#black boxes

[mehoymolloy]

WATER LANDING; Jagged Deep

Continuing with the black box shorts that are a small part of my Horizon Big Bang 2022 piece, When the Darkness Comes, because I think these soldiers’ stories deserve to be heard (even if I made them up).

Jagged Deep Black Box Transcript:

SECOND OFFICER BASSILI: I can't raise the airfield. Must've been destroyed.

CAPTAIN VEESENMEYER: Well, we're out of time and out of fuel. I have to put us down on that lake. Let's give these soldiers a chance to die fighting.

SECOND OFFICER BASSILI: This is the flight deck. We're going for a water landing. Leave everything behind except what you need for the fight. Now's your time to go out in a blaze of glory. Brace, brace!

Listen to the audio log on my photomode Twitter account here.

"This is the flight deck," Second Officer Bassili spoke over the intercom, voice smooth from practice, far too familiar with lying through her teeth. "We're going for a water landing. Leave everything behind except what you need for the fight. Now's your time to go out in a blaze of glory. Brace! Brace!"

In the cabin, a motley crew of soldiers—ten in total—did as they were told.

Many things happened simultaneously.

Hudson Fulton, the youngest, held on to his safety harness so tightly that his knuckles ached from the pressure. But he forced a cocky smile, buck-toothed and shockingly genuine. "Alright, boys! Who wants to take me on this time? Bet I can bring down one of those tin cans 'fore any of you can!"

Across from him, Otto Ramsey, who happened to be the oldest and the only veteran of the group, rolled his eyes. Young guns and their egos… He checked the laces on his boots, ensured his rifle's safety was on, and braced for impact.

Nina Bostock, one of the few women on board, took deep, shuddering breaths. A water landing. Of course it would be a water landing. Just her fucking luck.

Beside her, Talia Rahman, the only other woman on the squad, subtly brushed her fingers against Nina's clenched fist, offering what little comfort she could. Heedless of the whoops and cheers that scared boys emitted all around them to soothe their own fears, she murmured under her breath, "We've got this. I've got you."

And Brodie Higgs, who had not heard from his wife in nearly two months, was barely even aware of his surroundings. He simply did not care. He was tired. If a watery grave took him, he would happily sink. If he was lucky, maybe his wife would be waiting for him. Though with the choices he'd made over his forty years, an afterlife would only see him in hell. And his wife, his sweet Marie, deserved a fucking red carpet laid out before her through the gates of heaven. She always deserved better than him. These last two months had only sunk that truth into his psyche deeper and deeper. He did not grip his harness. He did not ready his weapon. He stared blankly at the floor and closed his eyes the moment they made impact. He was so tired...

The plane hit at a poor angle. The hull buckled instantly, and the screech of tearing metal was quickly drowned by the sound of rushing water. Both pilots and all ten soldiers perished.

Hudson, still raring to prove himself despite his fear, did his best to swim upward but drowned nevertheless, reaching out for that distant speck of sunlight.

Otto died instantly, his skull cracking against the wall of the plane.

Talia, struggling to pull Nina's body toward the surface with her, also drowned. She held onto Nina's hand until the moment she lost consciousness.

Brodie hit his head against the hard metal of his safety mechanism at the perfect angle, and was instantly knocked unconscious. If the blunt force of the blow didn't take him, then the murky depths surely did.

Black Box 3/12

[unwelcome-ozian]

Why shouldn't black boxes be opened?

Black box Programming- Self-destruct and shatter programming sealed off into a black box to protect the system.

Oz

[endlessandrea]

Tony Smith, Die, 1962 Steel 183 x 183 x 183 cm

[thesuperjumbo]

Did You Know?

The black boxes are actually orange!

[sableaire]

I was curious about the black boxes. In the US we don't really use them so I'm not sure how they work. Are they mandatory in Korea? And if not, why would Sangwoo have one it seems pretty inconvenient for a serial killer

Black Boxes are certainly not mandated by law or anything (or it wasn’t while I was in Korea three years ago), but it’s pretty stupid socially to not have one. They were originally used by taxi drivers to protect them from passengers who don’t pay, but like many things in Korea, people saw its value and it became massively popular outside its intended sphere.

