Eric_the_Cerise's recent activity

  1. Comment on Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    I didn't even know this. My focus was simply, "using Google AI to translate German court ruling that concludes Google AI can't be trusted to be accurate".

    I didn't even know this.

    My focus was simply, "using Google AI to translate German court ruling that concludes Google AI can't be trusted to be accurate".

    5 votes

  2. Comment on Would it make sense to wrap my Calibre library in a Git project? in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Particularly, thanks for this point. Since I do often manually edit the content of some of my epubs, I was explicitly expecting (among other things) that git would provide versioning history for...

    Also keep in mind that .epubs are .zip files, which are binary blobs, and git won't be able to meaningfully delta them.

    Particularly, thanks for this point. Since I do often manually edit the content of some of my epubs, I was explicitly expecting (among other things) that git would provide versioning history for these edits. Your comment suggests that is not the case.

  3. Comment on Would it make sense to wrap my Calibre library in a Git project? in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Thanks -- so far from the various responses, it looks like restic--combined with one of the automater-tools, is the best tool for what I'm trying to do.

    Thanks -- so far from the various responses, it looks like restic--combined with one of the automater-tools, is the best tool for what I'm trying to do.

  4. Comment on Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link
    Ars Technica article (I'm intentionally not linking it) on the same court case used Google translate, without a trace of irony, to translate the German court's ruling.

    Ars Technica article (I'm intentionally not linking it) on the same court case used Google translate, without a trace of irony, to translate the German court's ruling.

    8 votes

  5. Would it make sense to wrap my Calibre library in a Git project?

    ~tech Ask (advice)
    Basically, the title question. I'm rethinking my entire data backup routine, considering using Git to start tracking much/most (all?) of my assorted projects' histories. In most cases, it makes...

    Basically, the title question.

    I'm rethinking my entire data backup routine, considering using Git to start tracking much/most (all?) of my assorted projects' histories. In most cases, it makes sense; but with my Calibre library, I'm not sure.

    Has anyone tried this?

    More particularly, if I do it ... what-all should be included in the .ignore file? Should I try to maintain a version history of the metadata.db file (an SQLite db file)? What about the ".calnotes" and ".caltrash" folders?

    Thanks.

    18 votes

  6. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link
    Almost everything bad happening in the world today, no matter how apparently-unrelated it is on the surface, can ultimately be traced back to Global Warming. Additionally, I'm pretty sure I'm...

    Almost everything bad happening in the world today, no matter how apparently-unrelated it is on the surface, can ultimately be traced back to Global Warming.

    Additionally, I'm pretty sure I'm right on this one.

    9 votes

  7. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    I was joking at the time, but my instant reaction to the news was "I bet it was China".

    I was joking at the time, but my instant reaction to the news was "I bet it was China".

  8. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    How do you know his name? Are you sure it's not Greg (the guy in the cubicle next to Harry)?

    How do you know his name? Are you sure it's not Greg (the guy in the cubicle next to Harry)?

  9. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    I'm not clear on the technical distinction, but Lumo does not "browse websites" like humans do ... but it does actively visit current websites and scrape/analyze current data on the sites ......

    I'm not clear on the technical distinction, but Lumo does not "browse websites" like humans do ... but it does actively visit current websites and scrape/analyze current data on the sites ... sometimes. Often, it also does something like what you're describing, while claiming/pretending to have actually checked the current site. Also, occasionally, it completely invents data that it claims it got from a website that may or may not even exist.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    The fact that Lumo exists is the only reason I've been willing to try AI at all. All the other AI platforms out there, aside from sucking at their primary purpose for existing, are also giant...

    The fact that Lumo exists is the only reason I've been willing to try AI at all. All the other AI platforms out there, aside from sucking at their primary purpose for existing, are also giant data-sucks, gathering personal information about the users that I'm not willing to share with those companies.

    There are some interesting-sounding open-source models out there, designed to run entirely locally ... of course, the processing power must be at least a couple of magnitudes lower, but I'm probably going to give one or two of them a try, eventually.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    This is almost entirely what I use AI for, as a kind of natural language meta search engine. It still doesn't work, though, as the AI often lies about whether or not it actually performed the...

    This is almost entirely what I use AI for, as a kind of natural language meta search engine.

    It still doesn't work, though, as the AI often lies about whether or not it actually performed the search, and it has a strong programmatic tendency to repeatedly fall back to its own internal knowledge base, generally w/o informing you.

    I find myself constantly falling into tangential arguments with it ... "did you really look that up? show me the actual URL you got that from... See, now, that URL is a dead link, did you even try it before giving it to me?" and etc.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Lumo. Whatever its faults, I'm reasonably confident that it shares its hallucinations only with me.

    Lumo. Whatever its faults, I'm reasonably confident that it shares its hallucinations only with me.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Last month, I used an AI to research the top corrective surgery eye clinics in my area ... over the course of several days, multiple sessions, with extensive reminders to check its work, verify...

    Last month, I used an AI to research the top corrective surgery eye clinics in my area ... over the course of several days, multiple sessions, with extensive reminders to check its work, verify online, etc.

