twovests

twovests OP wrote

Reply to comment by toasthaste in i used to do machine learning ("AI") research, and i hate how bad the repute for AI has gotten by twovests

Hey!! Replying on mobile so I'll be sparse, but ya! I basically agree with you, I read your comment in good faith and I knew most of this but I appreciate it anyway. Good + informative comment, esp for the shoutout to give directly.

I used to identify as an effective altruist for basically all the same reasons you are pro-EA!

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twovests OP wrote (edited )

Reply to comment by anethum in i used to do machine learning ("AI") research, and i hate how bad the repute for AI has gotten by twovests

A bit of both.

The best models still absolutely fucks up code in the same way it does prose, but GitHub's Copilot gets it right 90% of the time. If you're writing in a new language, you can end up with an MVP waaaay faster than you would've before. If you have a method signature with descriptive names, it can usually fill it out for you. If you're a product manager, instead of hiring a team of datascientists, you might just hire one.

I think it's fair to say the supply-vs-demand of programming expertise changed a lot over 2023, purely because of these tools. That's my bread-and-butter and it's depressing.

With Google and other search engines turning to garbage, communities/support becoming increasingly dependent on Discord, and StackOverflow also turning to garbage (with AI answeres), so I found myself just giving up and checking ChatGPT and Copilot instead.

A lot of my coworkers are vocally dependent on these models, and suddenly I was one of them too.

AFAICT, this kind of replacement isn't happening wholesale for artists. People are using AI models in asset-creation pipelines and for decoration and marketing materials, and people are using models instead of commissioning art. But AFAICT there's not the industry-wide "ask ChatGPT rather than your coworkers or docs" that I'm seeing.

This makes sense, because "How do I unwrap this observable?" has one correct answer, whereas you really can't find a model that can, say, "Create concept art for an 80s-inspired retro desk fan prop in our South African inspired animal people world".

TLDR:

  • Current models still mess up, but get things right very often.
  • Programmers are definitely becoming dependent on these models.
  • Programmers are definitely being replaced, and my understanding is that artists aren't being replaced as widely yet.
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twovests wrote

Reply to my dry theater treat by cat

there is something VERY funny about imagining someone eating croutons very loudly in the theater. like

CRONCH chchc

...

CRO

CRONNCHH

CRONCH

C

CRONCH

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twovests OP wrote

Reply to comment by Moonside in babe i love you. but it's just like email. it's easy. just pick an instance please. no no not that one. DEFINITELY not that one. that one's good bu- oh nono not that one. maybe we can host one? it'll be $20/mo plus $30/year? babe? babe don't go by twovests

Oh yeah, you can absolutely do it in Debian.

My argument is that there is a lot new on the table for someone like me, who was just a kid who liked computers. I got Linux because Windows Vista was way too heavy for my laptop (+ Chrome, GIMP, etc. had Linux-exclusive 64-bit builds.)

My first experience with Ubuntu was playing around with GNOME, and then Unity when it came out on my next install. When I learned there were dozens of other DEs for me to try, I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

What's better is that I could even play Runescape and Minecraft again! It went from "6 fps and then my laptop turns off" to "like 12fps" which was sweet.

When I made the realization that almost anything I did could be written down to a .sh file and repeated, e.g. setting up a fresh install, my brain fucking exploded.

I'm a wizened Linux enjoyer now and I basically agree with you, but when I was a preteen, Ubuntu was the OS that was twice as fast, had a dozen different skins, made it dead-easy to install things, and also let you script it.

... Speaking of, I wonder what new DEs are out there...

