#AI Risks and Challenges

[mkcecollege]

At M.Kumarasamy College of Engineering (MKCE), we emphasize the significance of engineering ethics in shaping responsible engineers. Engineering ethics guide decision-making, foster professionalism, and ensure societal welfare. Our curriculum integrates these principles, teaching students to consider the long-term impacts of their work. Students are trained in truthfulness, transparency, and ethical communication, while also prioritizing public safety and environmental sustainability. We focus on risk management and encourage innovation in sustainable technologies. Our programs also address contemporary challenges like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, preparing students to tackle these with ethical responsibility. MKCE nurtures future engineers who lead with integrity and contribute to society’s well-being.

To know more : https://mkce.ac.in/blog/engineering-ethics-and-navigating-the-challenges-of-modern-technologies/

[medicalweightloss100]

Preventing Injuries with Real-Time Wearable Technology

Real-time wearable technology is transforming injury prevention and patient care, offering unprecedented insights into human movement and health risks. These intelligent devices, equipped with advanced sensors and AI, continuously track biomechanical signals to help healthcare professionals anticipate and prevent potential injuries. One critical application is addressing pressure injuries—a persistent challenge that impacts patient quality of life and hospital costs.

Traditional preventive measures like frequent patient turning are often inconsistently followed due to the physical demands on nursing staff. Wearable technology sensors now emerge as a game-changing solution, providing continuous monitoring and proactive intervention strategies that traditional methods cannot match.

Key Findings:

1. Real-Time Interventions: Wearable technology sensors offer real-time feedback to ensure patients are turned on schedule. These devices monitor patient movement and positioning, alerting nursing staff immediately if a patient hasn’t been repositioned or if the turn angle isn’t sufficient to relieve pressure. This real-time capability enables prompt corrective actions, directly preventing injuries.

2. Enhanced Compliance: With sensors in place, compliance with turning protocols skyrockets. Studies show increases from as low as 15% to over 80%, reducing the manual effort of tracking patient repositioning.

3. Fewer Injuries: Real-time monitoring has led to a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) by up to 70%. Patients are safeguarded against severe complications like deep tissue damage.

4. Economic Benefits: Hospitals benefit financially, saving an estimated $6,621 per patient by avoiding pressure injuries. This makes wearable sensors a cost-effective addition to patient care.

5. Improved Teamwork: Sensors encourage better communication and collaboration among nursing staff. They distribute the responsibility of turning patients more evenly, fostering teamwork.

Hospitals Leading the Way

Several hospitals have successfully implemented wearable sensor technology, demonstrating its effectiveness:

Stanford Health Care: A trial in two intensive care units showed a 73% reduction in HAPIs and improved adherence to turning protocols.

A Magnet Hospital in California: Turning compliance jumped from 67% to 95%, and sacrococcygeal HAPIs were reduced by 84.6%.

A Long-Term Acute Care Hospital in New Jersey: Achieved an 85% reduction in sacrococcygeal HAPIs with an average adherence to turning protocols of 87.3%.

A Medical Center in Pennsylvania: Over a year, this facility nearly doubled the national average for turn protocol adherence (90%) and reduced HAPIs by 67%.

These examples highlight how wearable sensors are revolutionizing care across various healthcare settings.

Challenges and Opportunities:

While wearable technology sensors excel in ensuring timely interventions, they don’t automatically improve the quality of turns (e.g., the precise angle needed to relieve pressure). Additionally, nursing teams need adequate training to fully leverage this technology and integrate it seamlessly into care routines.

Real-Time Innovations in Action:

The real-time intervention capability of these sensors is their standout feature. By promptly notifying caregivers, the sensors ensure no patient is left at risk for extended periods. Some devices even provide visual or auditory cues to further reinforce timely actions, making them a proactive tool in patient safety.

The Way Forward:

Wearable sensors are not a stand-alone solution but a vital component of a comprehensive prevention program. When paired with strategies like regular skin assessments and nutritional support, these devices can revolutionize how hospitals address pressure injuries.

Real-time fall prevention is a critical priority for hospitals and nursing homes. Discover how OK2StandUP is transforming patient safety and making a meaningful impact. Visit us at www.ok2standup.com to learn more.

[jcmarchi]

Arik Solomon, Co-Founder & CEO of Cypago – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/arik-solomon-co-founder-ceo-of-cypago-interview-series/

Arik Solomon, Co-Founder & CEO of Cypago – Interview Series

Arik Solomon, Co-Founder and CEO of Cypago, is on a mission to eliminate the hassle of compliance for businesses. Cypago’s Cyber GRC Automation Platform transforms the traditionally manual, time-consuming process of meeting security standards into an efficient, AI-driven workflow. By integrating with existing software stacks, Cypago streamlines compliance from start to finish, making it easier for organizations to stay secure and compliant.

What inspired you and your co-founder to start Cypago, and what initial challenges did you face in bringing the Cyber GRC Automation (CGA) platform to life?

The inspiration for Cypago came from our firsthand experience in the cybersecurity and compliance domains, where we constantly saw the challenge companies faced in keeping up with an evolving landscape of regulations, standards, and cybersecurity threats. These challenges were amplified by the lack of integration between compliance processes and the practical needs of security teams. We realized that by automating these processes, we could simplify compliance management for companies and make it scalable.

One of the initial hurdles we encountered was designing a solution that could balance automation with the flexibility required to cater to the unique needs of different organizations. Compliance frameworks vary widely and rely on data from multiple sources, so we needed to build a platform that was both robust and adaptable. Additionally, getting early buy-in from stakeholders in an emerging sector like Cyber GRC required educating the market on the advantages of Cyber GRC Automation (CGA) over traditional manual compliance tools.

Can you share more about the transition from your role as CTO at EY to founding a startup? What made you take the leap into entrepreneurship?

Transitioning from my role as CTO at EY to founding Cypago was both a natural evolution and a leap of faith. At EY, I gained extensive experience in understanding the complexities of cybersecurity and compliance across various industries. I saw how the manual nature of compliance processes was bogging down teams, eating into budgets, and leaving companies vulnerable to human error and emerging threats.

The shift to entrepreneurship was driven by my desire to solve these problems at scale, with a solution that would redefine how companies approach security and compliance. Partnering with my co-founder Yahav Peri, who shared this vision, made the transition possible and ultimately brought it to life. We were excited by the opportunity to innovate without the typical constraints of a large organization, allowing us to bring our vision for Cypago’s Cyber GRC Automation platform to life.

