra-neural dynamic processes, the electrical and chemical signal state of the synapses and neurons may be hard to extract. The uploaded mind may then perceive a memory loss of the events and mental processes immediately before the time of brain scanning.[5]

A full brain map has been estimated to occupy less than 2 x 1016 bytes (20,000 TB) and would store the addresses of the connected neurons, the synapse type and the synapse "weight" for each of the brains' 1015 synapses.[5][failed verification] However, the biological complexities of true brain function (e.g. the epigenetic states of neurons, protein components with multiple functional states, etc.) may preclude an accurate prediction of the volume of binary data required to faithfully represent a functioning human mind.

A possible method for mind uploading is serial sectioning, in which the brain tissue and perhaps other parts of the nervous system are frozen and then scanned and analyzed layer by layer, which for frozen samples at nano-scale requires a cryo-ultramicrotome, thus capturing the structure of the neurons and their interconnections.[21] The exposed surface of frozen nerve tissue would be scanned and recorded, and then the surface layer of tissue removed. While this would be a very slow and labor-intensive process, research is currently underway to automate the collection and microscopy of serial sections.[22] The scans would then be analyzed, and a model of the neural net recreated in the system that the mind was being uploaded into.

There are uncertainties with this approach using current microscopy techniques. If it is possible to replicate neuron function from its visible structure alone, then the resolution afforded by a scanning electron microscope would suffice for such a technique.[22] However, as the function of brain tissue is partially determined by molecular events (particularly at synapses, but also at other places on the neuron's cell membrane), this may not suffice for capturing and simulating neuron functions. It may be possible to extend the techniques of serial sectioning and to capture the internal molecular makeup of neurons, through the use of sophisticated immunohistochemistry staining methods that could then be read via confocal laser scanning microscopy. However, as the physiological genesis of 'mind' is not currently known, this method may not be able to access all of the necessary biochemical information to recreate a human brain with sufficient fidelity.

It may be possible to create functional 3D maps of the brain activity, using advanced neuroimaging technology, such as functional MRI (fMRI, for mapping change in blood flow), magnetoencephalography (MEG, for mapping of electrical currents), or combinations of multiple methods, to build a detailed three-dimensional model of the brain using non-invasive and non-destructive methods. Today, fMRI is often combined with MEG for creating functional maps of human cortex during more complex cognitive tasks, as the methods complement each other. Even though current imaging technology lacks the spatial resolution needed to gather the information needed for such a scan, important recent and future developments are predicted to substantially improve both spatial and temporal resolutions of existing technologies.[24]

There is ongoing work in the field of brain simulation, including partial and whole simulations of some animals. For example, the C. elegans roundworm, Drosophila fruit fly, and mouse have all been simulated to various degrees.[citation needed]

The Blue Brain Project by the Brain and Mind Institute of the cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Switzerland is an attempt to create a synthetic brain by reverse-engineering mammalian brain circuitry.

Kenneth D. Miller, a professor of neuroscience at Columbia and a co-director of the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, raised doubts about the practicality of mind uploading. His major argument is that reconstructing neurons and their connections is in itself a formidable task, but it is far from being sufficient. Operation of the brain depends on the dynamics of electrical and biochemical signal exchange between neurons; therefore, capturing them in a single "frozen" state may prove insufficient. In addition, the nature of these signals may require modeling down to the molecular level and beyond. Therefore, while not rejecting the idea in principle, Miller believes that the complexity of the "absolute" duplication of an individual mind is insurmountable for the nearest hundreds of years.[25]

Underlying the concept of "mind uploading" (more accurately "mind transferring") is the broad philosophy that consciousness lies within the brain's information processing and is in essence an emergent feature that arises from large neural network high-level patterns of organization, and that the same patterns of organization can be realized in other processing devices. Mind uploading also relies on the idea that the human mind (the "self" and the long-term memory), just like non-human minds, is represented by the current neural network paths and the weights of the brain synapses rather than by a dualistic and mystic soul and spirit. The mind or "soul" can be defined as the information state of the brain, and is immaterial only in the same sense as the information content of a data file or the state of a computer software currently residing in the work-space memory of the computer. Data specifying the information state of the neural network can be captured and copied as a "computer file" from the brain and re-implemented into a different physical form.[26] This is not to deny that minds are richly adapted to their substrates.[27] An analogy to the idea of mind uploading is to copy the temporary information state (the variable values) of a computer program from the computer memory to another computer and continue its execution. The other computer may perhaps have different hardware architecture but emulates the hardware of the first computer.