    2 out of 5 clinics, it invented out of whole cloth, including hallucinated websites, surgeons (by name), physical addresses, phone numbers, dozens of hallucinated online reviews, etc.

    10 votes

  14. Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    One of the most insightful points about AI that I've seen ... Hallucinating is all they do. We've just trained them to make hallucinations that look like our reality.

    One of the most insightful points about AI that I've seen ...

    The reason it’s so hard to get AI to stop hallucinating is that it’s permanently hallucinating. Its whole existence is one long lurid trip. Most of the time, the AI’s hallucinations bear a spooky resemblance to reality.

    Hallucinating is all they do. We've just trained them to make hallucinations that look like our reality.

    14 votes

  15. Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Totally agree. The Republican Party practiced this on Clinton, perfected it on Obama. And I think Obama deserves extra points for handling it as well as he did. However, I do also believe his...

    It’s true that Obama was disappointing but I see this through the lens that the Republican Party and conservative media made a very focused and concerted effort to undermine him.

    Totally agree. The Republican Party practiced this on Clinton, perfected it on Obama. And I think Obama deserves extra points for handling it as well as he did.

    However, I do also believe his inexperience actually was a significant issue, at least during his first term. Additionally, I've long argued that he has been the beneficiary of the greatest "halo effect" ever -- having been bookended by two of the worst Presidents ever, his Administration seemed a lot better than it was, by comparison.

    Additionally, I have personal gripes on a lot of his decisions -- things like his liberal use of NSLs, his handling of Snowden, happily accepting a 95% collateral casualty ratio when bombing terrorists with drones in the Middle East, never closing down Guantanamo, etc, etc. I know a lot of these things are debatable as to "good" or "bad", as well as degree ... but a multitude of these kinds of choices left me very displeased with his Administration.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Electrek.co is a small renewables-focused news site. The founder used to be an an enthusiastic Tesla/Musk fan, but the last several years, he's devoted a lot of effort to calling out Musk and...

    Electrek.co is a small renewables-focused news site. The founder used to be an an enthusiastic Tesla/Musk fan, but the last several years, he's devoted a lot of effort to calling out Musk and Tesla on one stupid/fraudulent/criminal statement/action after another.

    The Tesla Semi is about the only thing left in Tesla's portfolio that he has anything good to say.

    The economics are compelling. At $290,000 for the 500-mile version, the Semi undercuts every other Class 8 BEV on the market. Combined with a 3% TCO advantage over diesel and the operational simplicity of electric drivetrains, the business case for fleets is getting hard to ignore.

    The real question now is execution speed. Tesla needs to ramp production, build out the Megacharger network fast enough to support the trucks it’s selling, and prove reliability at scale — not in controlled pilot programs, but in the grinding reality of daily commercial freight.

    13 votes

  17. Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    For the most recent Administrations, yes -ish. Trump 1.0, Obama, Bush Jr ... in time, I think all 3 will trend lower in the overall rankings, especially Obama, who I feel was barely...

    For the most recent Administrations, yes -ish. Trump 1.0, Obama, Bush Jr ... in time, I think all 3 will trend lower in the overall rankings, especially Obama, who I feel was barely middle-of-the-road, "Top 20"-ish. Biden still feels too fresh for me to be objective, but his rankings could go either way. Trump 2.0 is obviously too fresh for objectivity, but I'm with you -- I would be shocked if he isn't ultimately regarded as the worst President, ever.

    I would also note that, I think, Trump's first and second terms will really need to be evaluated separately.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    FWIW, the (relatively) objective historical rankings really only start to be valid, a solid 10-20 years after a President finishes serving ... it just takes awhile for the repercussions to be...

    FWIW, the (relatively) objective historical rankings really only start to be valid, a solid 10-20 years after a President finishes serving ... it just takes awhile for the repercussions to be parsed and partisan/personal opinions to get weeded out. I would say Bush Jr is the most recent President for which the rankings are mostly settled. I know it feels like centuries, but Obama was still President less than a decade ago.

    Additionally, I think it is highly questionable at this point, whether an "objective historian" academic sphere will even exist in the US, 10-20 years from now. I think, to get objectivity on US Presidents, we'll be dependent upon the views of academics outside of the US, much like getting an objective history of, eg, Russia today requires consulting historians who do not live there.

    9 votes

  19. Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    FWIW, this one mostly predates most/all of the other bullets by 1-2 decades (Fox is almost 30 years old now), and I believe it is one of the primary causes of most/all of the others. Also -- fun...

    One of the most popular sources of news is essentially state propaganda. It constantly lies about reality, was sued about this and lost but continues to lie and have viewers

    FWIW, this one mostly predates most/all of the other bullets by 1-2 decades (Fox is almost 30 years old now), and I believe it is one of the primary causes of most/all of the others. Also -- fun fact -- it is not "one of the..." ... it is literally the most popular news network in the US, and it mostly has been number one for several years now.

    8 votes

  20. Comment on Framework reveals 13 Pro laptop with 20-hour battery in ~tech

    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link Parent
    Typing on my Framework 13 now ... literally came to this thread for this post. Danke, y gracias.

    Typing on my Framework 13 now ... literally came to this thread for this post. Danke, y gracias.

    1 vote