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twovests OP wrote

Reply to comment by flabberghaster in the worst change to halo is when they gave spartans genders to sell cosmetics. spartans were supposed to be agender is the thing by twovests

yeah that's exactly it. specifically, the spartan IIs

the spartan IIIs (who make the majority of the main characters in reach) were recruited from orphans

the spartan IVs (halo 4, 5, infinite multiplayer spartans were recruited from willing adults

the spartan IIs are the ones who are agender. but this isn't "good representation", let alone representation at all

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twovests wrote (edited )

Reply to comment by flabberghaster in I believe, if you do not wear a mask in indoor public spaces, you should face jail time by flabberghaster

i'm immunocompromised but wearing a mask drives my TMJ up the wall. i try to limit my mask wearing. it's a balancing act of "how much risk am i taking" and "ow ow my jaw + all the regular discomforts of wearing a mask." i am, indeed, weaker than furries

i want to agree with you, but right now my jaw doesn't hurt right now,

(EDIT because i wanna add more)

like. i feel all this same anger and rancor. everyone should still be masking, etc etc

i'm ardently "covid is real and you should take precautions against it", combined with the selfish "i am immunocompromised and especially susceptible to pneumonia", and even then i'm still not masking 100% of the time

i think instead govts would invest into other measures to reduce the spread of diseases, like paying for vaccines and testing, air filtration symptoms, etc.

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twovests OP wrote

Reply to comment by emma in thank u to the annoing linux people of the late 00s. using linux keeps paying off. i just watched someone using windows 11 wring their hands and slap their desk just after opening the start menu by twovests

crazy that (some) linux is the OS that Just Works now, and windows is the one that needs the user to configure to keep usable

IIRC a few years ago there was a "disable windows tracking" tool of high repute

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twovests OP wrote

Reply to comment by Moonside in babe i love you. but it's just like email. it's easy. just pick an instance please. no no not that one. DEFINITELY not that one. that one's good bu- oh nono not that one. maybe we can host one? it'll be $20/mo plus $30/year? babe? babe don't go by twovests

Good take and I agree, except Ubuntu let you type "sudo apt install" anything which was fantastic. I fucked up my whole laptop constantly in 2010

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twovests wrote (edited )

Reply to I think Mastodon is better than Bluesky, but everyone seems to be gravitating to bluesky unfortunately. by flabberghaster

one company that seem to have a pretty unclear business model.

The business model is to profit off of making Bitcoin mainstream. It's literally that.

Every single one of Jack Dorsey's public endeavors have been pointed towards making Bitcoin (Lightning) a thing. The only reason BlueSky isn't loudly pro-Bitcoin is because the people at BlueSky know that most people see cryptoshit as a toxic scam.

The whole Bluesky team are huge cryptocoin bros and they've been excited about Bitcoin Lightning ever since Jack Dorsey was asked to join on kicking the network off.

For the past four years, Jack Dorsey has been the main character of Bitcoin Lightning. He sees himself as a Jesus type person and I am not joking or exaggerating.

Technologically: The Lightning network works basically like Venmo or Paypal: Give your Bitcoins to a big wallet which does formal transfers infrequently. You're basically splitting the time+btc costs of one transaction by combining it with many others, so long as you trust the Lightning node you're using.

The profit plan is this:

  1. Make BlueSky big and ubiquitous

  2. Add Bitcoin integration once everyone's there, and make it fast and easy.

  3. Nobody's going to leave over it lol

  4. People using Bitcoin = Bitcoin costs more = Jack Dorsey becomes rich

Supporting evidence:

  1. Jack Dorsey already said he's going to integrate Lightning into BlueSky .

  2. Renaming Square to Block because blockchain, and then...

  3. ... Adding Bitcoin Lightning to Cash App (Block)

    • Do you know anyone who left Cash App (or Venmo) because they introduced Bitcoin? No right?

  4. Spiral lol, Tbd lol, etc.

  5. Block owns ~8000 BTC.

  6. Jack Dorsey owns an undisclosed (but likely huge) amount of Bitcoin.

    • His net worth is ~$4B and Bitcoin is worth ~$40K. If just 1% of his networth is BTC, then he owns 1M BTC, which is about 5% of all the Bitcoins.

    • Yes, this is stupid

TLDR: All signs point to Bitcoin for Bluesky. i also agree it looks like people are moving to bluesky but i sure hope it doesn't take off

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