LukeZaz's recent activity
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Comment on Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur's GOTY wins over use of generative AI [for now-removed background assets] in ~games
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Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur's GOTY wins over use of generative AI [for now-removed background assets]
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Comment on AI-designed Linux computer with 843 components boots on first attempt — dual-PCB Project Speedrun was made in just one week and required less than forty hours of human work in ~tech
LukeZaz LinkYeah, I'm not convinced. From the linked VentureBeat article on this: This is not the modern conception of AI at all. Insofar as I can tell, it's basically evolvable hardware, and it has been...Yeah, I'm not convinced. From the linked VentureBeat article on this:
Quilter's technical approach differs fundamentally from the large language models that have dominated recent AI headlines. Where systems like GPT-5 or Claude learn to predict text based on massive training datasets of human writing, Quilter's AI learns by playing what amounts to an elaborate game against the laws of physics.
"Language models don't apply to us because this is not a language problem," Nesterenko explained. "If you ask it to actually create a blueprint, it has no training data for that. It has no context for that."
Instead, Quilter built what Nesterenko describes as a "game" where the AI agent makes sequential decisions — place this component here, route this trace there — and receives feedback based on whether the resulting design satisfies electromagnetic, thermal, and manufacturing constraints.
This is not the modern conception of AI at all. Insofar as I can tell, it's basically evolvable hardware, and it has been around since at least 1996.
Which is good! Because GenAI and LLMs are horrendous and using them for hardware engineering would be ridiculously stupid. So the tech itself is fine. No complaints there.
But that said, I find myself irritated by this anyway. Practically the entirety of both articles are unwaveringly positive, it talks about old concepts as though they've just been invented, and it's clearly using the term "AI" for clout. In other words, it's a sales pitch for investors. Even the title is glazing the hell out of this project. I'll save my excitement for when they do something worthwhile enough that it makes it out of ad copy, thanks.
I'll grant it this, though: It's nice to read about something "AI" that turns out not to be completely useless garbage for once. I'll take clickbait usage of the term over yet more climate destruction any day.
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Why we're boycotting Xbox (and maybe you should too)
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Comment on Disco Elysium on Android | Reveal trailer in ~games
LukeZaz Link ParentI honestly felt (and still feel) that the PMG documentary didn't really help the case of Kompus &c too much. Like, sure, I agree the situation was complicated, and sure, I believe there were...I honestly felt (and still feel) that the PMG documentary didn't really help the case of Kompus &c too much. Like, sure, I agree the situation was complicated, and sure, I believe there were problems with Kurvitz. But I also believe that ZA/UM was a victim of immense fraud, and that no, nobody should give the artless & corporate husk that remains any money.
I don't think these two viewpoints are mutually exclusive.
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Comment on How would you rate adulthood? in ~life
LukeZaz Link ParentA few. I've gotten a better understanding of my mental health alongside the problems I've gotten, and some family members of mine have managed to recently make some huge strides for themselves....A few. I've gotten a better understanding of my mental health alongside the problems I've gotten, and some family members of mine have managed to recently make some huge strides for themselves. It's just not been a good time overall by any stretch.
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Comment on How would you rate adulthood? in ~life
LukeZaz LinkAwful. My adulthood has seen a smorgasbord of mental issues crop up right off the heels of discovering a lifelong disability, followed by a steadily worsening quality-of-life. Much of the last few...Awful. My adulthood has seen a smorgasbord of mental issues crop up right off the heels of discovering a lifelong disability, followed by a steadily worsening quality-of-life. Much of the last few years of my life have been the worst I've yet experienced.
I have more problems than ever, more responsibility than I can possibly handle, more stress than I previously imagined, and have lost almost all my ambition wholesale.
I have extremely little hope for the future.
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Comment on The ugly truth about Spotify is finally revealed in ~music
LukeZaz Link ParentSeconding Pandora, for what it's worth. It's not stellar, and definitely does not have as many artists, but if it's vaguely popular it'll still be there and that's been more than good enough for me.Seconding Pandora, for what it's worth. It's not stellar, and definitely does not have as many artists, but if it's vaguely popular it'll still be there and that's been more than good enough for me.
