Ashura_Savarra's recent activity
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentBy that logic, the wire hangars in your closet should all be aligned north-south. For a compass to work, the needle has to be magnetized along its length. It also needs to minimize static friction...By that logic, the wire hangars in your closet should all be aligned north-south.
For a compass to work, the needle has to be magnetized along its length. It also needs to minimize static friction and inertia so the miniscule electromagnetic force acting on it is able to rotate it. This is why compass indicators are either balanced on a pin or floating in low-viscosity fluid. A random length of wire held in a hand meets none of these criteria.
Even if it did, variations in the Earth's magnetic field due to the presence of a void filled with groundwater would be so small that even extremely sophisticated equipment may not detect it, let alone a simple compass.
Finally, while water is not electrically conductive, the minerals in the water typically are. But it's not doing any magnetizing either unless there's an electric current flowing through it. So unless you ran a power line through it, that's not what's going on either. Even then, you'd basically just be detecting the power line and not the water.
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Comment on The FAA investigates after Boeing says workers in South Carolina falsified 787 inspection records in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentThis pretty much nails the sentiment I've been seeing from peers and acquaintances. I don't really know anyone in my field or adjacent ones who wants to work for Boeing anymore. That classmate I...This pretty much nails the sentiment I've been seeing from peers and acquaintances. I don't really know anyone in my field or adjacent ones who wants to work for Boeing anymore.
That classmate I mentioned was a fairly conservative pro-corpo type and not given to extreme opinions. Yet, even his proposed solution to their issues started with making the executive board line up and face a wall. All I can really say is, it may well look even worse to us than it does to the non-technical types.
We don't tend to chase big paychecks because when your skills are in demand, you get paid regardless. That being the case, why go somewhere that expects you to work tons of overtime and damages your professional credibility by association? Anyone in this profession with even a hint of ethics, integrity, or even just self respect is already giving Boeing a wide berth.
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Comment on The FAA investigates after Boeing says workers in South Carolina falsified 787 inspection records in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentOh, I didn't think you were. I am quite sure Boeing is. For added context, I'm usually the guy who goes "well, it's actually really complicated" when there's some big public QA blowup like this....I'm sorry if it looked like I was framing someone (specific). I certainly didn't mean to.
Oh, I didn't think you were. I am quite sure Boeing is.
For added context, I'm usually the guy who goes "well, it's actually really complicated" when there's some big public QA blowup like this. I'm an engineer myself (though not involved in aviation currently), so I have to be more informed on how things work than the average internet commenter. In this instance, I don't see much of an argument to be made other than what it appears. Boeing will pass anything vaguely airplane-shaped, and caveat emptor if the wings fall off, I guess.
I'm somewhat idealistic in that I tend to hope my colleagues in other industries try their best with the resources available. To use your example, lawnmowers actually kill people all the time. Just because it's mostly user error shouldn't stop us from trying to design safer lawnmowers.
The problem with Boeing is, if I'm right, it's a systemic problem within the company, from top to bottom. Firing a handful of execs and fining the shit out of them won't fix a damn thing.
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Comment on The FAA investigates after Boeing says workers in South Carolina falsified 787 inspection records in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra LinkA former classmate of mine had an internship as a line engineer at an aircraft manufacturer (not Boeing). To hear him tell it, you couldn't trust a line worker not to rivet his dick to the...A former classmate of mine had an internship as a line engineer at an aircraft manufacturer (not Boeing). To hear him tell it, you couldn't trust a line worker not to rivet his dick to the airframe. To put it a bit more kindly: this isn't skilled labor, and the hiring manager is more concerned with whether an applicant has working thumbs than his higher math skills or whatever. The technicalities of the plane are the engineers' concern.
Point is, the line workers aren't falsifying anything because they have no idea what the hell they're making. It's the line engineer's job to make sure everything is within spec. So, we've got a few possibilities:
a) The line engineer is being pressured to pass planes that shouldn't be passed to meet quotas, etc.
b) The line engineer is overworked and unintentionally overlooking details during inspections.
c) The line engineer doesn't exist. Meaning the inspections are being rubber-stamped by someone who isn't qualified to inspect aircraft.As mentioned by others, there are supposed to be multiple layers of inspections so there isn't a single point of failure, specifically to prevent option B. Of the remaining possibilities, I'm leaning toward C. The mistakes and defects that keep cropping up in Boeing products are too obvious. An engineer cutting corners would likely still reject, say, a door not being attached.
Yes, that does mean I think Boeing is just slapping planes together and shipping them as long as they basically look like planes. Yes, that is the worst of the possibilities I listed. Based on what I've heard from other engineers who have worked there, I would say this falls within expectations.
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Comment on Air Canada successfully sued after its AI chatbot gave BC passenger incorrect information: airline claimed it wasn't liable for what its own AI told customers in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentI'm having a hard time finding usage of the term "ACI" that's more than a few months old. It's being used to differentiate current gen systems from older, more limited ones, while also...I'm having a hard time finding usage of the term "ACI" that's more than a few months old. It's being used to differentiate current gen systems from older, more limited ones, while also distinguishing it from AGI. If there's an older usage, it's been drowned out in my searches by the current buzz.