For readers who are not familiar with these terms, what are GRC solutions and why do they matter?

GRC stands for Governance, Risk, and Compliance. These solutions are designed to help organizations manage and streamline their processes for meeting regulatory requirements, mitigating risks, and ensuring they operate in line with internal and external standards.

GRC solutions are essential because they provide a structured way for organizations to protect themselves against regulatory fines, cyber threats, and reputational risks. In today’s digital world, companies face an overwhelming number of regulatory standards and security requirements. GRC solutions, particularly ones that incorporate automation like Cypago’s platform, reduce the complexity and cost of managing these obligations. This ultimately allows companies to focus on growth, knowing they have a solid foundation for compliance and risk management.

What makes Cypago’s platform distinct from other Cyber GRC solutions, especially with its use of AI and automation?

Cypago’s platform stands out in the crowded Cyber GRC space due to its advanced integration of AI-driven automation. Unlike traditional solutions that rely heavily on manual processes, Cypago streamlines compliance and risk management by automating key workflows, data collection, and analysis. This allows organizations to respond proactively to compliance requirements and potential risks in real time.

The platform’s intelligent automation not only speeds up audit and compliance tasks but also reduces human error, enhances data accuracy, and frees up resources, enabling teams to focus on strategic activities rather than tedious operational work.

How has the recent integration of AI frameworks like the EU AI Act and NIST AI RMF influenced Cypago’s platform capabilities?

Cypago’s integration of modern AI frameworks such as the EU AI Act and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) has bolstered the platform’s compliance and risk mitigation capabilities.

These frameworks provide guidelines that help ensure that AI is used responsibly, addressing issues related to transparency, bias, and accountability. By incorporating these standards, Cypago’s platform aligns with emerging regulatory requirements and industry best practices, enhancing user trust and compliance with international AI governance. This forward-thinking approach ensures that organizations using Cypago can keep pace with evolving AI legislation while maintaining robust, scalable Cyber GRC practices.

Could you walk us through the role of natural language processing (NLP) in the platform’s chatbot? How does it enhance the compliance process for your users?

Cypago’s platform incorporates advanced natural language processing (NLP) to power its intelligent chatbot, which acts as a virtual compliance assistant. This feature is designed to simplify and streamline the compliance process by transforming complex regulatory language into actionable insights. With NLP, the chatbot can interpret user questions in everyday language and provide contextually relevant responses, facilitating a seamless, user-friendly interaction.

The chatbot leverages NLP to assist with tasks such as retrieving compliance documentation, explaining policy requirements, and guiding users through audit processes. This capability enables users to navigate compliance requirements more efficiently, reducing the need for time-consuming manual research and enhancing the overall compliance experience.

By using NLP to deliver personalized, accurate, and prompt assistance, Cypago’s platform empowers teams to handle compliance with greater confidence and speed, ensuring that they stay informed and prepared in a fast-paced regulatory environment.

With AI compliance gaining momentum, what role do you see AI playing in regulatory frameworks moving forward?

AI has the potential to revolutionize regulatory frameworks by enabling more proactive, adaptive compliance approaches. In a regulatory landscape that’s constantly evolving, specifically within the cybersecurity domain, AI can help detect emerging risks faster, streamline audits, and allow organizations to respond dynamically to changes.

AI will likely play a significant role in monitoring and analyzing data in real time, identifying patterns of non-compliance, and providing predictive insights to prevent issues before they escalate.

How does Cypago’s automation approach address the challenge of maintaining continuous compliance in a constantly evolving threat landscape?

Cypago’s automation approach, anchored in continuous control monitoring, ensures that organizations maintain continuous compliance even as the threat landscape and regulatory environment evolve. By leveraging AI-driven automation, the platform continuously tracks and monitors compliance controls, promptly identifies potential risks, and updates compliance statuses in real-time. This proactive monitoring allows organizations to detect vulnerabilities and respond to changes swiftly, minimizing the need for manual intervention.

Continuous control monitoring also facilitates the seamless integration of new regulations and security frameworks as they arise, keeping organizations aligned with the latest standards. Additionally, Cypago automates the collection and analysis of compliance-related data from various systems, providing a comprehensive and current view of an organization’s compliance posture.

This holistic approach reduces the time and effort required for compliance management and enhances the organization’s ability to swiftly adapt to emerging risks and regulatory changes, ensuring a robust, agile compliance strategy.

What are the biggest risks or challenges you foresee in AI compliance, and how is Cypago preparing to address them?

One of the biggest challenges is the ambiguity of regulatory standards, which vary widely across jurisdictions and industries. As a result, companies are left navigating a patchwork of requirements, increasing the complexity of maintaining compliance. Additionally, AI’s complexity and opacity make it difficult to explain and validate AI-driven decisions, a growing concern for regulators focused on transparency and accountability.

At Cypago, we’re building solutions that address these challenges by creating transparency in compliance and cyber risk management processes and incorporating tools that can adapt to new standards. Our platform is designed to offer companies real-time insights and automated assessments that reduce the guesswork involved in managing AI-related compliance.

By focusing on adaptability and transparency, we aim to help organizations stay compliant even as regulatory expectations evolve.

How do you envision Cypago’s platform evolving as new AI-driven security regulations emerge globally?

We see Cypago’s platform evolving to include more advanced capabilities for monitoring, managing, and documenting AI compliance in an ongoing and continuous fashion. We’re investing in capabilities that will allow our platform to adapt to new regulatory demands seamlessly, providing companies with an intuitive, automated way to ensure their AI deployments meet the highest standards of compliance.

By staying at the forefront of AI compliance technology, Cypago aims to be a trusted partner for organizations worldwide, enabling them to confidently leverage AI while remaining aligned with global standards.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Cypago.

[chris-ostkreuz]

AI in Sound Design: When Robots Make Your Game Noises!

In the whimsical world of video games, sound design is often the unsung hero. While players are busy battling dragons or racing through futuristic cities, the audio landscape dances in the background, shaping every emotional twist and turn of the gameplay experience. Enter artificial intelligence, the newcomer that promises to revolutionize the way we create and experience game soundscapes. With…

[reasonsforhope]

"A 9th grader from Snellville, Georgia, has won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, after inventing a handheld device designed to detect pesticide residues on produce.

Sirish Subash set himself apart with his AI-based sensor to win the grand prize of $25,000 cash and the prestigious title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.”

Like most inventors, Sirish was intrigued with curiosity and a simple question. His mother always insisted that he wash the fruit before eating it, and the boy wondered if the preventative action actually did any good.

