Cycloneblaze's recent activity
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Comment on What's your take on capital and corporal punishment? in ~talk
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Comment on Amazon to close Quebec facilities, insists it's not because of new union in ~tech
Cycloneblaze LinkThis is a real limitation of collective action vs. regulation, in my eyes. Amazon is plenty big enough to close an entire set of warehouses and sacrifice the quality of its operations for a while...This is a real limitation of collective action vs. regulation, in my eyes. Amazon is plenty big enough to close an entire set of warehouses and sacrifice the quality of its operations for a while to spite this union. And this is real spite, real scorched-earth tactics - 1,700 jobs is a staggering number!
What's more is it's such an effective tactic. Only 300 of the 1700 had unionised, according to the article, but all of them lose their jobs, and they can all very well see the cause and effect. Amazon might not be able to fire the union activists or members, but they can certainly fire everybody, and that's the same thing. The long-term trend might still be against Amazon, but the short-term effect is that you lose your job. Why would you even let anyone talk about a union if that's a guaranteed consequence? How do unions defend against this tactic (and that's not a rhetorical question)? They are definitely morally right, but you can't eat morals. As far as I'm concerned, it will take the power of national governments to push back against Amazon's intransigence on their workers' rights.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAnd you square that with Meta's total capitulation to Trump as he comes into power?American companies aren't pushing agendas based on what the government tells them to do.
And you square that with Meta's total capitulation to Trump as he comes into power?
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Comment on Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI was a bit surprised considering Molly is an advocate for having your own website as an online presence - having looked, I guess it's a limitation of the publishing software she's using. The name...I find it mildly ironic that on the author's homepage, her only point of contact listed is her Twitter profile
I was a bit surprised considering Molly is an advocate for having your own website as an online presence - having looked, I guess it's a limitation of the publishing software she's using. The name on that page does link to her website.
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Comment on Pornhub to block access in thirteen states as age-verification laws expand across US in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAbsolutely none of the other proposed age verification measures will do anything either, so I'm not sure what your point isI don't see why on the internet sites distributing pornographic content get a free pass to not verify that someone is of a legal age to view this content in accordance with federal law. A "scout's honor" verification button doesn't do anything.
Absolutely none of the other proposed age verification measures will do anything either, so I'm not sure what your point is
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Comment on US Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI don't know how fundamental a democratic right that is, especially when we're largely talking here about people who already have had the chance to hold public office. They can still vote like...I don't know how fundamental a democratic right that is, especially when we're largely talking here about people who already have had the chance to hold public office. They can still vote like everyone else (I don't think I missed anyone calling for an upper age limit on voting, anyway I don't support one).
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Comment on US Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAgreed - I'm not really confident in the idea of age limits as a way of assuming a level of mental decline, I think that's tricky to do well and it admits a whole host of discriminatory arguments...Agreed - I'm not really confident in the idea of age limits as a way of assuming a level of mental decline, I think that's tricky to do well and it admits a whole host of discriminatory arguments that extend beyond just age even if done well. But I think as a policy we should not want people to accumulate power and influence for such a long time. An age limit is a good way to ensure that young (or even middle-aged!) people with fresh perspectives actually get the chance to wield power and shape the future on the public's behalf, and to prevent our government's policies being shaped by a past that is long gone and poorly remembered anyway. But it's also a good way to ensure that nobody can get too powerful simply by playing the game for a long time. Like wealth, political power is something we must try to distribute fairly, and not let become concentrated in people or dynasties. It's not a personal possession. It is not a reward or a prize. Its exercise is a duty.
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Comment on German authorities find large chat groups focused on exchanging advice re how to effectively drug and rape women in ~news
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm also not surprised, but for a different reason - I first learned of Telegram when I met some German friends who used it, and anecdotally, continually noticed it being fairly popular in Germany...I'm also not surprised, but for a different reason - I first learned of Telegram when I met some German friends who used it, and anecdotally, continually noticed it being fairly popular in Germany vs. elsewhere in western Europe. I don't so much know about eastern Europe but I know it's popular in Ukraine too and that connection makes more sense.
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Comment on The US Democrats need to start acting like an opposition party in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm kind of wondering why the onus should be on people like snake_case to figure out what the Democrats could be doing to at least look like they oppose Trump and the Republican party, or want to...I'm kind of wondering why the onus should be on people like snake_case to figure out what the Democrats could be doing to at least look like they oppose Trump and the Republican party, or want to protect their ostensible base, instead of on the party itself.
