papasquat's recent activity
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Comment on Iran war spreading economic damage far beyond oil and gas markets in ~finance
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Comment on I don’t know if my software engineering job will still exist in ten years in ~comp
papasquat Link ParentI really, really don't think it ever can, regardless of how good the models get. Even if the models get to 99.9% accuracy, a large company is going to be totally negligent by not keeping humans in...It doesn't seem as if the human component is ready to disappear yet. I hope (for my own sake) that it may never.
I really, really don't think it ever can, regardless of how good the models get. Even if the models get to 99.9% accuracy, a large company is going to be totally negligent by not keeping humans in the loop doing code review, which, at that point, you might as well have them inserted into all stages of software development. Even if they don't actually have to do much, the reason you have them there is accountability.
I think of it like another area where automation has gotten extremely good, and has been for years; aviation.
Autopilots on airplanes, for those that don't know, are ridiculously sophisticated nowadays. They're capable of automatically handling just about every aspect of a normal flight, from takeoff, to initial climb, to cruising, to final approach, and landing.
Theoretically, an airline doesn't actually need pilots for 99.99% of flying. You could put passengers on a gigantic drone, and it would work just fine the vast majority of the time.
There would of course, be times when it fails though. If you don't have a human onboard react to those edge cases, hundreds of people die, your airline goes out of business, and hopefully the NTSB investigation gets your board and executive team put in jail for manslaughter due to gross negligence.
Saving the hundreds of millions a year on pilot salaries isn't worth that to airlines.
If your tech company is big enough, the stakes may not be quite that high, but they're still pretty damn high. Having no one at the wheel able to make decisions means that there's no one accountable when something goes wrong. A trillion dollar company isn't willing to accept "the AI fucked up, sorry" when hundreds of millions of subscribers have their account info deleted, or get shown porn accidentally, or a catastrophic problem takes their platform down for a week.
I think it's a valid concern for smaller, very low stakes coding jobs, but for big SWE roles, I doubt they ever go away.
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Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp
papasquat Link ParentI don't understand how it could possibly be argued that it could. A human being who has seen the original implementation cannot produce a legally defensible clean room implementation. How could...More complicated: Claude itself was very likely trained on chardet as part of its enormous quantity of training data—though we have no way of confirming this for sure. Can a model trained on a codebase produce a morally or legally defensible clean-room implementation?
I don't understand how it could possibly be argued that it could. A human being who has seen the original implementation cannot produce a legally defensible clean room implementation. How could you possibly argue that a machine explicitly designed to encode the original training data within its weights as accurately as possible that has been trained on the original implementation is designing something novel?
At that point, what's the difference between using an LLM and just photocopying the source code?
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
papasquat Link ParentI think urban development patterns contribute to this a lot as well, more than is often talked about. If your friends live a 45 minute drive away from you, you're not likely to meet up with them...I think urban development patterns contribute to this a lot as well, more than is often talked about.
If your friends live a 45 minute drive away from you, you're not likely to meet up with them on weeknights. If your friends are your neighbors, it's not a huge investment to go to their place for 20 minutes after work, or spend a couple hours getting a beer or playing board games rather than going home to play video games with total strangers.
We pay a huge social opportunity cost in time by living in disconnected suburbs and exurbs, or cities with horrible transit options and development patterns.
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
papasquat Link ParentI don't think this is exclusive to younger generations unfortunately. I'm in my late 30s, and I'm married now, but was dating as recently as four years ago, and had to go through this whole...I don't think this is exclusive to younger generations unfortunately. I'm in my late 30s, and I'm married now, but was dating as recently as four years ago, and had to go through this whole charade a few times.
I've been in situations where we were going on dates, sexually exclusive, and talking to each other all the time, but we weren't "in a relationship", apparently. The thing makes no sense. Besides the fact that we were, objectively, in a relationship (I'm "in a relationship" with my doctor, my parents, my coworkers, and anyone else I interact with on a regular basis, by definition), even in the colloquial usage, I was in a romantic, exclusive relationship.
