Macil's recent activity
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Comment on A new AI model can hallucinate a game of 1993’s DOOM in real time in ~games
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Comment on A new AI model can hallucinate a game of 1993’s DOOM in real time in ~games
Macil Link ParentThe article says it's running on a single TPU, and those seem to have similar specs to a high-end GPU.The article says it's running on a single TPU, and those seem to have similar specs to a high-end GPU.
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Comment on Disney seeking dismissal of Raglan Road death lawsuit because victim was Disney+ subscriber in ~misc
Macil LinkI was half thinking about getting Disney+ but honestly I'm not very sold on this "Disney is legally allowed to kill its customers" part of the deal.I was half thinking about getting Disney+ but honestly I'm not very sold on this "Disney is legally allowed to kill its customers" part of the deal.
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Comment on Plain Vanilla — An explainer for doing web development without tools or frameworks — just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in ~comp
Macil Link ParentMany modern frameworks have been inspired by React and work similarly (Vue, Svelte), though they're all using Javascript/Typescript. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for good frontend/full-stack...Many modern frameworks have been inspired by React and work similarly (Vue, Svelte), though they're all using Javascript/Typescript. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for good frontend/full-stack frameworks that don't use JS/TS. There are some projects working on that type of thing, but my experience with experimenting with non-JS/TS languages in browsers has been painful usually with awkward interop to native browser APIs, lack of automatic rebuilding, lack of debugger support, and lack of third-party packages that work in the browser.
Typescript is one of my favorite languages even outside of the browser, so I recommend giving it a try. Most browser frameworks (including React-based ones like Next.js) have official starter kits using Typescript and work out of the box with Visual Studio Code.
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Comment on Plain Vanilla — An explainer for doing web development without tools or frameworks — just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in ~comp
Macil (edited )Link ParentI dislike that this site encourages development with plain web components, partly because sites made with them require Javascript to use. Regular web components don't support server-side rendering...I dislike that this site encourages development with plain web components, partly because sites made with them require Javascript to use. Regular web components don't support server-side rendering into plain HTML. (Also plain web components require more tricky boilerplate to write than components in React or other frameworks, including web-component-based frameworks.)
Websites made with React don't necessarily require Javascript in the browser to use, because React supports server-side rendering. When React is used with server-side rendering (as many React-based frameworks like Next.js do by default), the server renders all the components into plain viewable HTML, sends that to the client, and then the server sends the javascript that allows the components to become mounted and fully interactive on the client. Browsers with javascript disabled will ignore that last part and still be able to see the initial render of all the components, which is enough for many mostly-static sites.
I think it's useful to understand the browser APIs directly as the "vanilla JS" movement encourages, but the way it's treated as an obvious truism that it's actually better (for users or for developers) to stay vanilla than to use a framework is bad.
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Comment on Y’all are sleeping on HTTP/3 in ~comp
Macil (edited )Link ParentHTTP 2 and 3's performance improvements will help whichever parts of the connection they're used for, and it's fine if a single request is proxied through multiple HTTP versions on its way to the...HTTP 2 and 3's performance improvements will help whichever parts of the connection they're used for, and it's fine if a single request is proxied through multiple HTTP versions on its way to the backend server (as long as some currently-uncommon features that require a specific HTTP version aren't used, like the WebTransport API which requires HTTP 3 the whole way through). An end-user's browser can open a single HTTP 2 or 3 connection with Cloudflare (or your load balancer etc) and make multiple requests within it, and then Cloudflare can translate each request into a separate HTTP 1.1 connection with your backend server if that's all it supports. In the likely situation that many of your users have a less reliable connection to the internet than your backend servers have to Cloudflare, then it's much more important that the hop between the users and Cloudflare supports HTTP 2 or 3 than it is that the hop between Cloudflare and your backend server does, though it generally would still help for that connection to use a newer version too.
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Comment on Should I be filling out every political poll I’m sent? in ~talk
Macil Link ParentI think at least in some cases they are actually polling to compare possible lines they plan to use in attack ads. It still feels weird to be made part of.I think at least in some cases they are actually polling to compare possible lines they plan to use in attack ads. It still feels weird to be made part of.
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Comment on Someone is wrong on the internet (AGI Doom edition) in ~tech
Macil Link ParentThat thought experiment was proposed by a user in the context of Yudkowsky writing a lot about how decision theory is affected by threats of blackmail, very few users took it seriously, and...That thought experiment was proposed by a user in the context of Yudkowsky writing a lot about how decision theory is affected by threats of blackmail, very few users took it seriously, and Yudkowsky deleted it out of a principle to discourage people from posting information they themselves thought was dangerous, not because he specifically thought it was dangerous.
There's actually an interesting article recently about David Gerard, an online writer who developed a giant grudge against Eliezer Yudkowsky and LessWrong, and decided to make sure that Roko's Basilisk was "in every history of the site forever". That Slate article is mentioned, and David Gerard claims that the Slate article was sourced from his articles on it. It really was not considered a major topic at LessWrong.
