raze2012's recent activity
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Comment on California goat grazing faces crisis after wage change in ~enviro
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Comment on As Reddit stock falls, CEO questions value of Google’s AI Overviews in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentYeah, there probably will never be such a place. And in some ways, people may want that separation (I know back in grade school I did not want my parents on my Facebook, for instance). But in an...Yeah, there probably will never be such a place. And in some ways, people may want that separation (I know back in grade school I did not want my parents on my Facebook, for instance).
But in an ideal world, we shouldn't have to worry about a Signal vs FB vs Tiktok vs etc. We'd have our chosen front end (let's say Tildes for this instance), and then we simply plug in the other services that let us organize how we get their feed, or manage and communicate with friends. And if Tildes doesn't work out, maybe you'd rather have a discord front end or something else. They keep the content, we control the presentation, and aggregate them all into one place of our choosing. Or two places, if I don't want my parents to be on the same feed as my online guild.
Of course, moves like with Reddit's recent anti-scraping measures are the umpteenth attempt that all companies have tried in order to keep their own moats. You can't serve ads as easily if you can't control how content is laid out, so the above model (which really: is a fancier RSS feed. So we have and can do this) costs them money.
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Comment on As Reddit stock falls, CEO questions value of Google’s AI Overviews in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parentplenty of options out there, but you're sacrificing massive network effects for all of them. For more niche activities (or super specific aspects of an activity), that basically means sacrificing...plenty of options out there, but you're sacrificing massive network effects for all of them. For more niche activities (or super specific aspects of an activity), that basically means sacrificing all that network.
The tech is there. The people are complacent.
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Comment on As Reddit stock falls, CEO questions value of Google’s AI Overviews in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentIt rolls in phases like most large site updates. I was hit with it 2 weeks ago.It rolls in phases like most large site updates. I was hit with it 2 weeks ago.
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Comment on As Reddit stock falls, CEO questions value of Google’s AI Overviews in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentI usually just type in the speicifc subreddit anyway to avoid r/all. But RES gave me a nice ribbon of subs to favorite without logging in if I needed it.I usually just type in the speicifc subreddit anyway to avoid r/all. But RES gave me a nice ribbon of subs to favorite without logging in if I needed it.
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Comment on As Reddit stock falls, CEO questions value of Google’s AI Overviews in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThere's plenty of better forums that aren't user hostile to its core. But as we've learned the last few decades, you don't build the most popular communities by being a better or higher quality...Unfortunately no one else has created a better forum yet.
There's plenty of better forums that aren't user hostile to its core.
But as we've learned the last few decades, you don't build the most popular communities by being a better or higher quality forum. The only thing that can really kill Reddit is itself (and to its credit, it's doing a good job so far).
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Comment on OpenAI and Anthropic endorse call for US government to "pace" AI progress in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentI'm more worried about domestic startups who want to compete than with Chinese open models. There's open US models out there too that are working under the buzz of Anthropic and OpenAI. Yes, we...They seem to be be doing fine despite US export restrictions.
I'm more worried about domestic startups who want to compete than with Chinese open models. There's open US models out there too that are working under the buzz of Anthropic and OpenAI.
Maybe, as with climate change, someone should try to do something about it?
Yes, we definitely should. I simply do not trust the current parties capable of influencing such policy to be the ones making people regulations upon themselves. Worse yet, they might actually do it on the surface then take backdoor in the end anyway. Such is current times.
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Comment on OpenAI and Anthropic endorse call for US government to "pace" AI progress in ~comp
raze2012 Link Parent==== The lampshade is "equal opportunity", knowing that opportunity itself intrinsically uneven. When you feel you gained a good lead, it's a better (and arguably unethical move) move to slow...so that everyone abides by the same rules.
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“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”
― Anatole France
The lampshade is "equal opportunity", knowing that opportunity itself intrinsically uneven. When you feel you gained a good lead, it's a better (and arguably unethical move) move to slow everyone down than to try and maintain a breakneck pace. This is how tech's operated for a good 20 years now.
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Comment on What just happened to TheNumbers.com should worry us all in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentWithout proper regulation around this stuff, there no other way to operate sanely. Unless you are fine spending yours (or someone else's) full-time efforts fighting bots. Prediction markets are...Without proper regulation around this stuff, there no other way to operate sanely. Unless you are fine spending yours (or someone else's) full-time efforts fighting bots.