These issues have a long history. In 1775 Thomas Reid wrote:[28] I would be glad to know... whether when my brain has lost its original structure, and when some hundred years after the same materials are fabricated so curiously as to become an intelligent being, whether, I say that being will be me; or, if, two or three such beings should be formed out of my brain; whether they will all be me, and consequently one and the same intelligent being.

A considerable portion of transhumanists and singularitarians place great hope into the belief that they may become immortal, by creating one or many non-biological functional copies of their brains, thereby leaving their "biological shell". However, the philosopher and transhumanist Susan Schneider claims that at best, uploading would create a copy of the original person's mind.[29] Susan Schneider agrees that consciousness has a computational basis, but this does not mean we can upload and survive. According to her views, "uploading" would probably result in the death of the original person's brain, while only outside observers can maintain the illusion of the original person still being alive. For it is implausible to think that one's consciousness would leave one's brain and travel to a remote location; ordinary physical objects do not behave this way. Ordinary objects (rocks, tables, etc.) are not simultaneously here, and elsewhere. At best, a copy of the original mind is created.[29] Neural correlates of consciousness, a sub-branch of neuroscience, states that consciousness may be thought of as a state-dependent property of some undefined complex, adaptive, and highly interconnected biological system.[30]

Others have argued against such conclusions. For example, Buddhist transhumanist James Hughes has pointed out that this consideration only goes so far: if one believes the self is an illusion, worries about survival are not reasons to avoid uploading,[31] and Keith Wiley has presented an argument wherein all resulting minds of an uploading procedure are granted equal primacy in their claim to the original identity, such that survival of the self is determined retroactively from a strictly subjective position.[32][33] Some have also asserted that consciousness is a part of an extra-biological system that is yet to be discovered and cannot be fully understood under the present constraints of neurobiology. Without the transference of consciousness, true mind-upload or perpetual immortality cannot be practically achieved.[34]

Another potential consequence of mind uploading is that the decision to "upload" may then create a mindless symbol manipulator instead of a conscious mind (see philosophical zombie).[35][36] Are we to assume that an upload is conscious if it displays behaviors that are highly indicative of consciousness? Are we to assume that an upload is conscious if it verbally insists that it is conscious?[37] Could there be an absolute upper limit in processing speed above which consciousness cannot be sustained? The mystery of consciousness precludes a definitive answer to this question.[38] Numerous scientists, including Kurzweil, strongly believe that the answer as to whether a separate entity is conscious (with 100% confidence) is fundamentally unknowable, since consciousness is inherently subjective (see solipsism). Regardless, some scientists strongly believe consciousness is the consequence of computational processes which are substrate-neutral. On the contrary, numerous scientists believe consciousness may be the result of some form of quantum computation dependent on substrate (see quantum mind).[39][40][41]

In light of uncertainty on whether to regard uploads as conscious, Sandberg proposes a cautious approach:[42]

Principle of assuming the most (PAM): Assume that any emulated system could have the same mental properties as the original system and treat it correspondingly.

The process of developing emulation technology raises ethical issues related to animal welfare and artificial consciousness.[42] The neuroscience required to develop brain emulation would require animal experimentation, first on invertebrates and then on small mammals before moving on to humans. Sometimes the animals would just need to be euthanized in order to extract, slice, and scan their brains, but sometimes behavioral and in vivo measures would be required, which might cause pain to living animals.[42]

In addition, the resulting animal emulations themselves might suffer, depending on one's views about consciousness.[42] Bancroft argues for the plausibility of consciousness in brain simulations on the basis of the "fading qualia" thought experiment of David Chalmers. He then concludes:[43] If, as I argue above, a sufficiently detailed computational simulation of the brain is potentially operationally equivalent to an organic brain, it follows that we must consider extending protections against suffering to simulations.

It might help reduce emulation suffering to develop virtual equivalents of anaesthesia, as well as to omit processing related to pain and/or consciousness. However, some experiments might require a fully functioning and suffering animal emulation. Animals might also suffer by accident due to flaws and lack of insight into what parts of their brains are suffering.[42] Questions also arise regarding the moral status of partial brain emulations, as well as creating neuromorphic emulations that draw inspiration from biological brains but are built somewhat differently.[43]

Brain emulations could be erased by computer viruses or malware, without need to destroy the underlying hardware. This may make assassination easier than for physical humans. The attacker might take the computing power for its own use.[44]