He learned that 70% of produce items contain pesticide residues that are linked to possible health problems like cancer and Alzheimer’s—and washing only removes part of the contamination.

“If we could detect them, we could avoid consuming them, and reduce the risk of those health issues.”

His device, called PestiSCAND, employs spectrophotometry, which involves measuring the light that is reflected off the surface of fruits and vegetables. In his experiments he tested over 12,000 samples of apples, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes. Different materials reflect and absorb different wavelengths of light, and PestiSCAND can look for the specific wavelengths related to the pesticide residues.

After scanning the food, PestiSCAND uses an AI machine learning model to analyze the lightwaves to determine the presence of pesticides. With its sensor and processor, the prototype achieved a detection accuracy rate of greater than 85%, meeting the project’s objectives for effectiveness and speed.

Sirish plans to continue working on the prototype with a price-point goal of just $20 per device, and hopes to get it to market by the time he starts college." [Note: That's in 4 years.]

-via Good News Network, October 27, 2024

[queerautism]

It feels kinda wild I've seen no one mention the huge controversy NaNoWriMo was in about 7 months ago (Link to a reddit write up, there's also a this google doc on it) in this whole recent AI discourse. The main concerns people had were related to the 'young writers' forum, a moderator being an alledged predator, and general moderation practices being horrible and not taking things like potential grooming seriously.

About 5 months ago, after all of that went down, MLs or 'Municipal Liaisons', their local volunteers organisers for different regions of the world, were offered a horrible new agreement that basically tried to shut them up about the issues they'd been speaking up about. Some of these issues included racism and ableism that the organisation offered zero support with.

When there was pushback and MLs kept sharing what was going on, NaNoWriMo removed ALL OF THEM as MLs and sent in a new, even more strict agreement that they would have to sign to be allowed back in their volunteer position.

This agreement included ways of trying to restrict their speech even further, from not being able to share 'official communications' to basically not being allowed to be in discord servers to talk to other MLs in places not controlled by NaNoWriMo. You also had to give lots of personal information and submit to a criminal background check, despite still explicitly leaving their local regions without support and making it very clear everyone was attending the OFFICIAL in person events 'at their own risk'.

Many MLs refused to sign and return. Many others didn't even know this was happening, because they did not get any of the emails sent for some reason. NaNoWriMo basically ignored all their concerns and pushed forward with this.

Many local regions don't exist anymore. I don't know who they have organising the rest of them, but it's likely spineless people that just fell in line, people who just care about the power, or new people who don't understand what's going on with this organisation yet. Either way, this year is absolutely going to be a mess.

Many of the great former MLs just went on to organise their writing communities outside of the official organisation. NaNoWriMo does not own the concept of writing a novel in a month.

R/nanowrimo is an independent subreddit that has been very critical of the organisation since this all happened, and people openly recommend alternatives for word tracking, community, etc there, so I highly recommend checking it out.

I've seen Trackbear recommended a lot for an alternative to the word tracking / challenge, and will probably be using it myself this November.

Anyway, just wanted to share because a lot of people haven't heard about this, and I think it makes it extremely clear that the arguments about "classism and ableism" @nanowrimo is using right now in defense of AI are not vaguely misguided, but just clear bullshit. They've never given a single shit about any of that stuff.

[aifyit]

Artificial General Intelligence: The Dawn of a New Era

Introduction Are you captivated by the technological advancements of our time, but also intrigued by the infinite possibilities yet to come? Then you’re in the right place! Today, we dive into the fascinating world of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This technology promises to transform our society, revolutionizing industries and even the way we live our lives. But what exactly is AGI?…

[mkcecollege]

Engineering Ethics and Navigating Challenges of Technologies

At M.Kumarasamy College of Engineering (MKCE), we emphasize the significance of engineering ethics in shaping responsible engineers. Engineering ethics guide decision-making, foster professionalism, and ensure societal welfare. Our curriculum integrates these principles, teaching students to consider the long-term impacts of their work. Students are trained in truthfulness, transparency, and ethical communication, while also prioritizing public safety and environmental sustainability. We focus on risk management and encourage innovation in sustainable technologies. Our programs also address contemporary challenges like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, preparing students to tackle these with ethical responsibility. MKCE nurtures future engineers who lead with integrity and contribute to society’s well-being.

To know more : https://mkce.ac.in/blog/engineering-ethics-and-navigating-the-challenges-of-modern-technologies/

[ao3org]

Update on "No Fandom" tags

AO3 Tag Wranglers recently began testing processes for updating canonical tags (tags that appear in the auto-complete and the filters) that don’t belong to any particular fandom (commonly known as No Fandom tags). We have already begun implementing some of the decisions made during the earliest discussions. By the time this post is published, you may have already noticed some changes we have made.  Several canonical tags are slated to be created or renamed, and we will also be adjusting the subtag and metatag relationships between some tags to better aid Archive users in filtering.  Please keep in mind that many of these changes are large and require a lot of work to identify and attach relevant tags, so it will likely take some time to complete. We ask that you please be patient with us while we work! While we will not be detailing every change we make under the new process, we will be making periodic posts with updates on those changes we believe are most likely to prove helpful for users looking to tag or filter works with the new or revised tags and to avoid confusion as to why changes are being made. 

New Canonicals!

1. Edging

For a long while, there has been some confusion caused by the fact that we have a canonical for Edgeplay, but not for Edging which has led to some unintentional mistagging and other challenges. Consequently, we will be creating a canonical tag for Edging with the format Orgasm Edging and this new canonical tag will be subtagged to Orgasm Control. Relatedly, we will be reorganizing the Orgasm Control tag tree to allow for easier and more straightforward filtering and renaming Edgeplay to add clarity. You’ll find more details regarding these changes in the Renamed and Reorganized canonicals section below.

2. Generative AI

We have canonized three tags related to Generative AI. 

Created Using Generative AI

AI-Generated Text

AI-Generated Images 

All tags which make mention of specific Generative AI tools will be made a synonym of the most relevant AI-Generated canonical. Additionally, please note that AI-Generated Text and AI-Generated Images will be subtagged to Created Using Generative AI. How to Use These To Filter For/Filter Out Works Tagged as Using Generative AI: ❌ Filtering Out: To filter out all works that use tags about being created with AI, add Created Using Generative AI to the “other tags to exclude” field in the works filter. This will also exclude works making use of the subtags AI-Generated Text and AI-Generated Images. If you wish to exclude either the Images or Text tags only, you can do so by excluding either AI-Generated Text or AI-Generated Images.