A Black Box is basically a dashboard camera that also records conversations inside the car. I think modern ones also record the speed you’re driving at and your location. The reason everyone has one is because there’s no better evidence when it comes to car insurance claims. In the past, you would just have to try and sound more convincing than the other driver. Now, people can just be like, “Check the Black Box, I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Sangwoo probably has one because in case he ever does get in a car accident, he’s probably going to want one. Honestly, I was surprised that he didn’t delete the recording from the rainy day from his Black Box? Also because everyone has Black Boxes nowadays, car vandals and thieves and insurance fraudsters specifically target the few cars without. Not having one is basically a target.

Anyway, it’s basically a personal security camera for your car.

[ms-anja]

Not for you!

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[jrmilazzo]

Constructing the Other Half of The Policeman’s Beard | ebr

Leah Henrickson explores the contexts surrounding the publication of **The Policeman's Beard is Half Constructed**, advertised as “the first

By no later than 1985, software development company Mindscape had released a version of Racter for personal entertainment purposes, retailing between $44.95 and $69.95 USD in formats compatible with Apple, Macintosh, IBM, and Amiga. However, this software likewise may have differed from the version used to produce The Policeman’s Beard. The commercially available Racter allowed users to have text conversations with the system wherein it would respond to users’ questions in long and absurd paragraphs. “As computers move ever closer to artificial intelligence, Racter is on the edge of artificial insanity,” one New York Times review read. “The software program […] allows computer owners to hold typewritten discussions with their machines, assuming they can get Racter to shut up long enough to get a word in” (Lewis). This version of Racter would mention current celebrities, and was able to refer to prior user-driven conversations by means of limited variable storage and “rather unsophisticated” file input and output (Olsen 163). Racter was described as “a coffeehouse philosopher who knew a great deal once, but whose mind is somewhere else now” (Wagner 36) and “a cross between artificial intelligence and artificial idiot savant” (Shepard 19). One critic linked Racter’s output to the literary canon, arguing that“the results of Racter’s running often read like Metaphysical poetry as interpreted by William Burroughs and William Blake, with a dyspeptic dash of Rod McKuen and Kahlil Gibran thrown in” (Barry 10). Another critic simply offered a textual shrug with the comment: “Not great writing, to be sure, but it’s more interesting than some user’s manuals we’ve read” (“Computer Prose” 4).

[jamesmitchia]

Explainable AI (XAI): Making “Black Box” Models Transparent for Decision-Making

AI is becoming more powerful—but also more complex. Many models, especially deep learning systems, operate like “black boxes”: they make highly accurate predictions, but the reasoning behind them is often hidden. In high-stakes fields like healthcare, finance, and law, trust and accountability are just as critical as accuracy. That’s where Explainable AI (XAI) steps in.

🤖 XAI is about opening the black box—helping humans understand why AI made a decision, not just what it decided.

🔍 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐗𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠:

✅ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 Techniques like SHAP (Shapley Additive Explanations) and LIME highlight which factors most influenced a model’s prediction, making AI’s reasoning visible.

✅ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 When doctors, bankers, or regulators can see why AI made a choice, adoption grows—and so does accountability.

✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 Transparent models expose hidden biases in data and predictions, ensuring fairer outcomes in hiring, lending, and justice systems.

✅ 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 + 𝐀𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 XAI allows humans to question, validate, and refine AI insights—leading to better decisions than either could achieve alone.

✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 With increasing AI regulations worldwide, explainability isn’t just a feature—it’s a requirement.

📌 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: Explainable AI isn’t about weakening powerful models—it’s about making them trustworthy. In an era where AI impacts lives and livelihoods, XAI ensures technology remains accountable, transparent, and human-centered.

🔗 Read More: https://technologyaiinsights.com/

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