Do you feel like they did the most they could, either with the power they undeniably did wield, or towards winning the election, to vindicate people's rights?
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Comment on US Joe Biden administration grants California waiver to ban gas car sales in 2035 in ~transport
Cycloneblaze (edited )Link ParentIt is ridiculous that out of all the very good points about very bad policies that scroll-lock makes in this long long comment the top, highly-upvoted reply excerpts one small part to complain...It is ridiculous that out of all the very good points about very bad policies that scroll-lock makes in this long long comment the top, highly-upvoted reply excerpts one small part to complain about rhetorical framing. Your priorities are absurd. God forbid that anyone get emotional about an important topic or, worse, decide to use it to be convincing!
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Comment on US President Joe Biden pardons son in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm kinda in disagreement with smoontjes in the wider argument but to your statement... yes, they are, unironically. They are qualitatively different. You can't reduce them all to "a government...- Exemplary
I'm kinda in disagreement with smoontjes in the wider argument but to your statement... yes, they are, unironically. They are qualitatively different. You can't reduce them all to "a government restriction" and call it bad. Uses of government power have moral value in both purpose and effect and there is a difference between good ones and bad ones! (And we do have bad ones in Europe too!)
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Comment on Finding real images in ~creative
Cycloneblaze LinkWikimedia Commons is a great place for useful photographs (that are usually free to use, too!) Here are some photos of tigers. Just searching for "tiger" worked better than I expected, actually.Wikimedia Commons is a great place for useful photographs (that are usually free to use, too!) Here are some photos of tigers. Just searching for "tiger" worked better than I expected, actually.
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Comment on Understanding the leftist that didn't vote: "Everybody else gets one, but not me" in ~society
Cycloneblaze LinkDisappointed by the other replies on this post which so far have done nothing but repeat points back to you that you already addressed, and are also typical of what I'm reading elsewhere on...Disappointed by the other replies on this post which so far have done nothing but repeat points back to you that you already addressed, and are also typical of what I'm reading elsewhere on Tildes.
With the caveat that I do use my vote whenever I have the opportunity, I empathise a lot with you, Daywalker. Everybody gets the freedom to honestly express their actual preferences except you. And when you do lend your power to a coalition which actively doesn't want the things you want, you unsurprisingly get nothing for it. If you were an American voting this time, you got less than nothing. And of course, nobody feels it necessary to offer any sympathy to a leftist for this. It's hard not to feel dispirited.
I think there are some counterpoints which do actually take into account what you're saying, but I won't try to make them here.
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Comment on Russian court fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentIt is nonsense, but according to the article it's just the result of daily fines stacking up and the total doubling every week for over a hundred, and in one case over two hundred, weeks. No...It is nonsense, but according to the article it's just the result of daily fines stacking up and the total doubling every week for over a hundred, and in one case over two hundred, weeks. No matter how small a number you start with, that many doublings will make it actually astronomical. I suppose there aren't usually caps on these fines because either the finee will take the judgement seriously, in which case they will make sure to pay before it gets too big, or they won't, in which case (as here) it doesn't matter how big the number gets. But it doesn't appear like this is just a Putin crony looking at Google and going "one... decillion dollars"
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Comment on Russian court fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in ~society
Cycloneblaze LinkI enjoy how the amount is so large that it breaks headlines.I enjoy how the amount is so large that it breaks headlines.
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Comment on HTML for people in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI used SSIs just last week for this exact purpose, making the nav on my website updatable! They do work in 2024, at least with Apache. When you don't want to do anything more I really like them...I used SSIs just last week for this exact purpose, making the nav on my website updatable! They do work in 2024, at least with Apache. When you don't want to do anything more I really like them for this purpose because you can use them with the tools you already have.
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Comment on Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of September 30 in ~news
Cycloneblaze Link ParentYou've said that describing the conflict as or as including a genocide is "dumb" and "silly", which are just insults only conveying you don't like the idea. You've said it would be divisive - I...You've said that describing the conflict as or as including a genocide is "dumb" and "silly", which are just insults only conveying you don't like the idea. You've said it would be divisive - I have a bit more respect for the users who proposed the change, that they were being careful not to be divisive while insisting on a more factual description. What you have not said is why it would be incorrect to do it.
