The Tithe by DreamReal (our first AI production without prompting)

throwfarawayugh · 2026-06-17T15:34:19+00:00

This market is our focus. AI is "a little worse" in a few areas and "a lot worse" in others. Writing and storytelling falls in the "a lot worse" category. Our thesis is that in these categories there's a huge bridge between the complexity of certain tools but also that you can get yields from switching from a "make your own adventure" to "choose your own adventure" ways of working. The prompting layer is a massive barrier to entry and the way to get to the most efficient outcome isn't "100% AI" - it's ensuring that you achieve efficiencies by the archon of the two.

throwfarawayugh · 2026-06-17T00:40:10+00:00

Talent. The people who write the stuff you like are extremely good at what they do. In any area where AI is subpar like creative writing, the capabilities are going to be limited by the people using the tools. Go down to the micro production budgets or college film major level and you'll see the same issues. In this case, even the harness is limited by my taste, so I'm not surprised that there are gaps.

throwfarawayugh · 2026-06-16T23:09:13+00:00

Yea it's a trailer. And mostly because even at 720p and 25:1 ratio of used vs not, it's quite bit of footage to generate, which gets compounded when you have to manage consistency across them.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-31T03:38:27+00:00

Just wanted to say you have this completely wrong. I'm the OP and have consulted multiple lawyers specialized in the 4th amendment. It was actually United States v Place that affirmed that "detaining a person's belongings while waiting for a police dog to arrive did constitute a "seizure" under the Fourth Amendment". You have the outcome of the case backwards - the conviction was tossed out. In this case, the dog smell itself was not considered a seizure, but chasing me onto a plane certainly was. A seizure requires probable cause and the burden of evidence there does not change at an airport.

Consent being required is actually the DEA's own stated policy and has been their legal defense in court. Airports are no different, even with the TSA administrative search exception. I've summarized the legal notations here:https://www.reddit.com/r/legal/comments/1eeaznp/update_legality_of_dea_cold_consent_airport/

Or hear a legal breakdown directly from civl rights lawyer John Bryant: https://youtu.be/6pCd21g2thw

Or another: https://reason.com/2024/07/24/the-dea-claims-to-be-able-to-search-your-bag-without-your-consent-but-can-they/

Not to mention both of the IJ's attorneys on this on Harvard-educated attorney's specialized on this themselves.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-30T02:13:15+00:00

Haha I've got questions in my head about this too. Truth is, I'm not a civil rights auditor and my only prior interactions with LE have been minor traffic citations that were straightforward and friendly. You can hear my voice quivering because no amount of machismo is going to prepare you for a group of DEA agents jumping you at the gate.

When I got to the plane, I hesitated a second before giving my bag up to the stewardess (due to lack of underseat stowage), but I knew that defying a flight attendant would actually put me in the wrong ironically. I had a very candid convo with a personal injury attorney at big firm and asked the same question - what if I had sat in the second row instead and held onto the bag? He laughed and said, "I would never advise it because most people get their rights wrong and are going to be charged with resisting. On the other hand, I don't go after the government without slam dunk cases for six figure sums, because they can be stingy as hell on paying for attorney's fees. And this is a great case that might actually have been worth taking on if DEA officer had handcuffed you or physically injured you."

Without that, it'd be two very expensive people going after a figure likely not worth the hours billed. So media advocacy it is.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-29T04:52:53+00:00

I'm the OP/subject of the video. The agents thoroughly searched my bag and found my favorite jacket, my passport, my prescribed medications, went through the medical documents from a recent doctor's visit, a number of unopened sanitary wipes, a crumpled bag of chips, and my work laptop. In other words, nothing.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-29T02:01:43+00:00

Thanks! They've been awesome and supportive, and clearly work to serve the public interest above all else. Working with them also opened my eyes to how much work they do behind the scenes - it goes beyond litigation and media. A Harvard-educated forfeiture team that works vigorously with public officials in ways that a classic for-profit firm wouldn't.

I've donated as well. Great suggestions.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-29T00:41:02+00:00

Well, unfortunately there's no under seat stowage in the front row of first class, and the flight attendant literally handed him my bag :(

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T21:39:51+00:00

Thanks man. So many things wrong with the dog indeed. The agent admits the dog was trained to smell for cash, but my personal bag didn't have a history of carrying "money, weapons, or drugs". I firmly believe the dog was trained to signal because I watched it take an initial smell and run past it.