Many questions arise regarding the legal personhood of emulations.[45] Would they be given the rights of biological humans? If a person makes an emulated copy of themselves and then dies, does the emulation inherit their property and official positions? Could the emulation ask to "pull the plug" when its biological version was terminally ill or in a coma? Would it help to treat emulations as adolescents for a few years so that the biological creator would maintain temporary control? Would criminal emulations receive the death penalty, or would they be given forced data modification as a form of "rehabilitation"? Could an upload have marriage and child-care rights?[45]

If simulated minds would come true and if they were assigned rights of their own, it may be difficult to ensure the protection of "digital human rights". For example, social science researchers might be tempted to secretly expose simulated minds, or whole isolated societies of simulated minds, to controlled experiments in which many copies of the same minds are exposed (serially or simultaneously) to different test conditions.[citation needed]

Emulations could create a number of conditions that might increase risk of war, including inequality, changes of power dynamics, a possible technological arms race to build emulations first, first-strike advantages, strong loyalty and willingness to "die" among emulations, and triggers for racist, xenophobic, and religious prejudice.[44] If emulations run much faster than humans, there might not be enough time for human leaders to make wise decisions or negotiate. It is possible that humans would react violently against growing power of emulations, especially if they depress human wages. Emulations may not trust each other, and even well-intentioned defensive measures might be interpreted as offense.[44]

There are very few feasible technologies that humans have refrained from developing. The neuroscience and computer-hardware technologies that may make brain emulation possible are widely desired for other reasons, and logically their development will continue into the future. Assuming that emulation technology will arrive, a question becomes whether we should accelerate or slow its advance.[44]

Arguments for speeding up brain-emulation research:

Arguments for slowing down brain-emulation research:

Emulation research would also speed up neuroscience as a whole, which might accelerate medical advances, cognitive enhancement, lie detectors, and capability for psychological manipulation.[50]

Emulations might be easier to control than de novo AI because

As counterpoint to these considerations, Bostrom notes some downsides:

Because of the postulated difficulties that a whole brain emulation-generated superintelligence would pose for the control problem, computer scientist Stuart J. Russell in his book Human Compatible rejects creating one, simply calling it "so obviously a bad idea".[51]

Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, claims to know and foresee that people will be able to "upload" their entire brains to computers and become "digitally immortal" by 2045. Kurzweil made this claim for many years, e.g. during his speech in 2013 at the Global Futures 2045 International Congress in New York, which claims to subscribe to a similar set of beliefs.[52] Mind uploading has also been advocated by a number of researchers in neuroscience and artificial intelligence, such as the late Marvin Minsky.[citation needed] In 1993, Joe Strout created a small web site called the Mind Uploading Home Page, and began advocating the idea in cryonics circles and elsewhere on the net. That site has not been actively updated in recent years, but it has spawned other sites including MindUploading.org, run by Randal A. Koene, who also moderates a mailing list on the topic. These advocates see mind uploading as a medical procedure which could eventually save countless lives.

Many transhumanists look forward to the development and deployment of mind uploading technology, with transhumanists such as Nick Bostrom predicting that it will become possible within the 21st century due to technological trends such as Moore's law.[5]

Michio Kaku, in collaboration with Science, hosted a documentary, Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, based on his book Physics of the Impossible. Episode four, titled "How to Teleport", mentions that mind uploading via techniques such as quantum entanglement and whole brain emulation using an advanced MRI machine may enable people to be transported vast distances at near light-speed.

The book Beyond Humanity: CyberEvolution and Future Minds by Gregory S. Paul & Earl D. Cox, is about the eventual (and, to the authors, almost inevitable) evolution of computers into sentient beings, but also deals with human mind transfer. Richard Doyle's Wetwares: Experiments in PostVital Living deals extensively with uploading from the perspective of distributed embodiment, arguing for example that humans are currently part of the "artificial life phenotype". Doyle's vision reverses the polarity on uploading, with artificial life forms such as uploads actively seeking out biological embodiment as part of their reproductive strategy.

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Mind uploading - Wikipedia

Microsoft 365 is getting a handy new Word feature today: voice transcription. With this, you can either upload a recording to Word or record something new within the app itself and have Word automatically transcribe it for you. The implementation within Word sounds like its fleshed out and quite capable, but there are some big restrictions you should be aware of before you dive feet first into the world of Microsoft 365 transcription.

In its announcement today, Microsoft painted a rather impressive picture of Words new transcription capabilities. To start using it, all you need to do is click the Dictate button, which is now a drop down menu. Therell you see the new Transcribe option, and once you select it, youll be given the choice of either uploading a recording or recording something new.

Whichever you choose, Transcribe feature will be able to tell the difference between speakers and will identify them with timestamps throughout the transcription. When youve got the complete transcription, you can either play back the whole recording using your freshly-created text to follow along, or you can begin playback from one of those timestamps. You can also edit the transcript and then transfer either the whole thing or individual quotes into a Word doc.

