unkz's recent activity
-
Comment on The future of AI in ~tech
-
Comment on I don’t know if my software engineering job will still exist in ten years in ~comp
unkz (edited )Link ParentI think the larger point is that the business of software service providers is increasingly going to go out of business due to lack of relevance.I think the larger point is that the business of software service providers is increasingly going to go out of business due to lack of relevance.
-
Comment on I don’t know if my software engineering job will still exist in ten years in ~comp
unkz Link Parent“So what you do is you take the specifications from the customers and you bring them down to the software engineers?” (Office space) I gotta say, even this is being handled increasingly well by AI.“So what you do is you take the specifications from the customers and you bring them down to the software engineers?” (Office space)
I gotta say, even this is being handled increasingly well by AI.
-
Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp
unkz Link ParentIt’s not really a rejection of copyright though. Its existence is intrinsically bound up with copyright law. It’s more like, a weaponized form of copyright. Without copyright, the GPL is toothless.It’s not really a rejection of copyright though. Its existence is intrinsically bound up with copyright law. It’s more like, a weaponized form of copyright. Without copyright, the GPL is toothless.
-
Comment on Hardening Firefox with Anthropic’s red team in ~tech
unkz LinkSpeaking from experience, using Claude for code audits is really useful. It can be a bit time consuming as it is prone to exaggeration and error. My process has improved quite a bit over time....Speaking from experience, using Claude for code audits is really useful. It can be a bit time consuming as it is prone to exaggeration and error. My process has improved quite a bit over time.
Looking at an early code audit I did on a fairly large existing project that was not designed with AI, it surfaced about 60 purported issues. The prompting was pretty simplistic, basically asking for a code audit to look for security issues, duplicative code, bad code smells, useful refactoring, and to report them as GitHub issues.
On a second pass through, about 40% were outright fabrications. Things like “error reporting uses inconsistent message keys, like error, errors, or message. Should make consistent throughout codebase” when in fact errors were only ever reported using an array of errors keyed as “errors”.
After filtering the absolute nonsense, the remainder were about 10% actually perfectly correct issues that went directly to useful fixes. The other 50% contained a mixture of truth and fiction. Largely valuable, but took a significant amount of time to separate out what was real.
Now my process is quite a lot better, but it consumes a lot of tokens. I now ask it for four passes:
- an initial pass to go into GitHub issues
- a detailed report showing exact code lines where the purported bugs are and test cases where applicable that currently fail, cancelling any issues that are found to be incorrect
- a pull request that resolves the issue, without breaking any tests or linting rules
- an analysis of the pull request, asking whether these changes are necessary, whether they are reinventing the wheel when a common well tested library could be used instead
And then manual review for what’s left.
-
Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp
unkz Link ParentYeah, I don’t want to burden my users. I want them to make cool things. I don’t want to put roadblocks in front of them or make them reconsider whether a project is worth doing because they would...Yeah, I don’t want to burden my users. I want them to make cool things. I don’t want to put roadblocks in front of them or make them reconsider whether a project is worth doing because they would have to publish the source.
-
Comment on Proton Mail helped US FBI unmask anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ protester in ~tech
unkz Link ParentIt is becoming increasingly distressing to me that any time someone encounters well organized, coherently written text, someone will inevitably accuse it of being AI generated. How low has our...It is becoming increasingly distressing to me that any time someone encounters well organized, coherently written text, someone will inevitably accuse it of being AI generated. How low has our expectation for human writing fallen?
-
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 2 in ~society
unkz Linkhttps://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5728969/kansas-revokes-drivers-licenses-of-hundreds-of-trans-people-prompted-by-new-law Apparently they are invalidating drivers licenses for trans people in...Apparently they are invalidating drivers licenses for trans people in Kansas.
-
Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp
unkz Link ParentBrilliant! Pretty hard to complain about that as a copyright violation I suspect.Maybe they'll also rewrite it in Rust?
Brilliant! Pretty hard to complain about that as a copyright violation I suspect.
-
Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp
unkz Link ParentI consider myself an MIT/BSD adherent, and I don’t quite understand your position. When I release permissively licensed code, I want my users to have near total freedom to use it. That’s why I...This is why the MIT/BSD adherants drive me nuts. They feel entitled to build on the backs of others while not giving their users the same benefit the original author wanted.
I consider myself an MIT/BSD adherent, and I don’t quite understand your position. When I release permissively licensed code, I want my users to have near total freedom to use it. That’s why I dislike the GPL, because it is too constraining.
-
Comment on The Boys | Final season trailer in ~tv
unkz LinkI really do appreciate a planned final season instead of just hanging on until cancellation.I really do appreciate a planned final season instead of just hanging on until cancellation.
-
Comment on Good News Everyone! - your semi regular good news thread in ~talk
unkz Linkhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/daylight-saving-time-canada-9.7113377 No more time switch in BC!https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/daylight-saving-time-canada-9.7113377
No more time switch in BC!
-
Comment on US support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement reaches 50% in ~society
unkz Link ParentIs that what they are saying? I think there is a difference between not vocally advocating for a policy and calling a policy ‘radical’. I think it’s more likely that experienced politicians have a...Is there another time in history where a major political party called the wishes of the vast majority of its members 'radical'?
