OBLIVIATER's recent activity
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Comment on AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending is. in ~comp
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Comment on AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending is. in ~comp
OBLIVIATER Link ParentDoesn't Oracle also strongarm companies pretty heavily and require them to use basically all of their suite of software if they want to use some of it? https://youtu.be/KW80Yjib7RADoesn't Oracle also strongarm companies pretty heavily and require them to use basically all of their suite of software if they want to use some of it?
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Comment on The gift card accountability sink in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link ParentWell it was a hardware store in a poor rural area so that could have made the difference, its probably not representative of the wider market. We still had gift cards for all sorts of places for...Well it was a hardware store in a poor rural area so that could have made the difference, its probably not representative of the wider market. We still had gift cards for all sorts of places for some reason, but I think the only ones I ever saw getting bought were itunes gift cards and even that was rare.
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Comment on The gift card accountability sink in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link ParentYeah that's one of the few use cases I can think of them being regularly legitimately used, for online purchases by people who choose to or don't have access to credit/debit cards. But obviously...Yeah that's one of the few use cases I can think of them being regularly legitimately used, for online purchases by people who choose to or don't have access to credit/debit cards. But obviously not many people are doing that with Subway and Cheesecake factory gift cards haha.
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Comment on The gift card accountability sink in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link ParentI worked in a store for a while and I never had anyone once purchase one at my register. I think they kinda just sit around.I worked in a store for a while and I never had anyone once purchase one at my register. I think they kinda just sit around.
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Comment on The gift card accountability sink in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link ParentI'd be very curious to know what percentage of gift card sales are used for nefarious purposes (defrauding people, laundering stolen credit cards, etc.) At this point I feel like it has to be a...I'd be very curious to know what percentage of gift card sales are used for nefarious purposes (defrauding people, laundering stolen credit cards, etc.)
At this point I feel like it has to be a significant percentage right? Who is still buying gift cards? It seems like a solution without a problem for 99% of people.
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Comment on AI will likely affect administrative and operational jobs in heathcare in ~health
OBLIVIATER Link ParentIt's the age old problem with automation. It's supposed to make people's lives better, and for the most part is has; but the damage to the peoples' whose jobs it replaces is real and isn't easy to...It's the age old problem with automation. It's supposed to make people's lives better, and for the most part is has; but the damage to the peoples' whose jobs it replaces is real and isn't easy to recover from for a long time.
Historically automation only affected "low skill" labor so it might have been possible for people to "trade up to better jobs" so to speak. We've never really been in a position where automation was threatening so many "high skill" jobs, so its hard to say what the future looks like. Ideally the end goal is a society where people don't have to work (or at least don't have to work on anywhere near the level they do today,) but I just don't see how that ever becomes possible unless there is a drastic shift in how the profits from automating all these jobs away gets shared. Right now the only people "winning" by jobs getting automated away are the shareholders.
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Comment on Wells Fargo analysts call plans for all-day Nasdaq trading ‘the worst thing in the world’ in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link ParentYeah I feel like my opinion of a major bank's opinion on something is pretty low. Even if they happen to be right. They exist to suck money out of the hands of workers and put it into the hands of...Yeah I feel like my opinion of a major bank's opinion on something is pretty low. Even if they happen to be right. They exist to suck money out of the hands of workers and put it into the hands of rich people.
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Comment on CONTROL Resonant | Announcement trailer in ~games
OBLIVIATER Link ParentI'm not sure if Firebreak was anyone's thing, It seemed pretty much DOA.I'm not sure if Firebreak was anyone's thing, It seemed pretty much DOA.
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Comment on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 becomes first indie game to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards in ~games
OBLIVIATER LinkI'm sad Silksong didn't win but I think it never stood a chance against the kind of game E33 is for an awards show like this, but its still by far my GOTY.I'm sad Silksong didn't win but I think it never stood a chance against the kind of game E33 is for an awards show like this, but its still by far my GOTY.
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Comment on Can a heavily modified Rivian take the EV Cannonball record? (Part 1) in ~transport
OBLIVIATER LinkWhile I'm a little disapproving of the concept of the cannonball run for safety reasons, I can't lie and say that I'm not extremely excited for part two. Everything Robert makes seems almost...While I'm a little disapproving of the concept of the cannonball run for safety reasons, I can't lie and say that I'm not extremely excited for part two. Everything Robert makes seems almost tailor made to be interesting to me. I don't even particularly like cars, he's just such a great creator.
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
OBLIVIATER Link ParentIt's about flooding social media with slop to get your brain to subliminally think about product/service. Even if you do know its slop, you're still thinking about the product and that's a win in...It's about flooding social media with slop to get your brain to subliminally think about product/service. Even if you do know its slop, you're still thinking about the product and that's a win in their book.
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Comment on Your "Yukon Gold" potatoes probably aren't Yukons—here's why in ~food
OBLIVIATER Link ParentI love red potatoes, they're perfect for stews and other hardy meals.I love red potatoes, they're perfect for stews and other hardy meals.