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Comment on Someone is wrong on the internet (AGI Doom edition) in ~tech
Macil (edited )Link ParentIf LLMs had bigger contexts and a better understanding of the difference between their in-context memories and their imagination, then I can easily imagine it being run in the right kind of...If LLMs had bigger contexts and a better understanding of the difference between their in-context memories and their imagination, then I can easily imagine it being run in the right kind of observe->act loop would meet many definitions of AGI (which to be fair is a very vague term, that's often used for anywhere between a low level of self-awareness and full-blown self-improving superintelligence). The Sparks of AGI paper explores different definitions of AGI and how GPT-4 compares, and it's not obvious that many of GPT-4's limitations can't be alleviated by scaling it up further or training it differently. Before GPT 3 and 4 were trained, nearly everyone thought they had no chance of overcoming past LLM issues and accomplishing any of their current capabilities, and the people who developed them and expected them to work don't expect things to fizzle out now.
I'm very sympathetic with arguments that we don't have enough information and confidence now to call for a halt on AI progress like Yudkowsky argues for, but the idea that scary big jumps in progress are definitely ruled out from happening any time soon (such as this decade) is just wishful thinking.
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Comment on Someone is wrong on the internet (AGI Doom edition) in ~tech
Macil (edited )LinkI knew it wasn't a very serious article when I saw it compare LessWrong to 4chan but I kept reading. This is painfully over-fixating on the idea that "AGI doom" specifically equals "AGI kills us...I knew it wasn't a very serious article when I saw it compare LessWrong to 4chan but I kept reading. This is painfully over-fixating on the idea that "AGI doom" specifically equals "AGI kills us all immediately after being created and thinking hard without needing to do any experiments or interacting with the world", and that AGI concerns are about current capability levels, which is not what is usually being argued. The idea that AI is permanently cut off from the world because it doesn't have a human body and can only be a threat if it comes up with a dangerous idea is silly. None of these issues prevent businesses or human intelligence from causing extinction events.
I disagree with Yudkowsky's idea that the danger is apparently imminent enough for us to halt AI progress right now, but I think the article is a very shallow argument that misrepresents Yudkowsky and argues badly. The stakes are high enough to warrant taking the topic more seriously.
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Comment on Funny, crazy and silly mods in ~games
Macil Link ParentI remember hanging out with friends around a modded xbox using Halo cache editor and trying different tweaks. We figured out it was funny if you raise the force for grenades really high because...I remember hanging out with friends around a modded xbox using Halo cache editor and trying different tweaks. We figured out it was funny if you raise the force for grenades really high because then they launch everything with line of sight to them (including vehicles and other players) across the map.
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Comment on Polyfill supply chain attack hits 100K+ sites in ~tech
Macil Link ParentTrue, but at least any malicious code in a library you download and then host on your own domain can be studied for bad behavior, and it will only update when you the developer update it. Loading...True, but at least any malicious code in a library you download and then host on your own domain can be studied for bad behavior, and it will only update when you the developer update it. Loading a script directly from a remote domain in a webpage means that the remote domain can update the code whenever they want, and they can selectively serve malicious copies of the script to a subset of your users, preventing you from being able to discover the malicious code unless one of the users reports it to you and you trust their report.
(Btw CSP is the thing you want to use for self-imposing restrictions on a webpage, not CORS. CORS restricts what other domains can make requests to your own domain's server, but it won't prevent a malicious script on your own domain from accessing an attacker-controlled domain.)
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Comment on Polyfill supply chain attack hits 100K+ sites in ~tech
Macil (edited )LinkPolyfills in general are great (well, much less needed nowadays), but doing them by having a webpage load a script directly from a remote domain has always been a terrible idea because of the...Polyfills in general are great (well, much less needed nowadays), but doing them by having a webpage load a script directly from a remote domain has always been a terrible idea because of the potential for this predictable outcome.
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Comment on Polyfill supply chain attack hits 100K+ sites in ~tech
Macil Link ParentProbably all unless they're being weirdly nice, because it's Polyfill.io's code loaded from their domain that runs in the first place to check if your device is old and needs extra polyfills.Probably all unless they're being weirdly nice, because it's Polyfill.io's code loaded from their domain that runs in the first place to check if your device is old and needs extra polyfills.
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Comment on Google's "Find My Device" network - The upcoming assault on user's privacy in ~tech
Macil Link ParentOne key thing that might be easy to miss in this is that the company servers never know the locations of devices: all of the location info submitted to them is encrypted using the public key that...One key thing that might be easy to miss in this is that the company servers never know the locations of devices: all of the location info submitted to them is encrypted using the public key that the device broadcasts, so only the owner's devices with the private keys can decrypt the location info.