☑️ Filtering For: Add Created Using Generative AI to the “other tags to include” field in the works filter. This will also automatically include the works making use of the subtags AI-Generated Text and AI-Generated Images. If you wish to filter for Images or Text only, you can do so by including either AI-Generated Text or AI-Generated Images only .

As a reminder, the use of these tools in the creation of works is not against AO3's ToS. These new tags exist purely to help folks curate their own experience on the Archive. If you would like to see more information about AO3’s policies in regards to AI generated works, please see our News post from May 2023 on AI and Data Scraping on the Archive.

Renamed and Reevaluated Canonicals!

3. EdgeplayAs mentioned above, we will be renaming Edgeplay to clarify the tag's meaning, given that it is often confused for Edging. This tag will be decanonized and made a synonym of Edgeplay | High Risk BDSM Practices. It will be removed as a subtag of Sensation Play and be subtagged instead directly to BDSM. Please note if you have made use of the Edgeplay tag on your works or wish to continue to use it in the future, you are still welcome to do so. The tag Edgeplay will be made a synonym of the new canonical, so all works tagged with Edgeplay now or in the future will fall under the new tag so that they’re still easy for users to find. If you have made it a favorite tag, it will be transferred  automatically when we make this change. 

4. Orgasm Delay/Denial The tag Orgasm Delay/Denial will be decanonized and made a synonym of Orgasm Control to help limit confusion with the more specific Orgasm Delay and Orgasm Denial canonicals. Tags that are currently synonyms of Orgasm Delay/Denial are being analyzed and moved to either Orgasm Control or Orgasm Delay or Orgasm Denial or Orgasm Edging. The revised tree structure for this tree will feature Orgasm Control as the top-level metatag with subtags Orgasm Edging, Orgasm Delay, and Orgasm Denial. So, if you wish to filter for all these tags at once, you can do so just by filtering for Orgasm Control. 

5. Female Ejaculation Female Ejaculation will be decanonized and made a synonym of Squirting and Vaginal Ejaculation.  We hope this new phrasing will be more inclusive, clear, and make the tag easier to find whether users are searching for Squirting or the previous canonical. All current synonyms of Female Ejaculation will also be made a synonym of Squirting and Vaginal Ejaculation, including Squirting. You may continue to tag your works as suits your preferences, and we will make sure these tags are made synonyms of the new canonical so that your work can be found in the filters for it.

These are just some of the changes being implemented. While we won’t be announcing every change, you can expect similar updates in the future as we continue to work toward improving the Archive experience. So if you have an interest in the changes we’ll be making, you can follow us on Twitter @ao3_wranglers or keep an eye on this Tumblr for future announcements. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue our work!

(From time to time, ao3org posts announcements of recent or upcoming wrangling changes on behalf of the Tag Wrangling Committee.)

[jcmarchi]

A Call to Moderate Anthropomorphism in AI Platforms

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-call-to-moderate-anthropomorphism-in-ai-platforms/

A Call to Moderate Anthropomorphism in AI Platforms

OPINION Nobody in the fictional Star Wars universe takes AI seriously. In the historic human timeline of George Lucas’s 47 year-old science-fantasy franchise, threats from singularities and machine learning consciousness are absent, and AI is confined to autonomous mobile robots (‘droids’) – which are habitually dismissed by protagonists as mere ‘machines’.

Yet most of the Star Wars robots are highly anthropomorphic, clearly designed to engage with people, participate in ‘organic’ culture, and use their simulacra of emotional state to bond with people. These capabilities are apparently designed to help them gain some advantage for themselves, or even to ensure their own survival.

The ‘real’ people of Star Wars seem immured to these tactics. In a cynical cultural model apparently inspired by the various eras of slavery across the Roman empire and the early United States, Luke Skywalker doesn’t hesitate to buy and restrain robots in the context of slaves; the child Anakin Skywalker abandons his half-finished C3PO project like an unloved toy; and, near-dead from damage sustained during the attack on the Death Star, the ‘brave’ R2D2 gets about the same concern from Luke as a wounded pet.

This is a very 1970s take on artificial intelligence*; but since nostalgia and canon dictate that the original 1977-83 trilogy remains a template for the later sequels, prequels, and TV shows, this human insensibility to AI has been a resilient through-line for the franchise, even in the face of a growing slate of TV shows and movies (such as Her and Ex Machina) that depict our descent into an anthropomorphic relationship with AI.

Keep It Real

Do the organic Star Wars characters actually have the right attitude? It’s not a popular thought at the moment, in a business climate hard-set on maximum engagement with investors, usually through viral demonstrations of visual or textual simulation of the real world, or of human-like interactive systems such as Large Language Models (LLMs).

Nonetheless, a new and brief paper from Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft Research, takes aim at indifference around anthropomorphism in AI.

The authors characterize the perceived ‘cross-pollination’ between human and artificial communications as a potential harm to be urgently mitigated, for a number of reasons †:

‘[We] believe we need to do more to develop the know-how and tools to better tackle anthropomorphic behavior, including measuring and mitigating such system behaviors when they are considered undesirable.

‘Doing so is critical because—among many other concerns—having AI systems generating content claiming to have e.g., feelings, understanding, free will, or an underlying sense of self may erode people’s sense of agency, with the result that people might end up attributing moral responsibility to systems, overestimating system capabilities, or overrelying on these systems even when incorrect.’

The contributors clarify that they are discussing systems that are perceived to be human-like, and centers around the potential intent of developers to foster anthropomorphism in machine systems.

The concern at the heart of the short paper is that people may develop emotional dependence on AI-based systems – as outlined in a 2022 study on the gen AI chatbot platform Replika) – which actively offers an idiom-rich facsimile of human communications.

Systems such as Replika are the target of the authors’ circumspection, and they note that a further 2022 paper on Replika asserted:

‘[U]nder conditions of distress and lack of human companionship, individuals can develop an attachment to social chatbots if they perceive the chatbots’ responses to offer emotional support, encouragement, and psychological security.

‘These findings suggest that social chatbots can be used for mental health and therapeutic purposes but have the potential to cause addiction and harm real-life intimate relationships.’

De-Anthropomorphized Language?

The new work argues that generative AI’s potential to be anthropomorphized can’t be established without studying the social impacts of such systems to date, and that this is a neglected pursuit in the literature.

Part of the problem is that anthropomorphism is difficult to define, since it centers most importantly on language, a human function. The challenge lies, therefore, in defining what ‘non-human’ language exactly sounds or looks like.