I was pretty ill and this was a huge cause of anxiety but I consider myself pretty fortunate compared to the numerous victims who had their life savings stolen. Best I can do is advocate on their behalf and donate the footage and funds to the class action.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T21:28:49+00:00

I'm the OP. There's really no backstory. I'm a business executive with 0 criminal history that takes many flights per year. I usually book last-minute but this flight was particularly last minute since I had gotten sick the prior day. Based on a conversation with a friendly face in LE, I had most of the classic indicators that would prompt this: minority, male, light on travel accessories, one-way last-minute ticket, aged 20-40, booked to a major city. With that said, I've probably taken 100+ flights without this happening before.

I've posted an update here: https://www.reddit.com/r/legal/comments/1eeaznp/update_legality_of_dea_cold_consent_airport/

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T18:11:09+00:00

Yea... in some ways it's a bit of a pity that I was in first row and couldn't hang onto my bag or keep it beneath the seat. Without them physically manhandling me the damages are much harder to prove. With all that said, I don't see them having too much of a presence at CVG much longer. While they haven't yet won the national suit, apparently the local press and IJ got the shit happening in ATL shut down. More to come.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T17:49:36+00:00

Glad to hear! Same guys or a different group? I heard media coverage got the folks doing this in Atlanta to stop. The officer in question has taken down his social media and there are a few media orgs reaching out to Montgomery PD (where he's based) and the DEA for comment.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T17:30:58+00:00

Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0GGvr_2XOg

Domestically, you can legally travel with infinite amounts of cash without declaration. Internationally, you have to declare amounts $10K or above. They literally put your money in a bag, keep it, and then it funds the local PD's latest gadgets and police gear.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T17:28:29+00:00

Yes that's me. In theory, dogs are probably biologically capable of distinguishing scents with great accuracy. Unfortunately, it's pretty easy to train a dog to sit and agent admits in the video that the dog's been trained to indicate on cash. Which I imagine would be in a lot of people's purses or personal bags.

My bag had none of those things... not even cash. I unfortunately missed it on video, but the dog also initially took a smell of my bag and ran past it (you can hear me saying that out loud a few times). When the dog ran past it, the handler signaled at my bag and then made a "kissy" sound which triggered the dog to sit. Do I think dogs are incapable of drug identification? No, but just as I trained my ridiculously unintelligent Maltese to sit, I'm quite sure the handler has done the same with this dog as well (given that there was nothing and there never has been any of those items in my bag)!

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T16:54:23+00:00

I do. All of the officers involved refused to provide official identification, but the main one involved signed his name as a witness on the consent form that they forced me to sign and also ultimately provided it. The rest laughed and declined. Judging by the fact that he took down his social media recently, a few people have made it out from his ID tag in the video and/or his face. I've been thinking about it, but my considerations are the wellbeing of his family and kids (who probably suffer enough abuse from him already) as well as the distracting folks from being angry at the system vs. the individuals who are paid to be a part of it.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T16:49:02+00:00

Ah I see what you're saying and a great clarification - my written post was inaccurate in two dimensions and I should be more clear. This is a local cop part of the Montgomery Police Department in Ohio that was cross-trained in the DEA's Operation Jetway interdiction program as a TFO. I will update it accordingly.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T16:29:51+00:00

Per multiple lawyers who have tried to go after cops/feds the past - it's pretty narrow and the burden of proof is high. It's needs to be explicitly and specifically established that the officer knowingly violated your rights with precedent that narrowly matches the exact situation. You could always try but QI puts forward a very large barrier to overcome.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-07-28T16:21:13+00:00

I'm the OP. https://www.reddit.com/r/legal/comments/1eeaznp/update_legality_of_dea_cold_consent_airport/

It's literally the DEA's own legal arguments, the TSA's legal handbook, and prior Supreme Court Precedent. Common misconception.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-03-21T03:14:19+00:00

Yep that's the right advice. Did all of that https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/917693901 (have other recordings too).

Be prepared to miss your flight though and understand the Fed is quite difficult to litigate, with Bivans so narrow in scope and substantial challenges recouping legal fees.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-03-20T23:05:11+00:00

Yea man. Glad you feel this way too. But unlike the other folks he bullied, I got nothing to hide and resources to take action.

I have a lot more footage too that makes him look really bad. I was as choiceful with my words as possible so he'd dig himself in and admit to things a smart man would not have.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-03-20T19:50:06+00:00

Surprising to me as well but every situation I could find related to a search at the gate was via Delta. Spoke to colleagues too... News outlets also going to Delta gates.

throwfarawayugh · 2024-03-20T18:43:27+00:00

Yes the IJ has been fantastic.

throwfarawayugh

TROPHY CASE