LukeZaz's recent activity
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Comment on Italy reimposes border controls on Spain after Ceuta migrant surge in ~society
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Comment on Italy reimposes border controls on Spain after Ceuta migrant surge in ~society
LukeZaz LinkFrom the article: [...] I don't know much local context, but this sounds absolutely insane to me as an American. It feels like if I read news saying Arkansas suddenly started checking papers at...From the article:
ROME, July 31 (Reuters) - Italy said on Friday it was suspending the European Union's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain for one month in response to a mass influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco.
However, the government said the measure would not affect Spanish or other EU citizens travelling to Italy and would instead involve targeted checks on non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea.
[...]
The move came after Spain said it had largely reversed the rush of migrants into Ceuta, with most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed into the enclave returning voluntarily to Morocco.
Critics of Meloni's right-wing government dismissed the new border checks as largely symbolic, saying there was no indication that migrants arriving in Ceuta had any desire to travel onwards to Italy.
Meloni's coalition, which came to power in 2022 promising to reduce illegal immigration, has faced strong pressure from a new far-right party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose anti-migrant rhetoric has resonated with some voters.
I don't know much local context, but this sounds absolutely insane to me as an American. It feels like if I read news saying Arkansas suddenly started checking papers at interstate roadstops because of a wave of immigration three states over in Florida.
And I get the feeling that the "targeted checks" won't be so careful as they claim.
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Italy reimposes border controls on Spain after Ceuta migrant surge
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Comment on Game Pass was supposed to save Xbox – instead, it’s killing the company in ~games
LukeZaz Link ParentIt doesn't have to be simplistic at all to happen. I'm certain that the kind of situations that lead to bad math like that would have plenty of complexity to occur; it'd just be found more in the...It doesn't have to be simplistic at all to happen. I'm certain that the kind of situations that lead to bad math like that would have plenty of complexity to occur; it'd just be found more in the incentives and social structures more than the math itself.
Just one idea: The math is complicated and good, but the process of getting the resulting data to who needs to hear it gets that data ruined in the process. People play games of telephone, lose track of things, get interfered with by Goodhart's Law, etc. By the time the math gets to a decision-maker – much less us – it's been boiled down/tampered with to the point of near-uselessness.
It's worth noting that this analysis would apply more the larger a company is, too, as the data would have more hands in it and "farther to travel," so to speak.
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Comment on Critics slam Tim Hortons Harry Potter promotion as un-Canadian, anti-trans in ~food
LukeZaz Link ParentHuzzah! A vacation with their cat to the Alps it is :)This story idea is released into public domain, for anyone to use for any purpose.
Huzzah! A vacation with their cat to the Alps it is :)
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Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games
LukeZaz (edited )Link ParentI've gotta be honest here: This is a really bad response. Given what happened and their initial responses to it, and how those responses only worsened what happened and the context behind it, I...I've gotta be honest here: This is a really bad response. Given what happened and their initial responses to it, and how those responses only worsened what happened and the context behind it, I just don't buy this. Especially considering this is how it starts out:
Those symbols should not have been used in a GOG email. Whatever the intention was, and whatever the internal explanation is, the final result was wrong.
Emphasis mine. The founder is trying to phrase this like what happened was a mystery they haven't solved. Which would be bad; a month has passed, so if they still haven't figured out how something this nasty happened, that's not a good look, and it would make me wonder if they're taking it seriously!
But I don't think that's the case. Rather, we got at least one answer from GOG the same day this incident occurred. Hours later, we got a second one. So unless the owner is blind to what's happening in his own company, this just reads like trying to imply confusion and mystery where there is none. That's weasel behavior.
We also get a weird couple paragraphs that feel the need to spend a bunch of time on "any other destructive 'ism." Normally, I'd like this, as at its face it rejects awful ideologies and bigotries as a whole. But in this context, where we're looking at a very specific action that looks to be in support of the worst ideology yet seen, it feels like meandering waffle that serves only to muddy the waters and distract the conversation from what happened. It's not about just any "authoritarianism." It's about the Nazis, and the runes of theirs that GOG put in an email, knowingly, and still sent. If you want to make a good apology, you stay focused on what you're apologizing for.