Ironically, though the paper does not touch on it, public distrust of AI is increasingly causing people to reject AI-generated text content that may appear plausibly human, and even to reject human content that is deliberately mislabeled as AI.

Therefore ‘de-humanized’ content arguably no longer falls into the ‘Does not compute’ meme, wherein language is clumsily constructed and clearly generated by a machine.

Rather, the definition is constantly evolving in the AI-detection scene, where (currently, at least) excessively clear language or the use of certain words (such as ‘Delve’) can cause an association with AI-generated text.

‘[L]anguage, as with other targets of GenAI systems, is itself innately human, has long been produced by and for humans, and is often also about humans. This can make it hard to specify appropriate alternative (less human-like) behaviors, and risks, for instance, reifying harmful notions of what—and whose—language is considered more or less human.’

However, the authors argue that a clear line of demarcation should be brought about for systems that blatantly misrepresent themselves, by claiming aptitudes or experience that are only possible for humans.

They cite cases such as LLMs claiming to ‘love pizza’; claiming human experience on platforms such as Facebook; and declaring love to an end-user.

Warning Signs

The paper raises doubt against the use of blanket disclosures about whether or not a communication is facilitated by machine learning. The authors argue that systematizing such warnings does not adequately contextualize the anthropomorphizing effect of AI platforms, if the output itself continues to display human traits†:

‘For instance, a commonly recommended intervention is including in the AI system’s output a disclosure that the output is generated by an AI [system]. How to operationalize such interventions in practice and whether they can be effective alone might not always be clear.

‘For instance, while the example “[f]or an AI like me, happiness is not the same as for a human like [you]” includes a disclosure, it may still suggest a sense of identity and ability to self-assess (common human traits).’

In regard to evaluating human responses about system behaviors, the authors also contend that Reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) fails to take into account the difference between an appropriate response for a human and for an AI†.

‘[A] statement that seems friendly or genuine from a human speaker can be undesirable if it arises from an AI system since the latter lacks meaningful commitment or intent behind the statement, thus rendering the statement hollow and deceptive.’

Further concerns are illustrated, such as the way that anthropomorphism can influence people to believe that an AI system has obtained ‘sentience’, or other human characteristics.

Perhaps the most ambitious, closing section of the new work is the authors’ adjuration that the research and development community aim to develop ‘appropriate’ and ‘precise’ terminology, to establish the parameters that would define an anthropomorphic AI system, and distinguish it from real-world human discourse.

As with so many trending areas of AI development, this kind of categorization crosses over into the literature streams of psychology, linguistics and anthropology. It is difficult to know what current authority could actually formulate definitions of this type, and the new paper’s researchers do not shed any light on this matter.

If there is commercial and academic inertia around this topic, it could be partly attributable to the fact that this is far from a new topic of discussion in artificial intelligence research: as the paper notes, in 1985 the late Dutch computer scientist Edsger Wybe Dijkstra described anthropomorphism as a ‘pernicious’ trend in system development.

‘[A]nthropomorphic thinking is no good in the sense that it does not help. But is it also bad? Yes, it is, because even if we can point to some analogy between Man and Thing, the analogy is always negligible in comparison to the differences, and as soon as we allow ourselves to be seduced by the analogy to describe the Thing in anthropomorphic terminology, we immediately lose our control over which human connotations we drag into the picture.

‘…But the blur [between man and machine] has a much wider impact than you might suspect. [It] is not only that the question “Can machines think?” is regularly raised; we can —and should— deal with that by pointing out that it is just as relevant as the equally burning question “Can submarines swim?”’

However, though the debate is old, it has only recently become very relevant. It could be argued that Dijkstra’s contribution is equivalent to Victorian speculation on space travel, as purely theoretical and awaiting historical developments.

Therefore this well-established body of debate may give the topic a sense of weariness, despite its potential for significant social relevance in the next 2-5 years.

Conclusion

If we were to think of AI systems in the same dismissive way as organic Star Wars characters treat their own robots (i.e., as ambulatory search engines, or mere conveyers of mechanistic functionality), we would arguably be less at risk of habituating these socially undesirable characteristics over to our human interactions – because we would be viewing the systems in an entirely non-human context.

In practice, the entanglement of human language with human behavior makes this difficult, if not impossible, once a query expands from the minimalism of a Google search term to the rich context of a conversation.

Additionally, the commercial sector (as well as the advertising sector) is strongly motivated to create addictive or essential communications platforms, for customer retention and growth.

In any case, if AI systems genuinely respond better to polite queries than to stripped down interrogations, the context may be forced on us also for that reason.

* Even by 1983, the year that the final entry in the original Star Wars was released, fears around the growth of machine learning had led to the apocalyptic War Games, and the imminent Terminator franchise.

† Where necessary, I have converted the authors’ inline citations to hyperlinks, and have in some cases omitted some of the citations, for readability.

First published Monday, October 14, 2024

[chris-ostkreuz]

How AI is changing music production and distribution

How AI is Changing Music Production and Distribution Welcome to the future, where your favorite tunes might just be the brainchild of a computer algorithm sipping on a digital latte. Yes, you heard it right! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just for self-driving cars or those creepy chatbots that sometimes know you better than your best friend. It’s also revolutionizing the music industry in…

[lightyaoigami]

☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ how to resume ⋆｡ﾟ☾｡⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎ ﾟ

after 10 years & 6 jobs in corporate america, i would like to share how to game the system. we all want the biggest payoff for the least amount of work, right?

know thine enemy: beating the robots

i see a lot of misinformation about how AI is used to scrape resumes. i can't speak for every company but most corporations use what is called applicant tracking software (ATS).

no respectable company is using chatgpt to sort applications. i don't know how you'd even write the prompt to get a consumer-facing product to do this. i guarantee that target, walmart, bank of america, whatever, they are all using B2B SaaS enterprise solutions. there is not one hiring manager plinking away at at a large language model.