With all that in mind, it sounds like an very capable transcription feature, where heres where we bump up against its limitations. Though Transcribe is available to all Microsoft 365 subscribers via Word for the web and is supported in either Microsoft Edge or Chrome (its coming to Office Mobile by the end of the year), it only supports English for now and theres a five hour monthly limit for uploaded recordings. Whats more, theres a file size limit of 200MB.

So, as neat at it is, it wont be long before those who have a ton of transcribing to do will begin bumping up against that five hour limit. Microsoft gives no indication of why that limit is in place, but were guessing it has something to do with capacity on Microsofts end.

In any case, in addition to this new transcription feature, Microsoft is also padding out Dictate with a voice commands feature today. When dictating something in Word, you can now issue voice commands like bold last sentence, or tell it to insert symbols like the percent sign. You can also pause dictation if you get interrupted or even add comments to another persons document using Dictate. A full list of voice commands for Dictate is available over on Microsofts support site.

Update: Microsoft has updated the article announcing Transcribe to clarify the limitations of the feature. With Transcribe you are completely unlimited in how much you can record and transcribe within Word for the Web, the article now says. Currently, there is a five hour limit per month for uploaded recordings and each uploaded recording is limited to 200mb.

So, if youre planning to do a significant amount of transcription, just be sure to do most of your recording within Word, as theres no limit as far as thats concerned. Furthermore, Microsoft has clarified that while English is the only currently supported language, it is working on adding more languages in the future.

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Word 365 gets voice transcription but with some weird restrictions [Update] - SlashGear

As if Wikipedias editorial shenanigans were not already exposed, an extra-ordinary revelation recently made by a Reddit user once again brings to fore the malpractices carried out by the organisation. According to this disconcerting discovery, almost all the articles on Scots Wikipedia, approximately 60,000 of them, were written, edited or overseen by a single user with a poor understanding of the language.

A Reddit user had alleged that every single article on Scots Wikipedia was written by a single person, presumably an American with little to no knowledge about Scots, a West Germanic language variety spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in Ireland. He also said that most articles on Scots Wikipedia are written in the English language with just some Scots words thrown between, and they are not written in native Scots Language.

The Reddit user had chanced upon the discovery while checking the edit history of one article. The Redditor claims that Wikipedia User with the username AmaryllisGardener has written more than over 23,000 articles on the Scots Wikipedia and done well over 200,000 edits in six years. The Redditor also alleges that since 2013 the Wikipedia user, who lives in North Carolina, has simply written articles that are written in English, throwing around some Scots words here and there haphazardly.

As per Redditor who exposed AmaryllisGardener, an admin of the Scots Wikipedia, the Wikipedia user was responsible for over one-third of Scots Wikipedia articles in 2018, they have since then stopped updating their milestones. The Reddit user suspects that about almost all articles written on Scots Wikipedia in the span of 2018 to 2020 could be attributed to the aforementioned user.

I find it insulting that you would pass this off as our native language which you clearly dont speak, the user wrote. Again, as a native Scot and native speaker, no one where uses this site as it isnt close to resembling any Scots language. The language you use here is English with some changes in spelling and passing it off as the real deal harms the already derogatory view of Scots languages.

The Reddit user went on to allege that even common elements of Scots that are found in Scots English like syne, an aw have been misused by the Wikipedia admin. The user asserts that sometimes entire English phrases and sentences are copy-pasted without any attempt at Scottifying them. Scots Grammar is also hardly used by the Wikipedia admin, with only Scots words randomly inserted in the sentences.

It is interesting to note that the user page of AmaryllisGardener informs that his native language is English, and he has medium level proficiency in Scots.

There is almost no difference from standard English and very few Scots words and forms are employed, the Reddit user lamented. What they seem to have done is write out the article out in English, then look up each word individually using the Online Scots Dictionary (they mention this dictionary specifically on their talk page), then replace the English word with the first result, and if they couldnt find a word, they just let it be.

The Redditor pointed to use of an aw in Scots for the English word also. While an aw cannot always be used in place of also in Scots, the Wikipedia user seemed to have used it uniformly in all their mangled translations. When someone highlighted this error to them on their talk page earlier, the primary administrator for the Scots Language Wikipedia for 7 years responded: Never thought about that, Ill keep that in mind.

