SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR [1]. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column: Some more threats in cyberspace. (Pictured is a data center in Prineville, Oregon.)
UK to Require Digital ID for All Adults
Over at the UK Metro: Every adult in the UK will soon be required to have a digital ‘Brit-card’ ID [2].
Polish Government Issues Advisory on Belarus
“Leave Immediately”: Polish Government Issues Urgent Advisory for Its Citizens in Belarus [3].
South Dakota Cull: 420,000 Turkeys
Reader D.S.V. sent this: More Than 420,000 Turkeys Killed In South Dakota As Bird Flu Marches West [4].
IBM: 10 AI Dangers and Risks
A posted White Paper from Rina Diane Caballar at IBM: 10 AI dangers and risks and how to manage them. [5]
AI Deception Risks
This was published by the NIH, back in May, 2024: AI deception: A survey of examples, risks, and potential solutions. The paper’s summary:
“This paper argues that a range of current AI systems have learned how to deceive humans. We define deception as the systematic inducement of false beliefs in the pursuit of some outcome other than the truth. We first survey empirical examples of AI deception, discussing both special-use AI systems (including Meta’s CICERO) and general-purpose AI systems (including large language models). Next, we detail several risks from AI deception, such as fraud, election tampering, and losing control of AI. Finally, we outline several potential solutions: first, regulatory frameworks should subject AI systems that are capable of deception to robust risk-assessment requirements; second, policymakers should implement bot-or-not laws; and finally, policymakers should prioritize the funding of relevant research, including tools to detect AI deception and to make AI systems less deceptive. Policymakers, researchers, and the broader public should work proactively to prevent AI deception from destabilizing the shared foundations of our society.”
Police Use Ten Different Types of Checkpoints
Reader B.B. mentioned this piece that was posted back in 2016: Police use 10 different types of checkpoints, with more on the way [6]. JWR Asks: Are checkpoints now more commonplace, or less so?
Rethinking The Future Of Cash
At Global Finance: Rethinking The Future Of Cash [7].
Going Cashless: Public Life Is Now A Subscription Service
Reader D.S.V. recommended this insightful piece by Tim Brown: The Path Towards Cashless Society: Public Life Is Now A Subscription Service [8]. Here is an excerpt:
“I admit I wasn’t totally shocked by this development. It brought to mind my trip to England to attend the Better Way Conference in 2023 [9]. I remember the same look of consternation (or was it condescension?) on the faces of the cashiers in various stores as they explained they were “cashless only.” And I remember realizing at that time just how sheltered I am from the reality of the coming cashless society, living as I do in Japan, where cash is still (mostly) king.”
Generals and Top NCOs Meet for Military Overhaul Briefings
Over at the Whatfinger.com [10]news aggregation site: Hegseth and Trump’s Military Overhaul: Purging Woke Weakness to Forge a Combat-Ready Force for America’s Future Challenges [11].
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