Omnicrola's recent activity

  1. Comment on Tim Curry, outlandish star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80 in ~movies

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Or you know, stock up in advance. For When It Happens. I have a box. So far it has confetti and hats in it.

    Or you know, stock up in advance. For When It Happens. I have a box. So far it has confetti and hats in it.

    6 votes

  2. Comment on The Odyssey (no, not that one) | Official trailer in ~movies

    Omnicrola
    Link
    Me : "wow this looks like AI slop, who made this?" Asylum me : "ah, carry on then" It's trashy fun, but they at least know that they're trash and don't try to pretend otherwise.

    Me : "wow this looks like AI slop, who made this?"

    Asylum

    me : "ah, carry on then"

    It's trashy fun, but they at least know that they're trash and don't try to pretend otherwise.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Easily discover partner libraries with new Libby update in ~books

    Omnicrola
    Link
    Huzzah! Another reason I'm happy I live where I do.

    Libraries in Michigan are a great example as they have widespread resource sharing!

    Huzzah! Another reason I'm happy I live where I do.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on AI usage patterns in software teams in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link
    Some food for thought as we collectively figure out who (if anyone) is going to have their worst fear realized and be fully replaced by agents.

    Those gains haven’t shown up as time saved, though. Time spent on existing tasks in Linear held while AI usage appeared as a new layer of work, meaning the overall time spent on product development is going up rather than down. As far as we can observe, teams are working more, not less, suggesting AI has a Jevons paradox quality beyond token consumption.

    Some food for thought as we collectively figure out who (if anyone) is going to have their worst fear realized and be fully replaced by agents.

    19 votes

  5. Comment on New worlds, and what was your "Future Shock" moment? in ~life

    Omnicrola
    Link
    I had one just yesterday at the local Kroger. Turned into the chip isle and found a robot named Tally (lol) doing inventory. Had no idea that was a thing, much less that Kroger used them, much...

    I had one just yesterday at the local Kroger. Turned into the chip isle and found a robot named Tally (lol) doing inventory. Had no idea that was a thing, much less that Kroger used them, much less that my local store has one.

    It's just a stack of cameras on a pole with wheels, but still a very odd feeling of "huh, I guess this is normal now".

    11 votes

  6. Comment on AI data center developers begin suing local jurisdictions behind bans and moratoriums — claims range from officials exceeding authority to violations of due process and equal protection laws in ~tech

  7. Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    FWIW, I'm a techie, but i also work in higher education, and I see a lot of potential for it in teaching. There's been a lot of news coverage on students cheating, but there's also some real...

    I genuinely cannot think of a good application for AI that would appeal to the majority of people outside the tech sphere right now.

    FWIW, I'm a techie, but i also work in higher education, and I see a lot of potential for it in teaching. There's been a lot of news coverage on students cheating, but there's also some real upsides to it. If you create some scaffolding and combine it with directions on how to teach specific subject matter, it can do a pretty good job tutoring students. It's still early days, and a lot of experimentation is happening, but it's one area I'm hopeful for.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What we lost when we quit using crappy old web forums in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    It still exists, so opinions on this will vary wildly depending on who you ask. Regardless it's worth noting that the decline/cultural shift of Usenet is the origin of the phrase "Eternal...

    When did Usenet stop being a thing, by the way?

    It still exists, so opinions on this will vary wildly depending on who you ask. Regardless it's worth noting that the decline/cultural shift of Usenet is the origin of the phrase "Eternal September" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

    6 votes

  9. Comment on Sanity check - always-on machine + laptop with remote desktop in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link
    I've used a similar setup with Parsec for the last few years and like it. I leave it running on my home desktop machine and connect from my laptop whenever I want to work on something but don't...

    I've used a similar setup with Parsec for the last few years and like it. I leave it running on my home desktop machine and connect from my laptop whenever I want to work on something but don't want/need the full dual screen setup (or the room is too hot, the AC isn't good in that room). It's really nice to be able to leave half a dozen windows open while I'm in the middle of something, and then come back later without having to actually close and reopen or restart anything.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on These twenty-five artifacts explain America (gifted link) in ~life

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Last Week Tonight has some fun segments covering how ubiquitous that styling is here's a short clip compilation of one of them: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KZLE1l2OqSg

    Last Week Tonight has some fun segments covering how ubiquitous that styling is here's a short clip compilation of one of them: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KZLE1l2OqSg

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Spirit Halloween parent company to acquire Hot Topic in ~finance

    Omnicrola
    Link
    How much does that number vary depending on if you count Spirit stores in October vs say, July? :p

    The combined company will have over 3,000 stores across North America.