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Comment on Air Canada successfully sued after its AI chatbot gave BC passenger incorrect information: airline claimed it wasn't liable for what its own AI told customers in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentI agree completely. But I also think the opening salvo of an argument should never be semantic. Especially when it's incorrect. Suddenly everyone's a self-appointed expert. Every time I've seen...I agree completely. But I also think the opening salvo of an argument should never be semantic. Especially when it's incorrect.
Suddenly everyone's a self-appointed expert.
Every time I've seen the point that LLMs are just repeating things they've read without true understanding, it's been made by a human doing exactly that. The irony is really special.
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Comment on Air Canada successfully sued after its AI chatbot gave BC passenger incorrect information: airline claimed it wasn't liable for what its own AI told customers in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentI wish people would stop putting "AI" in air quotes or calling LLMs "not AI." It's an AI. The ghosts in Pac Man are AI. All it needs to do in order to qualify for that distinction is be able to...I wish people would stop putting "AI" in air quotes or calling LLMs "not AI." It's an AI. The ghosts in Pac Man are AI. All it needs to do in order to qualify for that distinction is be able to make choices without direct user input.
What LLMs aren't, what no AI we currently know of is, is AGI. For that, it would need to understand the larger context of its decisions, and there's ongoing debate as to whether that's even technically possible. But they are definitely still AI. To say otherwise is misleading.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentYeah I meant "evidence" in the colloquial sense, not the legal one. Anyway, the article is written so you'll come to the conclusion you did. It's pretty light on journalistic integrity. That's why...Yeah I meant "evidence" in the colloquial sense, not the legal one. Anyway, the article is written so you'll come to the conclusion you did. It's pretty light on journalistic integrity. That's why I'm in here railing against it like I am. More trying to debunk than argue.
Hopefully at least a couple of people will sleep a little better knowing their car probably isn't trying to invade their privacy.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentAt least there are people here who can refute the sensationalism. I would hope the regs are the same too. It sounds like the more likely vulnerability would be information sitting in RAM for an...At least there are people here who can refute the sensationalism.
I would hope the regs are the same too. It sounds like the more likely vulnerability would be information sitting in RAM for an extended period. Your phone has that same vulnerability and is much easier to hack into than your car.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentAgain, the plaintiffs in this case never offered any evidence actual data collection was happening beyond what was necessary. Some cars will read your texts to you while you're driving, so I would...Again, the plaintiffs in this case never offered any evidence actual data collection was happening beyond what was necessary. Some cars will read your texts to you while you're driving, so I would expect them to need access to the content of the messages for that.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be bad if they were doing what you suggest, only that I can't say whether they are based on what's provided here.
What I am saying is: This article is tilting at windmills.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentThe legalities aren't my area at all either, so I would be guessing on that. My hope would be that if a service compromises someone else's confirmation agreement, they'd be the ones on the hook....The legalities aren't my area at all either, so I would be guessing on that. My hope would be that if a service compromises someone else's confirmation agreement, they'd be the ones on the hook.
The technical reality may differ from the design specs, much less the law, in defiance of anyone's best expectations. Most engineers barely understand what the hell is going on inside these machines, and that's not a dig at the engineers. There's a lot more "hope for the best" going on than either you or I would like.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentBrain-machine interfaces could make so many new things possible that it's hard to predict what will come out the other side. Typing with your brain has been a (clunky) thing for many years, so I...Brain-machine interfaces could make so many new things possible that it's hard to predict what will come out the other side. Typing with your brain has been a (clunky) thing for many years, so I would expect more of that to start. Sending and receiving messages with an implant instead of texting might at least be a little safer to do while driving.
I understand the necessity for this but I also wonder how much this contributes to pollution. Ofc there are far worse things causing pollution that need to be fixed.
It isn't great. Not sure how it stacks against the mountains of paper waste they were incinerating before. Can't imagine it's much better if at all.
I kinda feel dumb for falling for that article
People build entire careers on outrage-baiting and agenda-pushing. Having to constantly match that level of practice with your own is exhausting. Trying to balance that against being unreasonably cynical and skeptical isn't fun either. The fact that you didn't just dig in harder already puts you a cut above most people in these kinds of discussions, so maybe give yourself a little grace here.
I apologize for my misunderstanding of your comment.
No worries, it was at least partly my fault. The balance between "relax, I know what I'm talking about" and "insufferable jackass" is sometimes tough to strike. I may have fallen off the tightrope on this one.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentOof. I think this came off to you the wrong way. I replied at the top level because I'm seeing a lot of dooming in here and no one with technical expertise had weighed in (I didn't mention my...Oof. I think this came off to you the wrong way. I replied at the top level because I'm seeing a lot of dooming in here and no one with technical expertise had weighed in (I didn't mention my skillset in my initial comment to stroke my ego lol). My comment was not directed at you personally, I just wanted the visibility. I also wasn't being intentionally sarcastic. I'm naturally snarky, and it shouldn't be taken as containing any venom. I have ADHD as well, and it plays hell with my perceptions of people's intentions sometimes, so I understand. Sorry for the miscommunication.