Levelling serious allegations against Wikipedia, the Reddit user alleged that the organisation had engaged in cultural vandalism on a hitherto unprecedented scale. He added that the Wikipedia page has done more damage to the Scots language than anyone else in history. The sheer volume of the mangled Scots peddled by the Wikipedia admin, the Reddit user alleges, would drown any sincere attempts made by others at uploading content in genuine Scots.

Potentially tens of millions of people now think that Scots is a horribly mangled rendering of English rather than being a language or dialect of its own, all because they were exposed to a mangled rendering of English being called Scots by this person and by this person alone, the Reddit user sharply noted.

The revelation caused a massive outcry on the Scots Wikipedia, with editors taking various stands. Some said that the entire Scots Wikipedia site should be deleted and it should be rebuild from scratch, while others suggested that only the AmaryllisGardener should be deleted. Some others suggested that every edit in the site since 2012 should be deleted, retaining the older ones, and rewriting the deleted articles. One admin on the site warned that if the entire site is deleted, it will be impossible to build it again. Some editors also defended AmaryllisGardener, saying that he made the edits only in good faith, and he had no evil intention.

Replying to the debate, the user at the centre of the controversy said, Honestly, I dont mind if you revert all of my edits, delete my articles, and ban me from the wiki for good. Ive already found out that my contributions have angered countless people, and to me thats all the devastation I can be given, after years of my thinking I was doing good (and yes, obsessively editing). I was only a 12-year-old kid when I started, and sometimes when you start something young, you cant see that the habit youve developed is unhealthy and unhelpful as you get older. I dont care about defending myself, I only want to stop being harassed on my social medias (and to stop my other friends who have nothing to do with the wiki from being harassed as well). Whether peace can be achieved by scowiki being kept like it is or extensively reformed to wipe my influence from it makes no difference to me now that I know that Ive done no good anyway.

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Most article on Scots Wikipedia written in mangled English by an American who cant speak Scots: Reddit user makes explosive revelation - OpIndia

Like every other human in the world, Beccas day begins by checking her phone. But shes not checking Twitter, Instagram and her personal accounts shes looking for new pictures of Timothe Chalamet. She checks Variety, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, and all of his socials. Sometimes she doesnt even wait until she wakes up to search. If its the Golden Globes, or indeed any red carpet event, or a press tour, shell stay up all night gathering pictures of Timothe. As soon as something new crops up, she fact checks it, makes sure the picture is the highest quality she can possibly find, and shares it to her Timothe fan account. The account has 95,900 followers.

Becca is just one of the thousands of Timothe Chalamet fan accounts. A drop in the ocean. An even smaller drop in the abyss of total fan accounts: there are hundreds for each celeb. Name any celeb, there will be a stan account out there even if its lingering about in the Instagram nether with a weird username, 60 followers, and hasnt posted since 2013. Youve probably stumbled upon fan accounts before, likely when youre perusing the Insta search function to follow a certain celeb. You might even already follow some. But behind the scenes, these accounts are borne out of hard work and a deep appreciation for the celebrities theyre based on.

In her 20s and studying Graphic Design at college, Becca assigns every bit of her free time to maintaining @tchalametdaily, which is now three years old. As Becca describes, the inception of the account came from simply laying eyes on Timothe for the first time in 2017. I saw the first trailer for Call Me By Your Name and it was like BOOOOOOOM!!!!!! she said. So the obsession began.

via @tchalamet

Becca looked into his past work and watched all his films. She followed him on social media but quickly noticed he had very few followers he wasnt very well know in those days, she says. Becca wanted to keep track of his upcoming projects, but he wasnt always promoting them on his own Instagram and wasnt big enough of a deal back then to have many committed fan accounts. There were existing accounts, she told The Tab, but sadly none of them were very active, so I thought making my own update account would be fun. I dont even know why that came to mind I had no idea how to run a fan account at that point.

Becca said gathering followers on the account was slow to start not many people knew of Timothe to begin with. Call Me By Your Name hadnt even dropped, and Chalamania was yet to infect the unwitting youth. To start with I was posting pictures and getting no likes, Becca said, but since Ive always thought of tchalametdaily as a way of entertainment and not a job, I didnt really pay attention to it, I was just having fun with it!

After CMBYN, Timothe blew up. He gained an Oscar nomination, a myriad of upcoming projects, and thousands of fan accounts spawned seemingly overnight. But tchalametdaily, being one of the originals, only grew in size. Did Becca ever think it would get this big? Ha! Not at all! Believe me when I said that when I first started my account I never thought it would still exist in three years time. The fact that its almost at 100,000 followers is crazy.

