Banisher's recent activity
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Comment on What's the best counter argument to "Well, if I don't do it somebody else will" in ~talk
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Comment on Introducing ChatGPT Pro in ~tech
Banisher (edited )Link ParentGreat post! First hand experience using AI as a force multiplier instead of a labor replacement. I have not really had a chance to talk to anyone that uses AI for work. Mostly it has been doom and...Great post! First hand experience using AI as a force multiplier instead of a labor replacement. I have not really had a chance to talk to anyone that uses AI for work. Mostly it has been doom and gloom about it replacing people jobs, but nothing concrete.
Full disclosure I have a lot of concerns around AI safety and where this all could end up. I less often considered what AI might do if it is not a humanity ending event. In this case AI is helping by giving you the ability to offload part of the "thinking" in your work. For example, when you talk about word smithing. It's kind of like the hand written card vs a hallmark card idea. It is much faster to choose the prewritten card that matches what you are thinking, but without having to come up with every words yourself. Like the AI generated Email. It's easier to tell it the general theme and have it pick the words, then you can just "buy the card." By not having to spend as much of your time doing the communication part of your job, you free up more time to do the actual work.
I could see this saving huge amounts of time in my day as well. Most of my day is trying to make sure the the person getting my email/communication will understand what I'm trying to say. Speeding up effective communication could have huge potential gains for productivity.
I can also see your point about this being like the internet though. Nothing is free and everything has a cost. The internet gave us the ability to really connect and learn from each other. Now it seems to be more of a way to divide and distract us.
So let's look at that side of the AI coin too. What do we lose to gain this effective communication tool?
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Comment on AI-generated art sparks furious backlash from Japan’s anime community in ~anime
Banisher Link ParentThese are interesting and thought provoking points. I've been thinking a lot about this since that piece made by Midjourney AI was used to win the Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Competition. They...These are interesting and thought provoking points. I've been thinking a lot about this since that piece made by Midjourney AI was used to win the Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Competition. They question I have to ask myself is "what is the point of art?" The answer I have come up with is that art in all its forms and in its broadest sense is a way to take stuff from inside your head and find a way to share it with other people. This answer has come to shape how I see this issue. In this way I cannot agree with you more art IS social. Right now, in my opinion the way we see the AI being used, diminishes the craftsmanship of art, but not art itself. And I emphasis right now, because I can see this changing in the future. However how I see these tools being used is to allow a greater pool of people access to the ability to share their ideas with other people. Before cameras only those with immense skill and craftsmanship could convert the beauty that they saw in the world into images that could be enjoyed by others. Now almost anyone can capture a moment of personal significance in a way that can be shared with others. Cameras took a slice of art that was previously locked behind years of skill crafting and gave it to the masses. Now we have AI coming in and allowing anyone to using only a few words, and a selection process the ability to construct an image from their mind into something that can be shared with others. When does art stop becoming art? Is there some level of mechanization in the process of creation that invalidates the results? In this way I go back to where I started, and to your words that resonant with me "Art is inherently a social process." I think as long as a person is involved, as long as it's human ideas being given form, as long people can be connected through it, it is art.
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Comment on D&D 6th Edition announced (but they're calling it One D&D for now) in ~games.tabletop
Banisher (edited )Link ParentI think the counter point that TheRtRevKaiser was bringing up is that you shouldn't have everyone roll for the check if only the two of the five players have a chance of success. Instead of having...I think the counter point that TheRtRevKaiser was bringing up is that you shouldn't have everyone roll for the check if only the two of the five players have a chance of success. Instead of having everyone roll and using an impossibly high DC to exclude people from succeeding, only allow people who can succeed the option to roll. Maybe you shouldn't let everyone roll to look for tracks in the forest, maybe you only give that roll to the druid and ranger.
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Comment on Mechanical watch in ~engineering
Banisher LinkVery clear and easy to understand. I didn't know I was interested in mechanical watches until I started reading, but could not stop till the end.Very clear and easy to understand. I didn't know I was interested in mechanical watches until I started reading, but could not stop till the end.
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Comment on Even four-year-olds dislike freeloaders. Young children expect cooperation and are willing to work to sustain it. in ~science
Banisher Link ParentYeah, sorry about the actual paper being behind a paywall, sadly I have no way to access it either. About the rest, I think that everybody wants what's fair. Even chimps don't like freeloaders,...Yeah, sorry about the actual paper being behind a paywall, sadly I have no way to access it either.