Prediction markets are 100% gooig to come under fire in the coming few years, so I guess in this specific instance that will bring relief here.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentI've found that the stress from not having a job left me unable to enjoy hobbies as well. So even if I agreed that a boring, unfurfilling job was optimal, the fear and increasingly long job search...because if your workplace changes or you lose your job, it hits you in the wallet rather than also taking your soul down with it too.
I've found that the stress from not having a job left me unable to enjoy hobbies as well. So even if I agreed that a boring, unfurfilling job was optimal, the fear and increasingly long job search distracts from hobbies or anything else.
I don't think that's a way to live. Just shuffling from job to job, hoping this one will fund my hobbies life for 1 year or 2 before I spend another 6-12 months shuffling through the lifeless job search. Even if it's for a boring job, labor laws are important.
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Comment on Why anime is on the rise even though the industry is so poor in ~anime
raze2012 Link ParentYes, because Japanese animators are grossly underpaid, and labor is the most expensive part of any given work. Seems like a self-furfilling prophecy here, no? Even those crappy shelf filler...I don't like that the industry tend to eat young people's dreams....but yeah, anime is so much cheaper to produce than Blockbusters or even straight to Netflix streaming movies with stars.
Yes, because Japanese animators are grossly underpaid, and labor is the most expensive part of any given work. Seems like a self-furfilling prophecy here, no?
Even those crappy shelf filler knockoff DvD's probably had a few million go into it. Your average anime (at least, with 2019 numbers) had maybe 300-400k USD per episode, a half or even third of a western animated episode.
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Comment on Why anime is on the rise even though the industry is so poor in ~anime
raze2012 Link ParentPretty sure there is active wage suppression going on in the industry, too. This isn't all just raw capitalism (it rarely is). This was propelled by culture for decades, but this recent generation...Animators being paid poorly is a matter of supply and demand in that particular labor market.
Pretty sure there is active wage suppression going on in the industry, too. This isn't all just raw capitalism (it rarely is).
This was propelled by culture for decades, but this recent generation is finally reaching end's wits and are slowly pushing back. Seemingly inevitable for an upcoming generation that saw an entire generation stagnate to nothingness. Why keep participating in a system that doesn't advance you, and now doesn't even give you room to one day start a family?
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Comment on Keep Android Open in ~tech
raze2012 LinkI do wonder how this is going to go about in court. Google lost a case against Epic for much tamer restrictions on 3rd party installations being too convulted and anti-competitive. And this seems...I do wonder how this is going to go about in court. Google lost a case against Epic for much tamer restrictions on 3rd party installations being too convulted and anti-competitive. And this seems to be quadrupling down on the idea in comparison.
Or at least, I'd wonder in saner times. I guess every company sees the huge lack of regulatory bodies and are rushing whatever insanity they can whike the hole is open.
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Comment on From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentI don't think most people understand how large the US is. And you'd think that'd be the one thing Americans would understand. 330m people. A population even being 1% would mean that the represent...I don't think most people understand how large the US is. And you'd think that'd be the one thing Americans would understand.
330m people. A population even being 1% would mean that the represent over 3 million people. Humans are truly bad at understanding scales past the low thousands.
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Comment on US schools are adding pepper-spraying drones to help combat active shooters in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentThe US has had a pretty bad record on that historically. Taking bets tbat the first noted usage will be in a red state against a student protest.but let's say they're true to their word
The US has had a pretty bad record on that historically. Taking bets tbat the first noted usage will be in a red state against a student protest.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parent"How people live life through human history" for my people was mostly (and still is, in some parts of the world), in chains with whips behind them. So forgive my indignity for refusing to lie down...Its how people have lived life throughout human history.
"How people live life through human history" for my people was mostly (and still is, in some parts of the world), in chains with whips behind them. So forgive my indignity for refusing to lie down and accept the statue quo for what it is. Doing so would be a slap in the face to centuries of work my forefathers did to get me to a point where I can sit in comfort at my computer, learn to read, cast a vote without questioning my literacy, and even one day consider owning property (an aspect so recent in my history that my gradfather couldn't do it until his late 30's)
You can find it silly and you're free to. My grandfather gave me stories of how he was laughed at too while facing injustices. I choose to keep fighting. Just because I live off the mountains of progress doesn't mean there is not more progress to be done.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentI know not to take companies at their word, but: I don't think 2020-2022 created an environment where half of them can say in plain english that they plan to hire zero entry-level employees in...I suspect the job industry has far more to do with over hiring during COVID, Trumps changes to R&D tax credits, interest rates being at essentially zero then raising, a poor economy, and offshoring.