Becca donates a lot of time to the account sometimes hours a day. When Timothe is promoting any of his projects and or is attending any events, its pretty overwhelming to post updates, she says. Because it is happening at that very moment theres so much stuff being posted so it takes me a little bit longer to post and find the right sources. And you gotta be fast. Time is key while running a fan page. When a trailer or poster of a movie Timothes in drops sometimes it will be released at 6am my time, or other events will happen at 3am. I will not go to sleep at all Ill stay up for it or put in my alarm to wake up and make sure to post whatevers dropping seconds after its out. Its always fun and nice to see people commenting on those new posts though, its really rewarding.

But having a large following is stressful, too. Becca often worries about posting an update that could be inaccurate or untrue she doesnt want to play any part in perpetuating fake news. Sometimes it feels overwhelming the number of people who are trusting me to bring them the best Timothe updates. I dont wanna share news or things that are not true thats why I always try to confirm the source.

Three of the people running fan accounts I spoke to were in their 20s, but some are much younger. Hema, who runs a Taylor Swift fan account with 26,000 followers, is 14 years old. She lives in India and still goes to school, which she says occasionally gets in the way of how often she can update.

Hema started her Taylor updates fan account, @taylorswiftmissamericana, in summer 2018 after being a fan of Taylor for over a year. Her music and her speeches helped me through some really hard times, so I wanted to support her by starting a fan account, which is a little thing I can do, Hema told The Tab.

via @taylorswift

Gaining followers on her Taylor Swift fan account was a sluggish process. Unlike Becca, Hema didnt have a jumpstart on Taylors fame. Taylor released her first single the same year that Hema was born, 2006, so fan accounts were well established by the time Hema joined the game. It took me seven months to get 800 followers, she told The Tab. But six months after that, I had 4000 followers. Its really hard to get people to follow you for your content instead of just follow backs, and there are thousands of fan accounts for Taylor out there. So if Im considered one of the big accounts now, Im really honored. According to Hema, @taylorswiftmissamericana is the biggest Taylor fan page based in India.

The title is nice, but it means theres a lot of pressure on Hema to be fast and first. If something happens in Taylors life, I should update everything within minutes, which is hard as Im just 14 and I have other stuff to do like schooling. As well as school, Hema has to contend with other fan accounts and deal with her content being stolen too. She often posts memes about Taylor in tweet formats, which get taken by other Taylor pages and used without full credit. It really annoys me when some other big accounts post my tweets cause it wont let my post get a good reach among people But she says other than that, theres no big race as everyone here is only to support their idol, not for likes.

But according to other fan account owners, more followers doesnt necessarily equal more stress. 22-year-old Tamy is based in Brazil and runs a Harry Styles fan account with 164,000 followers. She says manning the account is therapeutic for her. Like Becca, Tamy amassed this level of following largely because of the age of her account. Tamys update account, @thisharrystyles, was set up in 2014 when Tamy was just 16 years old.

via @harrystyles

Youd think running the same account and posting daily would get tiring once youve done it for six years, but Tamy doesnt mind at all. I just keep an eye on news sites about candids or Twitter, TikTok or someone sends me a message on the direct and says look I took a picture with Harry recently or I see a publication saying the same and say can I post your picture on my page? Its not too hard. My daily time on Instagram is approximately two hours.

Tamy admits her screentime is too high, and wishes it were lower, especially when you take into account the hours on other apps. But she admires Harry so much and enjoys updating her followers, so she never plans on stopping. Tamy told The Tab: What I can say is that I wouldnt be able to dedicate my time to an account for any other famous person. I love many artists, actors, and bands but I really wouldnt do it if it werent for Harry Styles. Hes just an amazing human being that I want to be up to date with, so I like to update other people too!

But not all fan accounts are about updates, nor are they necessarily interested in high follower counts. Charlisaesthetic, named for Charli XCX, is actually a pretty loose example of a fan account. Its every fourth or sixth post is Charli, as opposed to every single post on other fan accounts. This is because Soraya, its owner, runs it as an aesthetic fan account. Its more of a mood board for those who are interested in Charli XCXs style and vibe than an update account. Its smaller than the other accounts, with just 1.5k followers but Charli herself is one of them. None of the other accounts were followed by their respective subjects, so what makes this one different?

via @charli_xcx

For one, Charli is a smaller celebrity (she boasts just 3.7 million followers on her Instagram compared to a stonking 9 mil, 139 mil and 30 mil for Timothee, Taylor and Harry) and shes notably more interactive with fans. But like follower growth, the key to getting Charli to follow the account was longevity. Soraya, who runs the account, started it in 2014 a year after Charlis first album was released. Charli only really blew up when her second album, Sucker (featuring hit singles like Boom Clap and Doing It with Rita Ora) came out so she was under the radar at this point. Soraya had less than a hundred or so followers when Charli first followed the page. I uploaded about 10 posts and followed a lot of angels, [Charli XCX fans], tagged Charli in posts and within a week she followed me, Soraya told The Tab. Her following shot up after Charli interacted with the account, but only to 200 followers or so.