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Comment on I will fucking piledrive you if you mention AI again in ~comp
Macil (edited )LinkThe aggressive tone makes it easy to mistake this article for a worse unnuanced one that has nothing but hot air. There's actually some decent nuance and advice in this article. I liked this part...The aggressive tone makes it easy to mistake this article for a worse unnuanced one that has nothing but hot air. There's actually some decent nuance and advice in this article.
I liked this part and consider this point the real meat of the article. Modern AI is very useful for some specific things right now, but business leaders need to cool it on overhyped plans to revamp their businesses around AI and focus on regular improvements.
In the case that the technology continues to make incremental gains like this, your company does not need generative AI for the sake of it. You will know exactly why you need it if you do, indeed, need it. An example of something that has actually benefited me is that I keep track of my life administration via Todoist, and Todoist has a feature that allows you to convert filters on your tasks from natural language into their in-house filtering language. Tremendous! It saved me learning a system that I'll use once every five years. I was actually happy about this, and it's a real edge over other applications. But if you don't have a use case then having this sort of broad capability is not actually very useful. The only thing you should be doing is improving your operations and culture, and that will give you the ability to use AI if it ever becomes relevant. Everyone is talking about Retrieval Augmented Generation, but most companies don't actually have any internal documentation worth retrieving.
I'm obsessed with modern AI developments, but right now AI hype should be for nerds experimenting with it, not business leaders who don't know anything about its strengths and weaknesses.
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Comment on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree embargo lifted in ~games
Macil Link ParentTo me, the experience of Elden Ring and Dark Souls is mostly about learning their combat systems and exploring interesting dangerous places. I'm not super into boss fights and haven't actually...To me, the experience of Elden Ring and Dark Souls is mostly about learning their combat systems and exploring interesting dangerous places. I'm not super into boss fights and haven't actually beaten either game, but that didn't stop them from being games I've really liked.
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Comment on OpenAI considers allowing users to create AI-generated pornography in ~tech
Macil (edited )LinkRegardless of whether you specifically want to do NSFW things with AI tools, this kind of policy change would also help prevent people from being incorrectly blocked from working on SFW things. I...Regardless of whether you specifically want to do NSFW things with AI tools, this kind of policy change would also help prevent people from being incorrectly blocked from working on SFW things. I think a lot of users of commercial AI tools (image or text generation) that aren't trying to make NSFW content have experienced the system overzealously blocking a request that it mistakenly identified as inappropriate. I've run into it and it's a common complaint I've seen in discussions.
Imagine if Photoshop fully stopped working on a photo because it thought it was NSFW because it thought it showed too much skin. Tools shouldn't impose themselves on users like that, especially not for such prudish reasons by tools with fallible judgment that offer no override.
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Comment on Jack Dorsey quits Bluesky board and urges users to stay on Elon Musk's X in ~tech
Macil LinkAs a casual Bluesky user I don't think this impacts Bluesky negatively at all. He hasn't been involved with Bluesky since before it got any popularity. He was pushing Nostr around the time Bluesky...As a casual Bluesky user I don't think this impacts Bluesky negatively at all. He hasn't been involved with Bluesky since before it got any popularity. He was pushing Nostr around the time Bluesky was getting popular iirc. I like his general argument that open protocols are important, though his spurning of Bluesky is disappointing and his defense of Elon and X is baffling. Does he think Elon is going to make X into an open protocol that's better than Bluesky? Is he just trying to get on the good side of a fellow rich person? Or does he think Elon has good politics and that's worth more for a social network than an open protocol? None of the possibilities are compelling.
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Comment on Project Zomboid - What compares for gameplay? in ~games
Macil (edited )Link ParentThis might be more different than you're expecting, but is RimWorld anything like what you're looking for? There are some big differences like that you're indirectly controlling a group instead of...This might be more different than you're expecting, but is RimWorld anything like what you're looking for? There are some big differences like that you're indirectly controlling a group instead of directly controlling a single person, and there's more emphasis on base building/management/defense than on exploration (though there is that too), but I think there's some overlap in the survival atmosphere and the roles of items/crafting/menus. RimWorld and Project Zomboid strike me as games I expect to have overlapping fanbases.
It would be really interesting to train it on a weird mix of things and have it hybridize them, like two different first-person games.
I notice the geometry and contents of the space the player is navigating isn't fully consistent. I wonder if just scaling the model up could fix that, or if techniques will be created to help the model plan and stick to consistent 3d spaces will be developed. I could imagine a system like this might benefit from having a part of the model be specialized for gaussian splatting or another neural net based 3d rendering technique.
It would be cool if a system like this could be made so that you could ask it for things in the game in real-time, like you could make a request about the design of the next room you encounter, or have it create a new enemy on the fly. I feel pretty confident this will exist at some point, at least in a very janky form at first, and the only real question is when.