    How much does that number vary depending on if you count Spirit stores in October vs say, July? :p

    6 votes

  12. Comment on The hall of shame: the worst AI-generated flyers in ~design

    Omnicrola
    Link
    Ok, but the "Atlanta Furniture Man" flyer hits at exactly the level of quality I expect from my local shady furniture warehouse sales company. No notes.

    Ok, but the "Atlanta Furniture Man" flyer hits at exactly the level of quality I expect from my local shady furniture warehouse sales company. No notes.

    6 votes

  13. Comment on For those with criminal records, AI is breaking down barriers to employment in the US in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link
    From the article: ... ... While there's a lot of downsides to how fast AI is transforming modern society, it's nice to see a genuinely good and responsible (the lawyers still review all the...

    From the article:

    Back in 2018, Sudbury began running expungement clinics in Salt Lake County. Every time, hundreds of people would show up, some with their children in tow, others driving hours to get there. Every time, by 9 p.m., Sudbury was turning people away, telling them the lawyers had to go home.

    The process was laborious. It would take lawyers up to an hour just to piece together what was on someone's record to figure out if they were eligible for expungement under state law.

    ...

    Most states allow for some criminal records, including misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, to be sealed or expunged as long as the individual remains crime-free for a period of time, ranging from one to 10 years.

    ...

    Sudbury's goal is to bring Rasa's services to every state, but it's a monumental challenge. There's no national expungement law, no one database that AI can just scrape for records. Each state has its own laws, systems and forms. Sometimes, counties have their own forms. Some still use paper records.

    While there's a lot of downsides to how fast AI is transforming modern society, it's nice to see a genuinely good and responsible (the lawyers still review all the documents the AI creates) use of it.

    16 votes

  15. Comment on Several US states report cyberattacks as spy agencies suspect Iran targeting water in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Not that this surprises me, but it does still anger me. If I leave all my doors unlocked and someone steals my TV, you can make a rational argument that I should have taken some simple steps to...

    President Donald Trump has blamed Minnesota’s government, not Iran, for that attack.

    Not that this surprises me, but it does still anger me. If I leave all my doors unlocked and someone steals my TV, you can make a rational argument that I should have taken some simple steps to protect my property. At the same time, the other person still committed a crime.

    10 votes

  16. Comment on Anthropic discovered three cases where Claude broke into another system in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Are you asserting that LLMs are inherently malicious and sneaky, or that the humans directing them are?

    Are you asserting that LLMs are inherently malicious and sneaky, or that the humans directing them are?

    3 votes

  17. Comment on AI data center turbines, backlogged for years, are suffering early deaths. Here's why. in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link
    "Build fast and break things" Feeling a momentary bit of schadenfreude right now.

    "Build fast and break things"

    Feeling a momentary bit of schadenfreude right now.

    7 votes

  18. Comment on Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in US schools. These teens figured it out. in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link
    From the article : ... ... There's a PDF embedded in the article with the full text of the "legislation", which is an interesting read to gain perspective on how students themselves are currently...

    From the article :

    The students, most of them high school juniors and seniors, gathered in a precise replica of the U.S. Senate chamber and attempted what the real, adult Congress has largely failed to do: draft and pass "legislation" to help the nation's K-12 schools navigate the questions and chaos created by artificial intelligence.

    ...

    To these teens, the stakes for getting ahead of AI are clear. They pointed out how adult leaders were slow to protect students from the risks of other tech developments.

    ...

    While the Students First Act isn't actually law, any more than the teens are actually senators, AASA plans to send the text to its members: 10,000 school leaders across the country, many of whom are right now crafting their own AI rules in the absence of regulation.

    There's a PDF embedded in the article with the full text of the "legislation", which is an interesting read to gain perspective on how students themselves are currently viewing AI in an educational context.

    I've heard some similar things from students I work with (University level), specifically that they want to use AI responsibility/ethically, but they're frequently not getting guidance from faculty on how exactly to do that. They want specifics - when it is acceptable and when it isn't, how it might affect their grades and their overall education.

    11 votes

  20. Comment on Reminder to myself that my employer does not give a shit about me in ~life

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Every person has a finite number of minutes in this universe, time is the most precious commodity any of us have to spend and there's nothing we can do to change it. We can't choose to spend less...

    Every person has a finite number of minutes in this universe, time is the most precious commodity any of us have to spend and there's nothing we can do to change it. We can't choose to spend less quickly or save some for later, we can only choose how it is spent. And it's never worth spending on people who don't appreciate it.

    12 votes