I think a lot of people prop romantic "relationships" as being a much bigger deal than they are. If we're not married, I can just decide one day it doesn't work for me and never talk to you again, and have no further legal obligations to you. It's not a big deal if you ask someone out, date for three weeks, figure out you don't like them then dump them.
People fear them because they think a relationship is like a mini marriage, but it isn't at all.
The whole "talking=fucking" thing is also equally irritating and confusing, but that's probably the entire point of it. My question was always... what if you are actually just talking to someone now and then and haven't had sex?
The whole exercise of courtship feels like it's just driven by fear and overanalysis, rather than fun now.
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
papasquat Link ParentSomeone looking at their phone while I'm talking to them has to be one of my biggest pet peeves of all time. It's absolutely infuriating to me, and I've just stopped conversations halfway through...Someone looking at their phone while I'm talking to them has to be one of my biggest pet peeves of all time. It's absolutely infuriating to me, and I've just stopped conversations halfway through and walked off when people have done it to me before.
It's one of the rudest things you can possibly do, and I hate how it's becoming somewhat socially acceptable.
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
papasquat Link ParentThe author seems to consistently conflate idea of ability with willingness. I very much doubt that. They could read a "serious adult novel", which are apparently anything written by Barbara...The author seems to consistently conflate idea of ability with willingness.
No, our average graduate literally could not read a serious adult novel cover-to-cover and understand what they read.
I very much doubt that. They could read a "serious adult novel", which are apparently anything written by Barbara Kingsolver, Colson Whitehead, and Richard Powers. They just don't want to. There's a difference there. Being functionally illiterate means they can't read those novels. The fact that they don't, doesn't mean they can't.
If I pointed a gun to the head of most college graduates and told them to read The Nickel Boys, then give me a summary or I'll kill them, I have no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of them would be able to do a somewhat decent job.
The author of the article seems to think that his class has similar stakes, but for most students, it really doesn't. They can pass without reading a book they don't want to read, so they don't read it.
The entire premise of the article is based on this false assertion. I could just as easily make the argument that the author functionally can't ride a pink tricycle 200 feet, simply because he's never done it before and has no desire to.
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Comment on Chimpanzees are really into crystals in ~science
papasquat Link ParentCould be, yeah. Another thing I was thinking about is that having some hard coded, shared appreciation for a certain type of rare, but durable object could be an advantage. I've heard of different...Could be, yeah. Another thing I was thinking about is that having some hard coded, shared appreciation for a certain type of rare, but durable object could be an advantage. I've heard of different animals exchanging things for goods and services. Could there be some sort of innate biological wiring that supports the development of currency encoded into chimps?
It seems like human beings everywhere independently developed an appreciation for gold and jewels which fostered their use as a currency for a very long time. Could it be that that was something biologically encoded for rather than sociologically developed?
If you had a species that all valued some durable, non consumable thing with no real use, they could use that to trade for useful things with one another and that seems like it would be a massive advantage.
I'm talking out of my ass though, I don't know anything about evolutionary biology or sociology.
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Comment on Chimpanzees are really into crystals in ~science
papasquat Link ParentI wonder where that behavior comes from. I can't imagine how being attracted to shiny things would be an evolutionary advantage, so is it some sort of vestigial behavior from when it was? Or is...I wonder where that behavior comes from. I can't imagine how being attracted to shiny things would be an evolutionary advantage, so is it some sort of vestigial behavior from when it was? Or is there just some less obvious mechanism going on?
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Comment on Electricity use of AI coding agents in ~enviro
papasquat Link ParentEnergy is never free. It doesn't matter if you're getting it from solar, hydro, wind, or coal. The demand you're placing on the grid requires more solar panels to be manufactured, more wind...Energy is never free. It doesn't matter if you're getting it from solar, hydro, wind, or coal. The demand you're placing on the grid requires more solar panels to be manufactured, more wind turbines to be built, and more dams to be erected; all of which have an environmental impact.