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Comment on Cloudflare down again in ~tech
OBLIVIATER LinkIs it just me or is this happening far more frequently this year than previously? Maybe I'm just noticing it more because it's happening at times I actually use the InternetIs it just me or is this happening far more frequently this year than previously? Maybe I'm just noticing it more because it's happening at times I actually use the Internet
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Comment on A new anonymous phone carrier lets you sign up with nothing but a US zip code in ~tech
OBLIVIATER (edited )Link ParentThat's the first thing I thought of too, this says "honeypot" to me lol https://www.vice.com/en/article/anom-phone-arcaneos-fbi-backdoor/ That being said the article doesn't exactly shy away from...That's the first thing I thought of too, this says "honeypot" to me lol
https://www.vice.com/en/article/anom-phone-arcaneos-fbi-backdoor/
That being said the article doesn't exactly shy away from the history of the FBI demanding access to carriers networks, and the founder does have a long history of fighting legal battles against them.
Merrill has some firsthand experience with those demands. Starting in 2004, he fought a landmark, decade-plus legal battle against the FBI and the Department of Justice. As the owner of an internet service provider in the post-9/11 era, Merrill had received a secret order from the bureau to hand over data on a particular user—and he refused. After that, he spent another 15 years building and managing the Calyx Institute, a nonprofit that offers privacy tools like a snooping-resistant version of Android and a free VPN that collects no logs of its users’ activities. “Nick is somebody who is extremely principled and willing to take a stand for his principles,” says Cindy Cohn, who as executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation has led the group’s own decades-long fight against government surveillance. “He's careful and thoughtful, but also, at a certain level, kind of fearless.”
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Comment on Is YouTube's use of AI upscaling for Shorts unethical? in ~tech
OBLIVIATER Link ParentYes, after seeing the results I agree this shouldn't have been done to people's videos without their permission. I don't think that because of any ethical reasons though, I just think it looks bad...Yes, after seeing the results I agree this shouldn't have been done to people's videos without their permission. I don't think that because of any ethical reasons though, I just think it looks bad haha
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Comment on Is YouTube's use of AI upscaling for Shorts unethical? in ~tech
OBLIVIATER (edited )Link ParentOk to be fully honest, would anyone actually get upset about this issue if it wasn't reported as "AI Upscaling"? If it was just called "Upscaling" or "enhanced transcoding" or something, people...Edit: After seeing the results of this upscaling, if its "AI" or not, it doesn't matter. It just looks ugly and shouldn't be done without creators permission.
Ok to be fully honest, would anyone actually get upset about this issue if it wasn't reported as "AI Upscaling"? If it was just called "Upscaling" or "enhanced transcoding" or something, people would probably either be unaware, or think that it's a cool feature. "AI" upscaling has existed for quite a while in one form or another, and has quietly been a powerful tool for a lot of purposes.
The question is valid though, if Youtube is using this as an excuse to train AI on all youtube shorts that definitely is a misleading and scummy thing to do; but I'd have to see any scrap of proof that its actually happening, not just "what if they were doing this?"
I get that everyone is rightfully a little touchy over AI since pretty much every major company has trawled the internet and stolen zettabytes of data to train their AI on, but there isn't even any real evidence that this is that. Youtube claims its traditional machine learning upscaling and explicitly not generative AI which is neither new nor damaging to artists/creators. I think it's vitally important that we don't just call everything "AI" until it completely loses it's meaning (even though companies have been doing exactly that as a marketing buzzword.) It's just muddying the already very muddy waters and confusing people who don't have any idea of what's actually going on and are just following whatever the youtuber says.
Youtube absolutely should make this an Opt-in service though, simply because people are so wary of it. No reason to give people a service they don't want.
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Comment on Living wage calculator in ~finance
OBLIVIATER Link Parent"Surviving wage" lol"Surviving wage" lol
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Comment on Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds in ~enviro
OBLIVIATER Link ParentMaybe we'll get lucky and an asteroid will take us all out before it becomes a bigger issue.Maybe we'll get lucky and an asteroid will take us all out before it becomes a bigger issue.
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Comment on Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds in ~enviro
OBLIVIATER Link ParentA Measles resurgence is just the tip of the iceberg in Canada and the rest of the over-developed world. I genuinely believe that wealth inequality; even just within individual countries, is by far...A Measles resurgence is just the tip of the iceberg in Canada and the rest of the over-developed world. I genuinely believe that wealth inequality; even just within individual countries, is by far the number one most damaging issue affecting the largest group of people. There are definitely issues that are affecting smaller numbers of people much more severely (things like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Palestinian genocide, and the Uyghur crisis) but on a grand scale there are billions of people living in poverty and most of the rest are not that much better.
It's impossible to expect anyone who is struggling to afford to live in a safe home, can't pay for nourishing food, and doesn't have access to even minimal amounts of healthcare to even begin to care about how we are absolutely destroying the ecosystems that took hundreds of millions of years to form.
Until we stop allowing the 00.001% of the world to control, manipulate, and devastate all of our resources; we have no hope of making any meaningful changes. The system of monarchs, nobles, and royalty controlling the masses was always heading this way, ever since the beginning, it's just accelerated at a dizzying rate over the last few hundred years. Today our monarchs and nobles look a little different, but in the end they're the same dangerous, damaging, and cowardly parasites they always have been.
I'd be really curious to see what the stats are for domestic growth versus international growth. The company I work for (a very small fish in the big pond compared to FAANG) grew to 500 domestic employees through Covid, then slashed that number to less than 150 in the last few years. Now we've been hiring like crazy again... in Eastern Europe, Bangalore, and Tijuana....