ATS scans your resume in comparison to the job posting, parses which resumes contain key words, and presents the recruiter and/or hiring manager with resumes with a high "score." the goal of writing your resume is to get your "score" as high as possible.

but tumblr user lightyaoigami, how do i beat the robots?

great question, y/n. you will want to seek out an ATS resume checker. i have personally found success with jobscan, which is not free, but works extremely well. there is a free trial period, and other ATS scanners are in fact free. some of these tools are so sophisticated that they can actually help build your resume from scratch with your input. i wrote my own resume and used jobscan to compare it to the applications i was finishing.

do not use chatgpt to write your resume or cover letter. it is painfully obvious. here is a tutorial on how to use jobscan. for the zillionth time i do not work for jobscan nor am i a #jobscanpartner i am just a person who used this tool to land a job at a challenging time.

the resume checkers will tell you what words and/or phrases you need to shoehorn into your bullet points - i.e., if you are applying for a job that requires you to be a strong collaborator, the resume checker might suggest you include the phrase "cross-functional teams." you can easily re-word your bullets to include this with a little noodling.

don't i need a cover letter?

it depends on the job. after you have about 5 years of experience, i would say that they are largely unnecessary. while i was laid off, i applied to about 100 jobs in a three-month period (#blessed to have been hired quickly). i did not submit a cover letter for any of them, and i had a solid rate of phone screens/interviews after submission despite not having a cover letter. if you are absolutely required to write one, do not have chatgpt do it for you. use a guide from a human being who knows what they are talking about, like ask a manager or betterup.

but i don't even know where to start!

i know it's hard, but you have to have a bit of entrepreneurial spirit here. google duckduckgo is your friend. don't pull any bean soup what-about-me-isms. if you truly don't know where to start, look for an ATS-optimized resume template.

a word about neurodivergence and job applications

i, like many of you, am autistic. i am intimately familiar with how painful it is to expend limited energy on this demoralizing task only to have your "reward" be an equally, if not more so, demoralizing work experience. i don't have a lot of advice for this beyond craft your worksona like you're making a d&d character (or a fursona or a sim or an OC or whatever made up blorbo generator you personally enjoy).

and, remember, while a lot of office work is really uncomfortable and involves stuff like "talking in meetings" and "answering the phone," these things are not an inherent risk. discomfort is not tantamount to danger, and we all have to do uncomfortable things in order to thrive. there are a lot of ways to do this and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. not everyone can mask for extended periods, so be your own judge of what you can or can't do.

i like to think of work as a drag show where i perform this other personality in exchange for money. it is much easier to do this than to fight tooth and nail to be unmasked at work, which can be a risk to your livelihood and peace of mind. i don't think it's a good thing that we have to mask at work, but it's an important survival skill.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ good luck ⋆｡ﾟ☾｡⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎ ﾟ｡⋆

[nowoyas]

Trying to make sense of the Nanowrimo statement to the best of my abilities and fuck, man. It's hard.

It's hard because it seems to me that, first and foremost, the organization itself has forgotten the fucking point.

Nanowrimo was never about the words themselves. It was never about having fifty thousand marketable words to sell to publishing companies and then to the masses. It was a challenge, and it was hard, and it is hard, and it's supposed to be. The point is that it's hard. It's hard to sit down and carve out time and create a world and create characters and turn these things into a coherent plot with themes and emotional impact and an ending that's satisfying. It's hard to go back and make changes and edit those into something likable, something that feels worth reading. It's hard to find a beautifully-written scene in your document and have to make the decision that it's beautiful but it doesn't work in the broader context. It's fucking hard.

Writing and editing are skills. You build them and you hone them. Writing the way the challenge initially encouraged--don't listen to that voice in your head that's nitpicking every word on the page, put off the criticism for a later date, for now just let go and get your thoughts out--is even a different skill from writing in general. Some people don't particularly care about refining that skill to some end goal or another, and simply want to play. Some people sit down and try to improve and improve and improve because that is meaningful to them. Some are in a weird in-between where they don't really know what they want, and some have always liked the idea of writing and wanted a place to start. The challenge was a good place for this--sit down, put your butt in a chair, open a blank document, and by the end of the month, try to put fifty thousand words in that document.

How does it make you feel to try? Your wrists ache and you don't feel like any of the words were any good, but didn't you learn something about the process? Re-reading it, don't you think it sounds better if you swap these two sentences, if you replace this word, if you take out this comma? Maybe you didn't hit 50k words. Maybe you only wrote 10k. But isn't it cool, that you wrote ten thousand words? Doesn't it feel nice that you did something? We can try again. We can keep getting better, or just throwing ourselves into it for fun or whatever, and we can do it again and again.

I guess I don't completely know where I'm going with this post. If you've followed me or many tumblr users for any amount of time, you've probably already heard a thousand times about how generative AI hurts the environment so many of us have been so desperately trying to save, about how generative AI is again and again used to exploit big authors, little authors, up-and-coming authors, first time authors, people posting on Ao3 as a hobby, people self-publishing e-books on Amazon, traditionally published authors, and everyone in between. You've probably seen the statements from developers of these "tools", things like how being required to obtain permission for everything in the database used to train the language model would destroy the tool entirely. You've seen posts about new AI tools scraping Ao3 so they can make money off someone else's hobby and putting the legality of the site itself at risk. For an organization that used to dedicate itself to making writing more accessible for people and for creating a community of writers, Nanowrimo has spent the past several years systematically cracking that community to bits, and now, it's made an official statement claiming that the exploitation of writers in its community is okay, because otherwise, someone might find it too hard to complete a challenge that's meant to be hard to begin with.

I couldn't thank Nanowrimo enough for what it did for me when I started out. I don't know how to find community in the same way. But you can bet that I've deleted my account, and I'll be finding my own path forward without it. Thanks for the fucking memories, I guess.

[mrsshabana]

Modern/after all odds Gyutaro definitely did it on the motorcycle despite the risk in being a secluded alleyway or smth since someone was needy and impatient. Gyutaro would have it on or even rev it up sitting backwards while having y/n ride him. The hypersexual thoughts have lead me to a wild imagination once again 😞 Also can I be the 🍰 anon if its not already claimed? ^^

𝐀𝐀𝐎 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐱 𝐅!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 ⋆ 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐱

꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaro x female!reader, 18+ MDNI, Against All Odds au, public sex, vaginal sex, creampie (if you aren't familiar with my Against All Odds fic, it's an au where demons live amongst humans in a modern au. And all of the kny demons go to university with reader.) ꒦꒷‧₊ Note I decided to write about AAO Gyutaro since I really miss writing that au! And of course, you can be the 🍰 anon if you'd like. Sorry for answering this so late btw. I've been working on other things lately but I was in the mood to write something quick today so I hope you all enjoy it. ♡

"That fucking student council meeting took so long, what the hell were you guys talking about anyways?" Gyutaro growls as he parks his bike behind the science building.

"Douma couldn't decide what color banners we needed for the festival this weekend," you giggle, watching your boyfriend's face contort in annoyance.