Renewables have far less of an impact than fossil fuels do, but manufacturing a solar panel is still a very resource intensive process that has a negative environmental impact. If we're spending a ton of energy without much benefit, we're still destroying the environment for no reason.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYou'll notice it a bit, but disk I/O speeds have grown much faster than ram I/O speeds have in the past decade, and Apple's disks are some of the fastest in consumer computers. Falling back to...You'll notice it a bit, but disk I/O speeds have grown much faster than ram I/O speeds have in the past decade, and Apple's disks are some of the fastest in consumer computers.
Falling back to swap used to mean you were waiting ages for applications to chug along. It's not nearly as much of a performance hit nowadays though.
More RAM would be better, but it's not the end of the world.
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Comment on Living human brain cells play DOOM on a CL1 in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYeah, I mean... maybe? We don't actually know what human consciousness even is or have a way to objectively measure the presence of it. I think this is a far cry away from an actual human brain,...- Exemplary
Yeah, I mean... maybe?
We don't actually know what human consciousness even is or have a way to objectively measure the presence of it.
I think this is a far cry away from an actual human brain, but it's certainly human at least in some aspect.
I'm not so much horrified at the current iteration, but of the iteration a decade down the road where this stuff gets more and more complex.
If it starts being useful and outperforming silicon based AI, do we eventually get to a point where we're running data centers full of trillions of human neurons to run workloads? How do you verify that something that complex isn't conscious? Where does the line get drawn?
Seems like a potential prototype torment nexus to me.
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Comment on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in Israeli and American joint strikes in ~society
papasquat Link ParentI had a platoon sergeant that thought of himself as a cold steely warrior, and I routinely had to tell him that he was actually one of the most emotional people I've ever worked with, like the...I had a platoon sergeant that thought of himself as a cold steely warrior, and I routinely had to tell him that he was actually one of the most emotional people I've ever worked with, like the emotional regulation skills of a 10 year old. Just much bigger and with a rifle and platoon of armed kids at his disposal.
Warfighters are the most emotional people in the world, but not usually during the most high stress parts. It's the beforehand and afterwards when the screaming, fights, crying, and complete breakdowns usually happen.
I think the most successful people at it are the ones who are able to have their emotional freakout but realize when they're being irrational and biased because of it.
It's really difficult to understand how many of these decisions get made based on almost pure vibes unless you've been in a TOC though. People sitting on the internet and analyzing and criticizing the rationality of it all with the benefit of foresight aren't really saying anything valuable.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentI'm less of a conspiracy person than that, but it doesn't actually matter, since you're right, that's how laws like this end up getting used either way. I think the mechanism is more like...My theory is that this bill will be designed to do just this. It will be impossible to actually enforce, so it will selectively be applied where useful to the law enforcement.
I'm less of a conspiracy person than that, but it doesn't actually matter, since you're right, that's how laws like this end up getting used either way. I think the mechanism is more like politician A needs some landmark legislation that doesn't actually do anything but sounds good, and later on, police chief B or president C uses that overly broad legislation to trample on people's rights. Even if there's no collusion or grand conspiracy with ulterior motives at first, the rights get trampled just the same.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentI'm not bringing it up to have a technically correct gotcha, I'm bringing it up because that's exactly the use cases that regulation the post addresses is attempting to target. A career criminal...I'm not bringing it up to have a technically correct gotcha, I'm bringing it up because that's exactly the use cases that regulation the post addresses is attempting to target.
A career criminal isn't going to 3d print a gun. They're going to get a stolen hi point off the street for a hundred bucks that will reliably cycle thousands of rounds.
A normal citizen who wants a gun isn't going to 3d print one either. They'll just go buy one at a gun store.
The only type of person that would 3d print a gun for use in a crime is someone doing an extremely hi profile assassination, where a lot of effort will be put into finding the source of the gun to make a positive ID, or who can't otherwise get their hands on one because they're a felon and also don't have criminal connections.
Those types of use cases don't need a high performing firearm that will reliably fire hundreds of rounds. It only needs to work once or twice and get the bullet into someone's body from a few feet away.