Unlike update accounts, a high follower count has never been the purpose for Soraya @charlisaesthetic is more like a blog. Im a creative person so I look up different types of fashion, makeup, design, art. I actually really enjoy curating and getting posts ready for my account. A lot of Charli fans have a similar aesthetic (2000s/90s) and I think they enjoy having various types of posts rather than just uploading pictures of Charli.

Ive had the account for 6 years now and still enjoy running the account. In some way its like a personal diary, uploading a daily post.

Regardless of the follower counts of the fan pages and the level of fame of their respective idols, these fan account owners all had one thing in common: pride. Every single person responded with absolute certainty, no, when I asked them if theyd ever consider selling their account. Many of these pages have been crafted over a number of years and connections have been built with their followers. They are trusted sources for the lives and updates of celebrities and have follower counts and social media skills that put many companies and brands to shame. It may seem like a silly side project to some, but it means the world to them and to their followers. As Hema said to me, this account is everything to me its my baby.

Featured image via @tchalamet on Instagram and background by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash.

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How to start a fan account: Advice from accounts with 100k followers - The Tab

According to the Office for National Statistics the number of people in work fell by 220,000 between April and June of this year.

The coronavirus crisis has led to the biggest quarterly drop in employment since May to July 2009, when the country found itself amidst the global financial crisis and deep in a major recession.

What differs between now and then though, is the supposed job security that some of us were operating under, was a false pretence.

Some have found themselves being made redundant; others were somewhat lucky enough to retain 80% of their wages through the furlough scheme.

One thing for certain though, its that the pandemic has forced people think about the fragility of their once safe job.

Many people found themselves surprisingly without work, despite being a core employee outside of these unusual times.

This startling realisation has led to people up-and-down the country taking their future into their own hands; some even making some very drastic lifestyle choices.

One person who has done this is Carlo Schembri, a former FTSE 100 employee from London, who after being made redundant twice in the space of three months, has set up an eco-friendly yoga mat company with his wife, Rachel.

He explains that the business has allowed him to escape the rat race of the corporate business world.

The pandemic has made me realise that working for another company is not as safe as I had originally thought, he begins.

"The pandemic has also made me realise the importance of being with family. In my previous role, I was constantly travelling and as I was unable to travel during the pandemic, it made me realise how much time I was missing with my son, which is why since then, I have been so keen to find something where I could either work close to home or from home.

I was living in Singapore then Dubai up until two years ago, where I was used to a work life that was both flexible and a 10 minute commute to work, which was very different to how I experienced work life in the UK prior to that, he added.

Afterwards, Carlo and his wife decided to set up Posey Yoga, a luxury yoga mat company that focuses on producing quality, environmentally friendly products.

Whilst Carlo confesses it started out as a side business before the pandemic, the mat company is now his full time focus as a result of the lockdown.

I was made redundant after five and half years just before Covid, as the real estate market in the Middle East was suffering, he starts. The next three months I was working from home which gave me some extra time to work on the mats, which was when the business really took off. Three months later I was made redundant again, I couldn't bear going through the whole job hunting process again, especially when everyone else was being made redundant, so I took the plunge and decided to take on the business full time.

The pandemic has been tough for all of us but I managed to find something positive out of it. I wouldn't have taken the opportunity to start my own business if the pandemic didn't happen, which is something that I always wanted to do, he added.

Another person who chanced on an alternative future is Christian Azolan, who after completing a degree in fashion design, entered the corporate world working for a number large global companies as a brand marketer and content specialist.

Following the end of a rental contract, and the need to visit his ill mother before the impending lockdown occurred, Christian made a decision not so dissimilar to Carlos.

I took the opportunity as my contract came to an end and I had to make plans to move back home and live with my mum, she was ill and I entered into lockdown with her and my fianc, he begins.

He was working at Just Eat HQ so was not on furlough, so his job was safe and I knew I could depend on him fully. No ifs, butts or judgment, he had my back one-hundred percent no matter what I decided to do.

I made the drastic lifestyle choice and it was a combination of circumstance and timing and I just knew I wanted to be doing something that would make me happy for years to come. I decided to open up my own limited edition illustration business, he added.