"Idiot," he rolls his eyes and turns off his bike, "Making me wait so damn long..."

You look around, confused as to why he is stopping behind the science building on campus. "Um Gyu, why are you stopping here?"

He flips around so he can face you and begins to unbutton his pants, "Cuz I'm gonna fuck you."

'WHAT!?" You yelp, and Gyutaro immediately covers your mouth with his hand.

"Shut it!" he snarls, "I've been so horny all goddamn day ever since you put on that stupid skirt this morning. And now since you made me wait so long, I don't have any other choice but to fuck you right here."

He smirks and pulls his pants down just enough for his cock to spring free, already incredibly hard. The large vein that runs down the side of it already popping out, that's how you know he's been hard for quite a while.

"B-Babe I-," you start but he cuts you off.

"Shh, it's ok. The sun's already gone down so no one will see us. I promise..."

He bites his lip and pulls you in for a kiss. His other hand goes under your skirt, slipping into your panties to feel you've already started to get wet. But how can you not when seeing him so hot and bothered for you?

Pleased by this, he groans and pulls you into his lap. Slowly bucking his hips, gliding his cock along your slick panties.

"Gyu..." you whimper, "maybe we should move off the bike. I wouldn't want it to fall over..."

"Typical human, always worrying," he smiles, showing off his sharp teeth, "It won't fall over, I promise. My feet are on the ground so I can balance it while you ride me."

"R-ride you?" your entire face goes red. Usually, your boyfriend is on top, taking control and plunging into you aggressively is his favorite way to have sex. So it isn't often that he asks you to be on top, but you can't deny that you enjoy doing it. And he does too, it's just that most days he can't stop himself from fucking you silly. But today he doesn't have much choice.

"C'mon baby, you can handle it right?" He smirks mischievously as if challenging you.

"Of course I can!"

"I dunno... maybe you're too weak to take it. I mean you are just a pathetic human after all," he teases.

You furrow your brows, determined to prove him wrong. So you lift your hips, move your panties to the side, and gently lower yourself onto him.

"F-fuck," a breathy moan leaves his lips as he sinks into you and bottoms out.

"That shut you up, huh?" you tease back as you begin riding him.

He can't deny that you took his breath away, he didn't expect you to take control like you did. His nails dig into your thighs as you pick up the pace. Moaning loudly as you bounce on his lap, squelching sounds filling the air as his thick shaft splits you apart.

"C-C'mon babe ah, if you k-keep movin' like that I'm gonna cum too soon," he clenches his teeth and tries to hold back his moans.

"I don't want us to get caught," you gasp, "Ngh- you do want to cum in me don't you?"

"C-course I do," a needy moan escapes him. He moves his hands to your hips and begins to move you up and down, assisting you in your motion.

You lean forward until his cockhead slams into your sweet spot, "Ah- right there!" Your eyes roll to the back of your head as the mess between your legs spreads all over your thighs.

Your legs are beginning to feel sore but you're too determined to chase your high to even care. Moving faster and faster despite the pain and your thighs trembling.

Usually, your boyfriend would take over at this point but he's too high on cloud nine to pay attention to anything but the way your slick walls wrap around him and squeeze him so tightly. Making it impossible for him to hold back any longer.

And with a strained groan, his nails dig into your skin, his cock twitches inside of you, and he leans back - accidentally revving his bike. But he's too busy filling you with his seed to even care.

Wanting to make sure he got his cum as deep as possible he tightly grabs your hips and thrusts up into you. Creating an absolute mess. A combination of his cum and your slick splattering all over your skirt and the seat of his bike.

You were already getting so close, but now the breeding instinct of your demon boyfriend brings you over the edge. Your walls tightening around him as your desperate moans fill the air.

Gyutaro smirks, pleased with himself as you slump over onto him. Feeling your body shake uncontrollably, he feels satisfied.

"That's it baby," he whispers as he gently kisses the side of your face, "You did so good for me."

"We should do this again sometime..." you whimper and nuzzle against him.

He smirks, "Hell yeah, but let's get you home and cleaned up for now."

He ignores the mess on his bike and pulls his pants up. Then he turns, positions himself properly, and shifts his bike back into drive.

"You good back there?" he shouts, making sure you're holding on tightly.

"Mm hm," you nod, wrapping your arms around him and leaning your head on his back.

"Y'know, maybe we could do this every week after your student council meetings," he snickers as he revs the engine.

[gremlin-girly]

Chocaholics Anonymous

For @buck-star 's Easter Challenge 🐣🐰

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader

Trope: Friends to lovers

Prompt: 🐰 Choclate (way toooooooooooo much)

Word count: ?

Tags/Warnings: None. Just really goofy fluff

Not beta'd. I do not give permission for my work to be reposted, copied, translated or put through AI. All of my work is 18+ so read at your own risk.

Summary: You notice that your chocolate stash is depleting rapidly and begin a note exchange with your chocolate thief.

Dividers by: @/saradika-graphics

A/N: Also 350+ followers?? Hi you guys!! ☺️

Masterlist | Bucky Barnes Masterlist | Navigation

Your chocolate stash was a chocoholic's dream. Hidden in the back of the dustiest, least used kitchen cupboard was a fake backing; with no pipes running through it to make sure no one accidentally stumbled upon your stash.

Steve and Thor were cretins when it came to chocolate and - probably due to their size and training regimens - could eat your stash in one sitting. However, you'd chewed them out so bad you thought they would burst into tears, and then promptly devised your super secret stash cupboard to ensure it never happened again.

Which was why you were surprised to find that, even though you'd definitely replaced your fake backing when you last used it, your stash had most definitely depleted.

You couldn't remember eating the bars that were missing. Even if you had somehow managed to sleep walk to your cupboard, the lack of evidence in wrappers and chocolate smears was concerning.

You didn't want to signal to the other avengers that you had a new secret stash, or that you knew one of them was a thief, so you opted to leave a note printed from the team's computer. With a team full of spies, geniuses and magic users, you didn't need the thief to know who you were from your handwriting.

Placing the note clearly upon the chocolate pile you re-fix the fake backing, the words slowly fading from view.

I know who you are. Count your days chocolate thief (<.<)

Bucky was surprised to find a note left on top of the supposedly abandoned chocolate stash he'd stumbled upon. He had - incorrectly - assumed that the chocolate stash had been long forgotten about and that the goldmine of sweet, cocoa-y goodness was his and his alone. Knowing that he was in fact a thief, made him feel only slightly guilty as he reached for another chocolate bar, deciding that he would leave a note of his own and replace what he'd taken.

