Sometimes I wonder where we could be if all the AI money was spent on e.g. fusion energy research instead.

Frankly, foul folly feels fitter.

You may find another systemd command helpful: systemd-analyze. It has different subcommands you can use to figure out what exactly is slowing down your boot times.

I have been using pirated versions of plugins I own (iLok is a blight), but I understand how that wouldn't be feasible in a lot of cases.

I use swiping with Finnish/English/Swedish and it mostly works well enough, usually only very short words cause issues, but those I can just manually type anyway.

As a sidenote, that is exactly how most (all?) food delivery apps operate, presumably with no AI involved: Don't want to list your restaurant on an app, no problem, someone unaffiliated will create listing in your name. You'll still get customers complaining about high delivery prices, incorrect menu items and poor quality, while the app collects commissions and refuses to enforce any kind of control. Basically pressuring restaurants to pay for a listing on the app just to have any control over how their name is used.

Not exactly the first time, given the incident a few years ago where a dog ran into the street and was struck by a Waymo. It got some publicity at the time but was forgotten relatively quickly, presumably since it was quite clear there wasn't much any driver could have done in that situation. I expect this case will go over similarly, although maybe it will generate a bit more discussion since there are at least some imaginable ways this could have been prevented.

Isn't the smell just because the airlock dries out?

It doesn't exactly need to be a secret plottwist, given the game literally starts with Simon's brain damage, but there is also a bit of optional exposition about half way through about the gen 1 brainscans being primitive. Admittedly, it being consistent with the plot didn't make Simon any less infuriating, at least for me.