But jumping from “GOG made a hurtful and stupid mistake” to “the people at GOG support fascism” is something else. That can hurt real people too, especially when the full context is missing.
When you do something this bad, and then when pressed, your official account tells everyone that you knew what you were doing but continued regardless, it becomes reasonable to conclude that you liked what you did. Framing this as though people were somehow "jumping" to conclusions is adding another layer of disingenuous behavior to an already dismal display.
The only thing I can grant to GOG is that it is still theoretically possible for all of this to happen and have it be accidental. But the more they've said on the matter, the harder it has been to believe that was what happened. If this was meant to ease my concerns, it has done the opposite. This is not what an apology looks like.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentI actually agree with you here. Computers themselves have practically become an overapplied technology at this point. Usually in service of privacy invasion, no less. When I mention vital...I actually agree with you here. Computers themselves have practically become an overapplied technology at this point. Usually in service of privacy invasion, no less.
When I mention vital software, I'm thinking of things like cybersecurity, medical software, or heavy machinery operation — the kind of stuff that causes severe issues when it breaks, and I only bring that up as an example. The actual point is that mentally or morally checking out of your job is a great way to end up doing something negligent-at-best without realizing it, and as such you should never just give up and say "well, what can I do?"
It's not even necessarily a case of making a mistake, either. Some companies do awful shit, and folks who shrug their shoulders at it serve only to make that all the worse.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentI appreciate the sentiment,1 but: From the article: As I stated in my original post in this thread, choosing to use AI contributes to usage metrics, which in turn is used to justify further...I appreciate the sentiment,1 but:
I would argue AI at the job you describe isn't the thing making the “world worse” in the context of that job.
From the article:
[...] Generative AI tools, powered by data centers which consume vast amounts of water and pollute our environment, are built on the collective theft of the works of millions of artists, developers, authors, and other creatives, supercharge the spread of disinformation and fascism, have repeatedly provoked psychosis and suicide, and concentrate wealth in fewer hands while providing cover for widespread layoffs.
As I stated in my original post in this thread, choosing to use AI contributes to usage metrics, which in turn is used to justify further overexpansion, risk, and community harm. And when the individual impacts of deskilling, psychosis, or just plain being confidently wrong are thrown into the mix, I think it is very much fair to say that AI use writ large makes the world worse.
With the sole exception of researching the tech's impact on people, I don't think responsible AI usage can exist while the hype bubble's still going. It's just not possible to opt out of the economy like that.
1. Although I'm wondering a bit if you've confused me for the article's author?
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentI don't think it's generally a good idea to dismiss issues by applying a binary thinking to them of "did it exist before, yes or no?" It ignores the degree to which these issues existed in the...I don't think it's generally a good idea to dismiss issues by applying a binary thinking to them of "did it exist before, yes or no?" It ignores the degree to which these issues existed in the past versus now, and in doing so leaves a blindness to the problem, both in terms of how it's worsening and in terms of the new forms of harm it's now causing. Both of those factors are too important to leave behind.
You somewhat mention this in passing when you describe how AI has accelerated these problems, but the point-by-point teardown that follows rather sweeps that under the rug pretty thoroughly. It ends up reading like reckless optimism that nothing is truly wrong because similar problems existed before. I very strongly disagree with that, because the magnitude of these issues today is so massive that it ceases to be comparable.
This doesn't necessarily mean some of your solutions wouldn't work, but many of them require a company with the good sense and good culture to implement them — and good luck with that, because those companies are few and far between. The AI hype is virtually everywhere, and that's the biggest problem of them all.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentTildes alone has countless horror stories of behavior exactly like that described in this article. Friends of mine in tech have described the same. While exceptions do exist, I think it's safe to...Tildes alone has countless horror stories of behavior exactly like that described in this article. Friends of mine in tech have described the same. While exceptions do exist, I think it's safe to say that a great many tech companies are like this.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentThere's something to be said for "I don't care about my job because I can't afford that luxury." It's a very understandable position. But I do also get the feeling that your conclusion has...There's something to be said for "I don't care about my job because I can't afford that luxury." It's a very understandable position. But I do also get the feeling that your conclusion has somewhat trapped you there. There's a real risk of that position becoming "I don't care about my job and I've stopped trying to find one that lets me."