I know not to take companies at their word, but: I don't think 2020-2022 created an environment where half of them can say in plain english that they plan to hire zero entry-level employees in 2027. Interest rates and "corrections" cannot explain that kind of mentality.
We're also in a very weird situation of economic slowdowns, and companies still needing to re-hire employees they laid off under that smokescreen of AI. So the job market is indeed bad, but it also isn't even working. We're in an oddly sticky economy right now;' if you have a job, you're not easy to fire, but there's also very little hiring if you're out of a job.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentTo quote the article (which ultiamtely agrees with you): And I think we can both agree with that. It speeds up the current status quo, and the current status quo hasn't cared about quality for at...I'm personally not convinced the abysmal state of software is due to AI.
To quote the article (which ultiamtely agrees with you):
The whole system is broken; AI alone didn’t break it, but it is widening the cracks.
And I think we can both agree with that. It speeds up the current status quo, and the current status quo hasn't cared about quality for at least 6 years (arguably up to 10 years). Nothing happening here (outside of maybe AI psychosis ) is novel, it's just more widespread and easier to fall into now, with guardrails that should have existed not being there or being actively torn down.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentSure, I agree. Gamers are fickle but ultimately they follow the rule of cool. You do something good enough and they'll overlook war crimes. Get on their bad side and you made enemies for life most...If you manage to make a good game, most people don’t care about what you used or how you did it. Thus why I said the hate for AI tools, imo, is conditional.
Sure, I agree. Gamers are fickle but ultimately they follow the rule of cool. You do something good enough and they'll overlook war crimes. Get on their bad side and you made enemies for life most times.
I mostly wanted to emphasize that the quality bar for "look good" is higher than ever now. Hitting that while still bsing AI assisted runs into the problems I highlighted above. \
To be clear, when I said that I was talking about using LLMs (text generation - i.e. coding and general descriptions). I have yet to see a game getting backlash for using LLMs.
It can happen. I don't know any large scale examples, but I just saw a recent example with an indie dev. They kept the ChatGPT prompt in their other languages on the Steam page and that got them some very avoidable flak.
That's the kind of missing care that makes people so volatile towards this stuff. I don't even disagree with using LLM's for that kind of translation, but it runs into all the same issues as machine translation or even a very bad faith human localizer; you don't know the end result and the end result is so obvious to your audience. Easily suggesting a low quality cash grab.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentYMMV per field. My experience in games; coding is rarely the bottleneck, asset creation is. If you ever tried gen AI'ing any 3D models, you'd know immediately why this is a fruitless effort in...I can say that this is simply not true. Me and many of my colleages use AI in a very thorough way and it still saves time.
YMMV per field. My experience in games; coding is rarely the bottleneck, asset creation is.
If you ever tried gen AI'ing any 3D models, you'd know immediately why this is a fruitless effort in terms of the 3 budgets. At best you might get some static environmental props and you lean on Unreal Engine to LOD it for you. You're not getting anything out of it that needs to be textured with anything more than the basics, skinned, nor animated. And even if you do keep it to static meshes, you have one of the easiest ways to be discovered of using gen AI.
Gen AI'ing sprites/character textures? Very easy to discover. Maybe you make a good static sprite, but it completely and utterly falls apart making a spite-sheet. Peak (or I guess "subterranean") uncanny valley.
I'm not saying you can't vibecode a full game; there's plenty of means to make simpler games without any direct coding these days. But code doesn't make 99.99% of indie games out there. I'd be surprised if anyone single-handedly made a competent game with current tech that wasn't immediately outed as Gen AI slop.
On the cost front, remember that good developers are quite expensive, so even a few hundred dollars a month is worth it with a productivity boost.
And soon (if not now) this will be thousands in token consumption. We missed the subscription train.
It is very interesting how farming seems to be one of those last bastions of "corporate can't touch me here!" fields. Meanwhile, Agriculture was not only compromised long ago, but was probably one of the first fields to be incorporated. Doesn't matter the economy; everyone needs to eat. So of course corporate interests would establish themselves there as early as possible.
This is all to say; the people making this case are probably billionaire companies that can easily 1) pay the overtime if needed, especially in California where the alternative is a costly wildfire or 2) can hire more labor to rotate out into shifts, like any other reasonable company. I don't exactly have much sympathy here. Pay you labor.