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Comment on Daniel Penny jury deadlocked on manslaughter charge in subway chokehold case in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentDoesn't sound like you know cfabbro very well.Doesn't sound like you know cfabbro very well.
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Comment on Man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO is ordered held without bail after brief court appearance in Pennsylvania in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentAh, I think I misunderstood what you were saying, then. I thought you were saying "bad for society," not "bad for the gunman personally."Ah, I think I misunderstood what you were saying, then. I thought you were saying "bad for society," not "bad for the gunman personally."
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Comment on Man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO is ordered held without bail after brief court appearance in Pennsylvania in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentCould you elaborate on your reasoning for this?Seems like all the likely endings are bad.
Could you elaborate on your reasoning for this?
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Comment on Man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO is ordered held without bail after brief court appearance in Pennsylvania in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentI'm hesitant to buy this for reasons others have already elaborated, but at the same time I'm acutely familiar with policing's tendency towards both incompetence and malice, so I end up finding it...I'm hesitant to buy this for reasons others have already elaborated, but at the same time I'm acutely familiar with policing's tendency towards both incompetence and malice, so I end up finding it believable nonetheless.
Maybe time will tell.
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Comment on How do you build strong online communities? in ~talk
LukeZaz Link ParentI know you're probably referring to the second-to-last sentence, but I've gotta say that the rest of it is one area where I feel Tildes falls very short. Moderation is quite opaque here. I've both...Moderation needs to be visible, otherwise people will not know it is happening and why it is happening. This does not mean having an open modlog. Moderation needs to be visible where it is applied and explain why it is applied. For example a comment stating "X was removed of Y". But also regular announcements, responding to feedback, etc. Something Deimos does a lot on Tildes as well.
I know you're probably referring to the second-to-last sentence, but I've gotta say that the rest of it is one area where I feel Tildes falls very short. Moderation is quite opaque here.
I've both had and seen comments get removed where absolutely no explanation was provided, and the reasoning for the actions taken were not intuitive. I once posted a heated comment here and got a month-long ban for it, which might suggest that the comment in question was not my first screw-up, but nevertheless I don't actually know that because absolutely nothing was said to me. The whole thing left me feeling extremely unwelcome and I very nearly quit the site entirely. Without getting into further examples, I've also seen long-time, friendly users get permanently banned for reasons I just can't explain.
I do very much agree that transparency and understanding in moderator action is important; people have to learn from their mistakes somehow. I just wish Tildes did that. I have my suspicions as to why it doesn't, and they are kind ones. I in turn would have suggestions to fix it, but I don't feel as though Tildes is very receptive to criticism of moderation generally, and even if it were this thread probably isn't the place for it.
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Comment on Weekly Middle East war megathread - week of October 21 in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentAnd Iran can now claim they have justification to escalate even further and attack again. This is not how de-escalation works, and thus, this is not how safety works either.And Iran can now claim they have justification to escalate even further and attack again. This is not how de-escalation works, and thus, this is not how safety works either.
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Comment on Weekly Middle East war megathread - week of October 21 in ~news
LukeZaz (edited )Link ParentYou sound like someone who doesn't believe Israel has done anything wrong the last year. I don't really want to talk about this with someone who believes that, especially after all that's happened...You sound like someone who doesn't believe Israel has done anything wrong the last year. I don't really want to talk about this with someone who believes that, especially after all that's happened as a result of the IDF. So I won't.
I will, however, speak to others reading this on one thing:
A lack of escalation is absolutely beneficial to Israeli citizenry. A lack of escalation means less likelihood of regional wars, which tend to have negative impacts on local populaces. It does nobody in Israel any favors to be in open war with their neighbors, save perhaps for warmongers who seek a casus belli.