So it's relevant when we talk about how hard it is to machine and harden a barrel. A barrel doesn't need to be properly machined and hardened to be deadly. It just needs to contain the pressures of a round firing one time.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentRegardless if if you think it's reasonable or not, it's impossible to enforce. Yes, you can force big manufacturers to build the technology into their consumer drones, but you can't force smaller...Regardless if if you think it's reasonable or not, it's impossible to enforce. Yes, you can force big manufacturers to build the technology into their consumer drones, but you can't force smaller ones to, especially ones based outside of the US, and you can't force independent builders to, which a huge percentage of hobbyist drone pilots are. Same goes for people into 3d printing as a hobby.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentI'll point out that ghost guns != 3d printed guns. The vast majority of ghost guns are built from 80% kits and have no 3d printed parts at all. Besides that, the US is a country that's absolutely...I'll point out that ghost guns != 3d printed guns. The vast majority of ghost guns are built from 80% kits and have no 3d printed parts at all.
Besides that, the US is a country that's absolutely inundated with guns. Guns are more accessible here than anywhere else in the world. Professionally manufactured guns are cheaper, more reliable, and safer (for the operator). If I were doing virtually any kind of crime, it would be a much better option to just go to a gun store or gun show to get one.
It seems a lot better use of our effort to make that part harder before we start instituting authoritarian mandates on people who have no interest in guns at all.
Otherwise it seems like we're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentGood to know, I didn't realize how far the liberator has come. I will say that this still takes a considerable amount of skill and experience to do though. Until someone can go to Walmart, buy a...Good to know, I didn't realize how far the liberator has come.
I will say that this still takes a considerable amount of skill and experience to do though. Until someone can go to Walmart, buy a Bambu printer, download an STL and have a functioning gun the next day, this really isn't a big concern of mine.
For it to matter, you'd have to make it harder to just skip all those steps and buy the gun from Walmart instead.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
papasquat Link ParentI mean, it'd make it an airgun. If you added a way to hold a cartridge and a firing pin, you'd have a firearm. Zip guns are still guns. It wouldn't be a good or accurate or reliable or safe gun,...I can kill someone with a bit of pipe, a ball bearing, and my air compressor. Doesn't make it a gun.
I mean, it'd make it an airgun. If you added a way to hold a cartridge and a firing pin, you'd have a firearm. Zip guns are still guns.
It wouldn't be a good or accurate or reliable or safe gun, but it would be a gun. The metallurgy in the iron hand cannons used by the ming dynasty was far inferior to modern steel plumbing pipes, and they definitely weren't rifles, but they were still used effectively to kill thousands of people in warfare.
I don't think we're anywhere close to the danger of unskilled laymen being able to produce reliable, high performing modern firearms with cheap off the shelf 3d printers. You can produce something pretty decent, it still takes a good amount of skill though.
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Comment on Magical stones from the mall! in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentPositive thinking works, sure, but that doesn't mean you need to go buy a rock to make your life more positive. If you like rocks, by all means, buy rocks, but the thing that's making you think...Positive thinking works, sure, but that doesn't mean you need to go buy a rock to make your life more positive. If you like rocks, by all means, buy rocks, but the thing that's making you think more positively is your own thought patterns. You don't need rocks for that. If you truly feel like you need a totem or something, you could just go outside and pick up the first interesting looking thing you see.
I have very little patience for woo, not because it's offensive or dangerous in it of itself, but because it opens the door to all sorts of "vibe based" thinking. It's the sort of justifications that make people radically alter their diets due to chakras or not take medicine because it lowers their vibrational energy.
Skepticism and rationality is what brought us out of untold millennia of lynching people that acted differently from us because of demons and all sorts of other nonsense based on what feels right rather than what has been methodically proven right.
We've for years had black and white proof of extramarital affairs with hush money, felony convictions for fraud, impeachments, and proof of a very close relationship and collusion with a known pedophile sex trafficker along with very good evidence for illicit sex facilitated by him.
Serious question, what would kompromat even consist of against trump? I literally cannot think of any material that could be released about him that would hurt him at this point, or that he would fear being released. At the absolute worst, he'd call it AI and fake news, then start another war to blare it out in the news cycle and move on with his day.
I'm sorry to say that in light of that, Trump being a controlled asset is a theory that's completely fallen apart. He's just a regular run of the mill egotistical dictator.