This can happen from defeatism, or it can happen from carelessness, but it's bad either way. If you accept a bad environment like that for too long, it'll change you for the worse. Sometimes this just results in low quality output for unimportant work — but sometimes it also results in negligence on vital software, and someone gets hurt. Jobs impact more than just paychecks, after all.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentLooking at it objectively – insofar as one can even do that – doesn't make things better. We're not just talking about the tech industry being less fun to work in. We're also talking about it...Looking at it objectively – insofar as one can even do that – doesn't make things better. We're not just talking about the tech industry being less fun to work in. We're also talking about it being immoral to an ever-greater degree, and the article explains this by highlighting several ways AI is damaging both us as individuals and society at large.
In that context, I don't really care that the pay's good. I don't want to help make the world worse.
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Comment on Israel changes crocodiles legal status in push for Ben-Gvir's 'crocodile prison' in ~society
LukeZaz LinkAt some point I can't help but wonder if people like Ben-Gvir or Trump aren't just genuinely trying to look outright evil. This move certainly doesn't communicate strength, after all. Just...At some point I can't help but wonder if people like Ben-Gvir or Trump aren't just genuinely trying to look outright evil. This move certainly doesn't communicate strength, after all. Just soulless hate. The kind of thing a cartoon villain who has never once felt empathy would do.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
LukeZaz LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] I relate heavily to this article. I'm not currently working in tech, but I have previously, and it was my preferred career for a long time. Well, mostly. I wanted to...- Exemplary
From the article:
Two weeks ago, I quit my job.
It wasn’t a bad job, not by most metrics. It ticked the boxes a job is supposed to tick: good pay. Health insurance. Remote work. Time off. Nice coworkers.
[...]
And yet, work was rendering me increasingly miserable. I questioned myself. Why am I here? Does any of this work actually matter? And if I stop caring about the quality of my work… will anyone notice? (An uncomfortable thought.)
I knew I was tired, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to quit. I took a week off to consider it, and told myself: if you still want to leave at the end of this week, hand in your resignation.
The following Monday, I handed in my resignation. I felt immediate relief. I had nothing else lined up, but I knew I needed to go. I’m unsure when (or if) I’ll return to full-time tech work.
What happened?
[...]
I use AI tools sparingly for assistance while refactoring code in languages I understand. I occasionally use it to help compose command line arguments for tools like ffmpeg. I never use AI to generate images, video, or prose.
The explosion of AI has played a significant role in my own burnout. Worse, it feels inescapable. Few tech organizations are taking a principled stance against AI use. But AI use is only one part of broader social trends within tech that leave me questioning whether I should remain here.
I relate heavily to this article. I'm not currently working in tech, but I have previously, and it was my preferred career for a long time. Well, mostly. I wanted to do game development, but that industry is having a grand old time and has been for decades, so I figured programming was safer, and it was still fun.
Emphasis on was.
I once wrote a post saying that "I feel like I could cleanly split my coding life into two phases: The part where I learned people found many programmers insufferable, and the part where I learned first-hand why that was." Neither of these two phases were to do directly with AI, but AI was still the context in which I wrote it. I understood before it, of course; tech fields have always had a big issue with understanding the humanities at even basic levels, unfortunately. But the AI boom has caused the issue to metastasize.
These days, I'll regularly encounter people on a few places who will tell me they understand why AI is bad – and sometimes even demonstrate proof of that understanding – only to cut down my relief with a shame-free admission of willful LLM use. And "willful" is a key word here, because I'm not talking about folks forced to use the tech or be fired. I've got nothing against them. I'm talking about people who've clearly understood the harm, yet still feel fine encouraging it by lending their contribution to usage metrics and resource consumption. It boggles the mind.
And that's some of the better things to find. Actual careers are rife with worse: Job after job where recklessness is practically the explicit goal, and understanding is nowhere to be found. I cannot imagine a scenario where I could work in such an environment and not become incredibly angry and depressed.
There's some hope to be had in the fact that the games industry seems better in this regard. Most indie developers hate AI, and many players are right there with them. There's some irony in that for me. But it remains the case that my ideal job appears to be trying to kill itself right as I was starting to develop a career in it, and regardless of if that actually ends up happening, it still really hurts.