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Comment on Weekly Middle East war megathread - week of October 21 in ~news
LukeZaz Link ParentNot the person you replied to, but it could be considered that it's the escalation itself that is unreasonable, not that it is a particularly unreasonable form of escalation. We want wars to end,...Why do you think this is an unreasonable escalation?
Not the person you replied to, but it could be considered that it's the escalation itself that is unreasonable, not that it is a particularly unreasonable form of escalation.
We want wars to end, after all. If your opponent says "This was the last attack, and we're stopping now," and you have reason to believe them,1 it's beneficial to everybody to not fire back over a desire for chest-thumping revenge.
1. Whether or not this was the case is up to you.
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Comment on Lawsuit: City cameras make it impossible to drive anywhere without being tracked | "Every passing car is captured," says 4th Amendment lawsuit against Norfolk, VA in ~tech
LukeZaz (edited )Link ParentA slippery slope that has time and again been proven to be a very real thing that happens when more cameras are added in more places. Suburbia in much of the U.S. has already become a surveillance...A slippery slope that has time and again been proven to be a very real thing that happens when more cameras are added in more places. Suburbia in much of the U.S. has already become a surveillance state due to nearly ubiquitous doorbell cameras that cops are freely allowed to check whenever they want without a warrant.
I can't even leave my house without being on one of these cameras. And you want there to be even more of them. If both our arguments rely on hypotheticals, then at least mine's trying to advocate for kind solutions rather than an honest-to-god police state.
I'm out.
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Comment on Lawsuit: City cameras make it impossible to drive anywhere without being tracked | "Every passing car is captured," says 4th Amendment lawsuit against Norfolk, VA in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentAn expensive solution that takes time is still better than one that solves a problem by creating a bigger one, and if we're going to start arguing for preferred answers based on what people hate,...An expensive solution that takes time is still better than one that solves a problem by creating a bigger one, and if we're going to start arguing for preferred answers based on what people hate, then there sure is a lot to be said on speeding tickets.
But it all boils back down to the fact that you are stating preference for an option that works by hurting people and imagining an idealized version of it that would never occur, all while writing off safer and kinder options just because they're not as easy to slap down in a short time.
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Comment on Lawsuit: City cameras make it impossible to drive anywhere without being tracked | "Every passing car is captured," says 4th Amendment lawsuit against Norfolk, VA in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentThe crime is hypothetical because you are not talking about any specific instance of it, but instead the general idea that speeding will occur, and then using it to justify furthering a...Speeding isn't a hypothetical crime lol. Traffic cameras have huge amounts of experimental evidence showing they effectively reduce speeding and save lives by making people drive safer.
The crime is hypothetical because you are not talking about any specific instance of it, but instead the general idea that speeding will occur, and then using it to justify furthering a surveillance state. Other techniques, such as traffic calming or public transportation, reduce dangerous driving far more effectively and need neither aggressive punishment nor the treating of drivers as inevitable criminals.
For privacy concerns, it'd be relatively easy to configure them to only point at license plates and keep no other records (there are problems with this approach, but it's possible).
Tools like these are practically guaranteed to be abused, so you can expect the probability of responsible usage like this to be approximately zero.
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Comment on Lawsuit: City cameras make it impossible to drive anywhere without being tracked | "Every passing car is captured," says 4th Amendment lawsuit against Norfolk, VA in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentTo justify invasive and harmful policy like this by way of fearmongering about hypothetical crime would be to make for a society that treats people as evil by default.To justify invasive and harmful policy like this by way of fearmongering about hypothetical crime would be to make for a society that treats people as evil by default.
From The Indie Game Awards' FAQ page:
(My edits to the question title are to keep focus on Expedition 33, since there was another award retracted this year due to the game in question – Chantey – being tied to ModRetro, which is in hot water due to ModRetro advertising that their consoles are made using the same metal that's used to manufacture attack drones.)
I added the bracketed text to the title of this post because I felt that the scope of the AI use was an important factor – don't want to spook anybody into thinking the game was ¼-AI or something – but if any title editors here feel it's unnecessary, I don't mind its removal.