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Comment on The Steam subscriber agreement has dropped its forced arbitration clause, allowing gamers to take legal action against the platform in ~games
Cycloneblaze Link ParentA natural continuation of this is that as soon as Valve's lawyers figure out how to make their forced arbitration clause more robust against this kind of "death by a thousand cuts" attack on their...A natural continuation of this is that as soon as Valve's lawyers figure out how to make their forced arbitration clause more robust against this kind of "death by a thousand cuts" attack on their financial resources, it'll come right back.
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Comment on They stole my voice with AI in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentWell then I've completely failed to make myself understood 😅This feels like a very capitalist mindset
Well then I've completely failed to make myself understood 😅
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Comment on They stole my voice with AI in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm sympathetic to the philosophical argument but I'm not making that argument, I'm making a practical argument. For one thing it seems like for these machines to create better and better art -...I'm sympathetic to the philosophical argument but I'm not making that argument, I'm making a practical argument. For one thing it seems like for these machines to create better and better art - more expressive, more skilled, more natural to the human eye, closer to the request - requires more and more art made by actual humans to train it. That's labour which should be fairly compensated.
Second and more broadly, I'm not saying that we might prefer creative works made by humans because the works made by AI are empty and soulless, I'm saying we might prefer it because there are humans who can do it and want to be paid to do it. I'm very, very sceptical that the human labour freed up from market demands for art will be employed for equal or comparable pay to that given for the artwork. Artists have a variety of knowledge and skills which they'd probably prefer to use to get paid, than learning to code or whatever. In this future world where AI makes all art, no person could get paid for making art even if they wanted to and were good enough. Of course they could make art as a hobby and for a lot of people, that's enough - a whole lot of artists are already in this position, whatever their skillset, where they have to make art in the time they aren't working. But we'd lose all the artists who are, through the ability to sell their art, able to make art their full-time vocation. I think it is good that artists can get paid to make art.
(I wonder what would happen to art residencies and grants and fellowships and other funds, that allow artists to exercise their creative skill without having to worry about commerce at all? Because I think that's better, and I'm even more sceptical it'd continue to exist when AI can generate art of the highest calibre.)Finally, of course, these art-making machines will be vastly cheaper to operate than paying people for their labour. Most of those savings are going to accrete to the companies that own them, and most of the AI models will be locked up by those comapnies so that you still have to pay to generate the images. For all the elimination of scarcity of art, it still won't be anything close to free. Because why would it? The goal isn't to usher in an age where anyone can realise their imagination with the help of a computer, it's to make money by fulfilling a demand (in this case, for art) for the highest price with the lowest costs possible. And I'm really dubious how that's any better than the state we're in now where I have to pay a person to make me art I couldn't make myself.
I will say though my actual point wasn't as far as "this is the view we as a society must take about AI producing creative works", it was just that the fact that AI can, or will be able to, replace artists doesn't make it inevitable. We should think about the societal effects it will have, how we want to address them, or if we want to reject them. We shouldn't just let it happen like it's a force of nature, because it's not. To take a quote from the original comment-
Creative work has never been about what's fair.
Well, maybe for once we should see that it is.
Leaving aside the unfair and uncharitable, not to mention unrealistic (you throw out "no chance of being wrong" awfully casually), assumptions here I object to the wishes for violent punishment.
Threats of harsh and severe punishment are often not actually a deterrent for violent crimes because the person comitting the violent act in the first place is not weighing all the possibilities and options when they do it. That's just plainly not how people work, especially when they're doing impulsive, rash, passion-driven, desperate things, or when they're not of sound mind in the first place. (You want to talk about people rationally weighing incentives and deliberately choosing an antisocial course of action, look at white-collar crime...)
Even if they were, I think it is wrong and bad for our society to visit these harms on people, not much less wrong than the crime was in the first place. I think the state killing and threatening to kill criminals makes our society a more unforgiving place. It performs violence as a way to solve problems. It gives people tacit approval to use violence to solve their problems. I don't think that stoning people or feeding them into a tyre shredder does anything to stop crime or improve society, I don't think it would make Bradford a safer place, and I think it only serves to feed a bloodlust that we should starve.
That's to say: even if it was always applied to people who were truly guilty, and even if it did actually deter crime, I still would not want it to happen.