Is that what they are saying? I think there is a difference between not vocally advocating for a policy and calling a policy ‘radical’.
I think it’s more likely that experienced politicians have a more nuanced view of the issue, and want to dramatically curtail ICE in a way that doesn’t lend itself to a two word slogan.
-
Comment on The US Pentagon says it’s ‘lethalitymaxxing’. Why has ‘incel’ slang crossed into the mainstream? in ~society
unkz Link ParentNo, I see what you are saying. I’m saying, at least where I live, it’s broadly used and it’s more than a few a steps away from incels. I don’t think there’s much signal in seeing the WH use the...No, I see what you are saying. I’m saying, at least where I live, it’s broadly used and it’s more than a few a steps away from incels. I don’t think there’s much signal in seeing the WH use the terminology. They’re just being “hip” and ”with it”.
See: Kamala maxxing
The “KHive” — the online grassroots stan-culture army of earnest supporters who fueled online rage and enthusiastic support for Harris when she launched her 2020 run for the presidency — was resurrected overnight. Now Americans are quickly become coconut-pilled, Kamala maxxing, “existing in context” and “unburdened by what has been.”
-
Comment on The US Pentagon says it’s ‘lethalitymaxxing’. Why has ‘incel’ slang crossed into the mainstream? in ~society
unkz Link ParentThis is standard terminology for my kids who are high school and college age in Canada. There’s no way they have any association with incel culture.This is standard terminology for my kids who are high school and college age in Canada. There’s no way they have any association with incel culture.
-
Comment on Is intervening in Iran actually justified? in ~society
unkz LinkAccording to the video, the answer is -- who knows. Probably not doing anything is failing Iranians, but the nature of the totalitarian state makes it difficult to clearly assess what is...According to the video, the answer is -- who knows. Probably not doing anything is failing Iranians, but the nature of the totalitarian state makes it difficult to clearly assess what is happening. They basically refuse to take a position on whether intervention is justified.
-
Comment on Palantir sues Swiss magazine for accurately reporting that the Swiss government didn’t want Palantir in ~tech
unkz LinkEspecially in light of the threats being levied against Anthropic about using the Defense Procurement Act to compel them to violate their ethical requirements.The key finding was an internal Swiss Armed Forces report that concluded Palantir’s software posed unacceptable risks because sensitive military data could potentially be accessed by U.S. government intelligence agencies. As the Republik article details:
Especially in light of the threats being levied against Anthropic about using the Defense Procurement Act to compel them to violate their ethical requirements.
-
Comment on Looking for vibe-coding guides (best practices, etc.) in ~tech
unkz LinkNobody has yet mentioned devcontainers. I would strongly recommend isolating Claude to one, and following as best you can the principle of least access for cloud services, file systems, etc....Nobody has yet mentioned devcontainers. I would strongly recommend isolating Claude to one, and following as best you can the principle of least access for cloud services, file systems, etc.
Maintaining a strong separation between dev and live environments is important once a project is live. Claude will, at times, try to burn everything down and start over. It’s going to be a tough day if that happens to your live data.
Git is indispensable, and so is some kind of hosted git solution like GitHub, gitlab, whatever. Continuous integration, lining, test suites should be guaranteed to run.
It can be easy to fall into a sort of flow state where you are asking Claude to do things and you aren’t checking code. Things can derail a bit during these periods. I find using pull requests to be a good way of checking this behaviour. Forcing yourself to do code review pays dividends.
Always use the most common version of a library or service. The better known the system the better your experience will be, which generally applies to everything — Claude can read documentation live but it shines best when it already has read the documentation in its training so it has an intuitive grasp of the material.
-
Comment on Nine dead after shooter opens fire at Canadian high school in ~news
unkz Link ParentNew update on this. The first account was banned but the shooter made another one and continued chatting, perhaps planning, undetected until after the shooting. They only found out during the...New update on this. The first account was banned but the shooter made another one and continued chatting, perhaps planning, undetected until after the shooting. They only found out during the investigation afterwards.
SAN FRANCISCO — Artificial intelligence firm OpenAI says the shooter involved in mass killings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., got around a ban on her problematic use of ChatGPT by having a second account.
The revelation came as the firm outlined a series of “immediate steps” it would be taking in response to the killings.
OpenAI vice-president for global policy Ann O’Leary says the company only discovered the second account after Jesse Van Rootselaar’s name was announced by RCMP.
She says the shooter who killed eight people and then herself on Feb. 10 somehow evaded systems to prevent banned users from creating new accounts, and Van Rootselaar’s second account was shared with law enforcement upon its discovery
-
Comment on Discord: Getting global age assurance right: what we got wrong and what's changing in ~tech
unkz Link ParentI don’t want the government knowing that I am on an 18+ discord chat though. I don’t want the government knowing much about me really, unless there’s a pressing need. My online content consumption...I don’t want the government knowing that I am on an 18+ discord chat though. I don’t want the government knowing much about me really, unless there’s a pressing need. My online content consumption is not a pressing need. It’s not a pressing need for my kids either, since I am actively parenting them.
This kind of thing makes me want to actually scream.
From the actual paper:
Nobody is “proving” AI can’t be safe, trusted, and generally intelligent. They are making up interesting games and then deriving interesting conclusions about those games, but there is precious little evidence that those games are an accurate model of the reality that we all live in.