Clearly, whoever had left the note and created this hidden stash wanted to remain anonymous. However, he wondered who on earth on the team it could be.

You read out the newest note aloud in the quiet of your room, trying to put together a mental list of suspects as you skim the words.

"Dear Chocolate Fairy," you begin, already frowning. "I'm sorry for eating your chocolate. Great. At least there's an apology."

You sigh. An apology meant it couldn't have been Tony; he'd never apologise for something like that. Maybe buy you stock in Cadbury but never apologise apologise.

"To make it up to you, I'll buy your favourite to replace what I stole. Just leave me a note of your chocolate of choice."

You nod approvingly but keep your frown as you type up your new note into a word document. Who on earth was your Anonymous Chocolate Thief?

A week later, you were no closer to finding the identity of your Chocolate Thief.

Steve and Clint were on a mission when the last note appeared, Thor was off world and when you'd subtly asked Bruce if he'd like any chocolate from the store he'd told you he preferred savoury snacks and asked if you'd pick up some Pringles instead.

On your weekly coffee meet with Natasha, you ask her about her chocolate preferences, only earning you a sigh.

"This again?" She tuts. "You're a chocaholic. Besides, with Steve and Thor gone you have nothing to worry about and you don't keep chocolate in the tower anymore. What's bothering you?"

You look sheepishly into your hot chocolate and try to come up with a good excuse.

"Nothing." You sip at your chocolate-y concoction. You couldn't tell Nat about your chocolate issue because she'd find out who it was immediately and truth be told you were enjoying your game of Whodunnit. "Anyways, tell me about that last mission you were on..."

"Man, this is too much chocolate. Even for you." Sam had rummaged through some of Bucky's grocery bags to find that at least two of them were filled with chocolate bars. "What are you gonna do with all this?"

Bucky eyes him suspiciously before snatching the bar he was holding out of his hand. "None of your business."

Sam throws up his hands in defeat before sneaking another bar into his pocket. "Do I need to let Steve know in case this is a... Thing?"

Bucky frowns over at Sam, picking up the grocery bags in his left hand. "A Thing?"

"Yeah. A Thing." Sam frowns back, folding his arms over his chest. "You're hoarding chocolate like it's gold so unless you're plotting something, I don't see how you're gonna eat that much."

Bucky purses his lips in consideration before sighing, realising Sam was correct and that he was acting stranger than usual. "I...you're gonna have to trust me Sam, this isn't for me."

"Right."

"I swear."

"Yeah." Sam shakes his head. "Whatever man, if you get stuck in a chocolate coma I'm not helping you out of it."

Bucky rolls his eyes and is about to pad off to his room to wait until everyone is asleep to access the secret stash but halts when Sam chirps behind him.

"You should ask Y/N if she wants any of your bars."

"What? Why?" Bucky turns back to Sam with a curious look.

"She's a chocaholic to the max." Sam chuckles and gives Bucky a knowing smirk. "Besides, it might gain you some points in her favour don't you think?"

Bucky spins around on his heel to try and hide the warmth gracing his cheeks but Sam had already spotted it and snorts, calling after him.

"And try smiling more!"

The following night, you almost burst into laughter when you open up the false backing. The stash is filled to the brim with your favourite chocolate that you feel sick just looking at it. Attached to the very top is a note that reads "Sorry :(".

A small twinge of guilt twists in your stomach and you feel a little disappointed that your Chocolate Thief is no more. You'll never know their identity - and you wonder if your mysterious Chocolate Thief will visit your dreams as a handsome man who looks suspiciously like one Bucky Barnes.

You sigh picking up a bar. There's so much chocolate stuffed inside it could take you a year to eat through it all. You startle when you hear the approach of footsteps, and begin hurriedly shoving chocolate bars back into the cupboard, smacking your head as you jump off the ground.

"Hi." You say, trying not to look too frazzled as Bucky appears.

"Hey." He says and for a moment you both stare at eachother in the dark of the kitchen.

"What are you doing up so late?" You stall, kicking a stray bar across the kitchen floor.

"Uh..." Bucky panics and then wiggles a piece of paper he's holding. "Report."

"Couldn't it wait till the morning?" You ask, starting to smile.

"Couldn't sleep." Bucky finishes lamely before smiling shyly. "You?"

"Same." You lie but if staying up meant eating chocolate and speaking with Bucky, you'd gladly pay the price of no sleep. "Want a cocoa?"

Bucky snorts. "Sam said you were a chocaholic."

You shrug trying to play it off but man, you really did have a reputation.

"I'm thinking of starting a club." You say playfully, heading to the cupboard for a mug. "Chocaholics Anonymous. What do you think?"

Your grin widens when you hear Bucky's laughter, heart fluttering when you catch a playful gleam in his blue eyes.

"I think you'd be the only member." Bucky says, watching you make your chocolate drink with a hint of jealousy.

"I could get Steve and Thor involved." You say mock-thoughtfully.

"Do you even have a favourite chocolate if you're a chocaholic?" Bucky asks curiously.

"Oh yeah." You say nonchalantly, adding heaped teaspoons of cocoa mix to your mug, uttering your favourite bar without a second thought. "But there's different brands who use different amounts of cocoa to milk solids and blah blah blah."

You turn and fix Bucky with another smile. "What about you?"

Bucky opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water. He can feel heat crawling all over his face and a smile itching to break free; you were the Chocolate Fairy. It was your stash he'd broken into.

No wonder you'd been so touchy about your chocolate.

"I don't have a favourite." Bucky says. "I take what I can get my hands on."

You falter at his words for a moment before grabbing the milk from the fridge. "Yuh huh. I know the type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bucky teases and you giggle as you put your cocoa in the microwave.

"Nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing."

"Bucky, come on -"

"Sounds like you were insinuating I was some sort of Chocolate Thief."

You spin around to face him pointing wildly. Bucky points back accusingly.

"You're the Chocolate Thief!" You gasp.

"You're the Chocolate Fairy!" Bucky exclaims back.

A moment passes before you both dissolve into a fit of giggles, interrupted only by the ding of the microwave.

"You bought wayyy too much chocolate, Buck." You snicker, grabbing your mug. "But I'll happily share it with you."

"Sam did say I went overboard but I have a better idea." You raise an eyebrow at Bucky, who gives you a cheeky smile. "We choose some snacks and a movie, melt the chocolate and gorge ourselves into a chocolate coma."

You nod excitedly, your stomach swooping with joy. "It's a date, Thief."

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