After signing up for over 10 online courses, webinars, and training events, taking advantage of many discounts available during lockdown such as the one offered by companies like Skillshare, Christian spoke to his fianc about prices and they worked out margins, mark-up, and profit. It didnt take long, however, for his new skill to flourish alongside his new business.

I started spreading the word to my friends and family and eventually when my shop went live, I started getting traffic from people buying my art from all around the world, he says enthusiastically.

I've had collectors buying from France, Germany, South Africa, Spain, Denmark, Australis, and the USA. I started to approach online retailers that I knew I wanted to work with like Wayfair iamfy; both have signed me up to work with them and to create wall art collections for them which is so exciting as I have only been going since March.

Christians story is slightly different to that of Dan Jowett, a graphic designer based in Leeds who was already in the creative industries prior to the pandemic.

After he too was furloughed from his job at a design agency, where he amassed some of his sixteen years worth of experience, Dan founded Pixel Lab a fully registered design agency despite admitting to only starting for fun.

To keep my mind active, I started created designs for t-shirts, uploading them to third party sites like teespring and Redbubble, he begins. I mostly did this for fun, but the t-shirts started selling across the globe which was an incredible feeling. I was made redundant in July and with my newfound love of creating my own designs and income from it, I decided to expand my offering into a full-service design business.

"I started by registering my limited company, Pixel Lab on Companies House, built my own website and social media graphics and reached out to local connections to let them know what I was doing and so far, so good.

I'm definitely much happier as a result of the change, its something I've always wanted to do. Working for myself is quite a liberating feeling and, even though its scary, I would highly recommend it, he added.

Whilst Dan is happy, he did throw caution to the wind; undertaking quite a considerable change in being his own boss for the first time. He admits this doesnt come without its pitfalls, but its how you adjust to the new way of working that counts.

The negative impact is not knowing where my next project is going to come from due to the current climate, however that pushes me forward to come up with different ways to look for new business. Being out of my comfort zone is a good thing, it helps me be more creative.

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Change in a time of crisis? MM meets those taking their future into their own hands post-pandemic - Mancunian Matters

JD(U) is set to launch an exclusive digital platform, JDUlive.com, for canvassing ahead of October-November Bihar assembly elections keeping in mind the limited scope for campaigning on the ground in the view of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak and the detailed guidelines issued by the election commission mindful of the changed circumstances.

The digital platform, which the party insiders claim to be one of its kind for any political outfit in the state and also the country, will be launched with chief minister Nitish Kumars virtual meet, expected next month. Kumar is also JD(U) national president.

We planned this with the help of a group of IITians from Bihar to utilise the lockdown period, as there was a clear indication that campaigning this time wont be the same as before due to the pandemic. JDUlive.com will redefine the mode of communication with the masses in the digital era, said a senior party leader, pleading anonymity.

The platforms current integral on-boarding capacity is one lakh live viewers for a digital /virtual public rally. This can be expanded up to 10 lakh (one million) participants for any given live interaction in the future, said the leader, adding the global lockdown necessitated out-of-the-box solutions for public campaigning.

The platform can easily evolve as a dedicated communication channel to engage not just with party cadres but also the general public. In this context, a Live.tv menu on the portal is to enable any person to share any positive video or news item which, upon approval by the portals administrator, can get posted online. This will provide a single point source of positive news to the media, too.

Platforms like Zoom, Google meet, etc, have gained huge popularity as the preferred modes for organising public meets, but being third party service providers, there are obvious limitations on using them, said party leaders.

It is Janata Dal Uniteds own video conferencing platform which supports both way video communication. Developed entirely by local talents, it qualifies both as a true Make in India and a Make in Bihar product; and a platform with no dependence on any foreign or public platforms like Zoom, Google, etc., said a senior party leader.

Besides hosting live public rallies and /or private conferences, this party portal can be used as an interface with the public and for holding regular meetings with party cadres.

Also Read:BJPs plan for Bihar assembly polls involves careful study of the voters list

On the JDULive.com website, both party functionaries and people can put their views, such as through the Virtual Survekshan (survey) menu designed for Digital Survey, said those handling the digital set up.

AlsoRead:NDA to fight Bihar polls under Nitish Kumars leadership: Nadda

Data on the portal is being updated so it serves as a database of party functionaries down to the booth levels. It will be a storehouse of information, including development works in various spheres, speeches of the national president, yatras of Nitish Kumar, etc, they said.

The right to the platform will only be given to authorised party functionaries from the state and district levels for uploading and managing data and information relating to their respective jurisdictions.

Excerpt from:

Designed by IITians, JD(U)s digital campaigning platform is first of its kind - Hindustan Times