From the article:
The whole system is broken; AI alone didn’t break it, but it is widening the cracks.
I guess what I’m trying to say is I wish none of us had to live like this. I would like to imagine a future that does not look like this.
Ironically, what I’ve gained from AI is a deeper appreciation for human communication, in all its messy imperfection. The point of a code review is not simply for good code to make it into a codebase, but to build institutional knowledge as people debate and iterate and compromise, slow as it may be. Friction is good.
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Do I belong in tech anymore?
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Comment on More people around the world now favour China over the US, Pew study suggests in ~society
LukeZaz Link ParentThis is a very Great Man way of thinking about China's situation, I think. Something I'm sure China doesn't mind, since Xi looking like a capable leader makes them look good in general, and I...Right now China has an extremely strong leader
This is a very Great Man way of thinking about China's situation, I think. Something I'm sure China doesn't mind, since Xi looking like a capable leader makes them look good in general, and I doubt he minds it himself. And it's easy to do, especially when it comes to world leaders.
But I find it extremely difficult to believe that he's the actual central reason China is seeing success. That's not to say I know what the answer is — I just think that whatever it is, it's significantly more complicated and multifaceted than "this one guy is super duper good at his job."
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Comment on Wildfire smoke from Canada will soon spread across the Midwest and East United States in ~enviro
LukeZaz LinkHad to wear an N95 mask to go outside today, because we were expecting to get probably 250 or so AQI, but instead we've reached over 400. Visibility is like a half-mile, if not less. I like...Had to wear an N95 mask to go outside today, because we were expecting to get probably 250 or so AQI, but instead we've reached over 400. Visibility is like a half-mile, if not less.
I like interesting weather, but I can't say this is quite the kind I was hoping for.
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Comment on US House passes bill to ‘ditch the switch’ and make daylight saving time permanent in ~society
LukeZaz Link ParentI'd argue it'd actually be surprisingly easy to do for the layman if it were done right. What happened in 1974 was anything but that. The key is to ensure that things continue as usual as much as...I'd argue it'd actually be surprisingly easy to do for the layman if it were done right. What happened in 1974 was anything but that.
The key is to ensure that things continue as usual as much as possible, specifically so as to avoid change and thus reduce friction. But the ramshackle approach that was actually taken included multiple arbitrary changeover dates with no precedent, and likely very little warning to boot. That's a great way to turn what should be a simple change into a huge headache.
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Comment on US House passes bill to ‘ditch the switch’ and make daylight saving time permanent in ~society
LukeZaz (edited )Link ParentI mentioned that yeah. I gave it further thought however and I think I messed up in how it described the switchovers: Rather than saying that the timezones actually change twice, it describes it...I mentioned that yeah. I gave it further thought however and I think I messed up in how it described the switchovers: Rather than saying that the timezones actually change twice, it describes it as "be[ing] advanced one hour," which makes it interpretable as something of a continuing effect. So repealing it without changing the timezones would set all clocks to Standard Time, and then the timezone changes set them all back to DST.
Though now that you've made me reread it, it was perhaps a bit silly of me to think a law would still affect the definition of a timezone after said law got repealed.
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Comment on US House passes bill to ‘ditch the switch’ and make daylight saving time permanent in ~society
LukeZaz Link ParentIf you think things were good before 1974, I've got bad news from the Uniform Time Act of 1966! If you think states all have the same rules now, you'll never believe it, but I've got more bad news!If you think things were good before 1974, I've got bad news from the Uniform Time Act of 1966!
(a) Duration of period; State exemption
[...] (1) any State that lies entirely within one time zone may by law exempt itself from the provisions of this subsection providing for the advancement of time, but only if that law provides that the entire State (including all political subdivisions thereof) shall observe the standard time otherwise applicable during that period, and (2) any State with parts thereof in more than one time zone may by law exempt either the entire State as provided in (1) or may exempt the entire area of the State lying within any time zone.If you think states all have the same rules now, you'll never believe it, but I've got more bad news!
According to the article, apparently they can, if only temporarily:
It doesn't help that apparently France's interior minister is agreeing and has also restricted the French border with Spain:
I cannot imagine hating other people this much, all just because they were born somewhere else.