First, as I said, I sympathize with the sentiment generally, but as kovboydan said, this isn't the best example of the problem. Let me be clear on something: That's not your fault. The article is written with a very emotional slant and is designed to get precisely the reaction you had, and it appears to have worked on almost everyone else in this discussion as well. That's why I hate it. It's manipulative.
To your question about telepathic cars, etc... It's gonna happen. Soon. My field requires me to watch the horizon, so I can tell you there's no way it isn't coming. I've had my eye on jobs in the area, in fact. I've even done a little bit of work on a bionics research project. I'm something of a tech optimist, so I might be the wrong person to ask. It's been my experience that these things usually aren't as bad as you might expect. If I get the opportunity, I'll do what I can to help.
Shifting back to the main point of discussion, and again as noted elsewhere, there isn't anything in the complaints to suggest the plaintiffs have evidence the data is being stored in a form that could be used for nefarious purposes. But, yeah, your intuition is right, they have to store stuff. What stuff? How much stuff? Bad stuff? It...depends. Mostly on how lazy the programmer was. To explain without getting really into the weeds with infosec: your data leaves a trace everywhere it goes, so there's always a chance of something getting left someplace you don't want it. That's how lots of data breaches happen. It's how private photos end up on the internet after they were deleted. The only way to avoid this would be to constantly overwrite everything with zeros once it's no longer needed, and that just isn't practical. It would slow all computing down to a crawl and wear storage hardware out much faster than it already does. There are ways to do this for sensitive information, but outside of corporate and government secrets, it isn't done much. Last I heard, the Feds found it easier to just toss their drives into an industrial shredder when they were done with them.
As to the politics of this stuff... I'm not sure if it's any comfort or not, but corruption (especially government corruption) is actually far, far lower than when we millennials were kids. The internet shined a spotlight on it, and lots of heads rolled. It's just that the spotlight keeps getting brighter, so you see it more. It's selection bias. Like going into the forest and kicking over logs. You're going to find gross stuff if you go looking for it. Try not to let it drive you crazy or smother your faith in humanity.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra Link ParentHow is a system which is designed to display information from another device meant to do so without accessing that information? Because absent any evidence to the contrary (which has not been...How is a system which is designed to display information from another device meant to do so without accessing that information? Because absent any evidence to the contrary (which has not been provided), that's all these machines are doing.
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Comment on US court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (potentially misleading, see comments) in ~transport
Ashura_Savarra LinkSo I'm just an electrical engineer and thus in no way qualified to speak to the legal merits of this case. It sounds to me as though the plaintiffs are alleging, without evidence(?), that their...So I'm just an electrical engineer and thus in no way qualified to speak to the legal merits of this case. It sounds to me as though the plaintiffs are alleging, without evidence(?), that their vehicles are storing their data.
Now, I didn't design any of these infotainment systems, so I couldn't tell you exactly how data is retained. On the other hand, they're...infotainment systems. Like, receiving and transmitting data is literally their entire purpose. If you authorize your car to display your text messages on the screen, how might you presume it's doing that? Telepathy?
If you don't want your electronic device to do the thing it was designed to do, maybe just...don't use it? I'm not a huge fan of infotainment screens myself so I wouldn't blame anyone for that. I'm just not seeing how you go from "it needs to store some of your data in order to function" straight to "they're selling my secrets to [evil megacorps/hackers/my ex wife/the illuminati]."
I'm saying this as someone who has relatively little internet presence these days due to concerns over private data harvesting. There are real problems to get upset over. This ain't it.
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Comment on Modern controls are needlessly convoluted in ~games
Ashura_Savarra LinkThis is a valid complaint in some cases, but I've found it to cause worse problems when devs try to address it. Usually, they "solve" the problem by doubling up context-sensitive actions to the...This is a valid complaint in some cases, but I've found it to cause worse problems when devs try to address it.
Usually, they "solve" the problem by doubling up context-sensitive actions to the same button. Trouble is, this always seems to result in completely batshit maps. For example, X becomes interact/use item/throw grenade/eat a sandwich. So then, if I don't press X while aiming at the twelve pixels the game considers to be "doorknob" (a separate issue!), I end up wasting a valuable single use item/exploding/having lunch instead. This disrupts the flow of the game, leaving me frustrated and possibly dead when all I wanted was to open a fucking door. Bonus points of it's a locked door and there was no way to ever open it to begin with.
It's worst with first-person games, and one of several reasons I refuse to play them with a pad.
True, but I was working from the assumption that the aquifer was just an underground mud hole. As noted somewhere else in the thread, subsurface streams only occur in rock, and nobody's digging a backyard well into that.