About the rest, I think that everybody wants what's fair. Even chimps don't like freeloaders, and punish it during activities that require cooperation to succeed. Maybe at some point you realize that life isn't fair, that despite you working harder, other kids might have more things than you. Or else you see that the those that cheat seem to get further ahead. I wonder if it's even possible to pinpoint any one thing, it might just be lots of little things.
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Even four-year-olds dislike freeloaders. Young children expect cooperation and are willing to work to sustain it.
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Comment on What if you detonated a nuclear bomb in the Marianas Trench? in ~science
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What if you detonated a nuclear bomb in the Marianas Trench?
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Aquaman | Official trailer 1
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Comment on Leo Moracchioli - Sultans of Swing (metal cover feat. Mary Spender) in ~music
Banisher Link ParentYeah, never heard of him till like a week or two ago, but I think his Toto cover really got him a lot of popularity, it is really well done. I also really like his cover of feel good inc.Yeah, never heard of him till like a week or two ago, but I think his Toto cover really got him a lot of popularity, it is really well done. I also really like his cover of feel good inc.
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Shazam! | Official teaser trailer
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How the Parker Solar Probe will stay cool while travelling though the Sun's corona
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For me fiction is about removing enough familiar things to get you go see the deeper issues. If you start a political debate, people will come into it with preformed opinions. Walls that have been put up, prejudice from earlier in their life. With fiction you can bypass these assumptions about the world, because it isn't your world. In science fiction there is often a silly facade that tells you not to take it too seriously. I love star trek. I grew up with and am biased towards it. As I have grown more as a person I have changed the parts I like about the series. The techno babble is really not important. It just tries to be plausible enough to tell a story. It doesn't matter why the people are in danger, just that they are in danger and how they are in danger. The best episodes don't solve the problems with a magic hand wave, but with some personal choice. People are what drive a good story.
In this way I have come to really appreciate the deep space nine series. It has a lot of it's own silliness, but it tackles some really hard people problems too. How do you reconcile religion and obligation? Can someone really change who they are, or does our trauma define us? What does a loving relationship look like? How do you balance your heritage with your community? How can you be a good parent? How can you be a good and productive member of a team?
I like the next generation for it's unwavering dedication to tackling the big issues, but in my mind those are easier problems. Do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Help people when you can, but don't take their freewill. I find these questions less nuanced, and maybe a little self righteous at times. The world isn't black and white. It can be simpler to see heroes and villains, but what about a hero who is willing to violate his own moral code to save everyone he cares about, and uncountable innocent bystanders . It's this nuance that I enjoy in Deep Space Nine. Don't get me wrong, it is also a series with slap stick comedy, filler episodes and sitcom-esque tropes. There are also deep, and more importantly to me, real questions. The settings are fake, the players are fake, but the stories have so much truth in them. If you can get past the silly costumes, and outlandish settings, and the made up gibberish there is so much good story telling.
Also, since I jumped into this thread, I might also try to tackle the original question. There are two ways to look at the question. either avoiding doing something good, because someone else will. "Do you give to the foodbank? No someones else will do it, they always have enough" Or convincing yourself to do something wrong. "Did you just take all those free samples? Well yeah, nobody is here watching them, someone else is just going to take them all anyways." My first response to anyone who claims to know the outcome is "How can you be sure?" The future is not written. There is an interesting phenomenon when large groups of people rush to help someone who has had an accident. If there is only one person, they will call for help right away. In large groups everyone assumes that someone else has already done it, and so emergency services don't get called. Maybe just the idea that you can be the hero in your own story. Something else may or may not happen, the only thing you can control is how you live in each moment. Work with the group, communicate, and don't assume. Also spend each moment living how you want everyone else to live. If you want other people to be kind, then be kind yourself. In my experience casting judgment on these people will drive them away from conversation, and towards their inner monologue. I have also never found a counterargument that can win someone over in the moment. If you goal is just to be convincing to other people and not the person who made the comment, then maybe there is a counterargument that can work. If you want to convince the person who is living the idea that they are only doing what anyone would do in their situation, then I would offer the following advice. In the moment people just want validation that your aren't going to abandon them for their behaviour. It can be much more effective to just get people to work the issue all the way through on their own. "How can you be sure?" forces them to look critically at their assumptions. It is only when we challenge our assumptions that we can change the way we think. The important thing is to not respond with anything other than curiosity. If they have an answer just keep asking why, and listen to their answers and engaging with them.