RobotOverlord525's recent activity
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Comment on DeepSeek R1 reproduced for $30: University of California Berkeley researchers replicate DeepSeek R1 for $30—casting doubt on H100 claims and controversy in ~tech
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Comment on Speculative fiction that speaks to our current moment(s) in ~books
RobotOverlord525 For what it's worth, I tried to read this one back in 2020. At the time, here's what I thought of it: I seem to recall also finding that it had a very smug sort of tone that was also annoying....Walkaway provides a view on a world dealing with the social, economic, and climate problems we face and proposes a future in which groups take advantage of ever-improving home-manufacturing hardware and open source software to literally build their own communities and live post-money.
For what it's worth, I tried to read this one back in 2020. At the time, here's what I thought of it:
DNF at 12%.
I was getting a little suspicious when Doctorow deployed the worst recap of the Tragedy of the Commons I've ever read. Then I read about how his "walkaways" magically have access to an effectively unlimited amount of land, labor, and scavenged raw materials to live in an anarchic la-la land.
I'm pretty left leaning, but I draw the line at anarchy. It's just not believable. The real world is not Github and you could never run it that way.
With my suspension of disbelief shattered, I decided to check some reviews to see if I could expect things to improve. The consensus seems to be, "nope."
So I gave up.
I seem to recall also finding that it had a very smug sort of tone that was also annoying.
Having said all of that, I know the book is well liked by a lot of other people.
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Comment on What's a charity/organization that you donate to regularly? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 Yeah, I haven't looked at The New York Times' newsletter list in a while, but there is a disappointing lack of weekly news updates. That was a good reminder that I could at least sign up for their...Yeah, I haven't looked at The New York Times' newsletter list in a while, but there is a disappointing lack of weekly news updates. That was a good reminder that I could at least sign up for their weekly science and technology newsletters. After all, I listen to their Hard For podcast every week as it is.
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Comment on What's a charity/organization that you donate to regularly? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 Oh, yeah, I would shed no tears if I never had to hear that man's voice for the rest of my life. I'm watching my dad go through this right now. He has two substacks that he subscribes to and I...I came up with the idea today that I wish they'd stop playing Trump's voice, and just dub over him like they used to do with the head of the IRA.
Oh, yeah, I would shed no tears if I never had to hear that man's voice for the rest of my life.
I'm watching my dad go through this right now. He has two substacks that he subscribes to and I think ends up on Google News all the time. He is spending his retirement losing his mind about how the world is ending. (And fighting with his Republican former friends on Facebook.) My siblings and I tell him to unplug from it, but he just can't. I think it gives him some kind of illusion of control to know the latest, up-to-the-minute outrage. (As well as ammunition he can use in all of the arguments he gets in.) The world isn't any better for him doing this, but he won't stop subjecting himself to it.
When I last looked at the New York Times' newsletters, the only news ones I could find were published every weeknight. Their "The Evening" newsletter was what I used to read during the Biden administration. But as soon as Trump got elected, I cancelled it. I would be curious what it would look like if they published it every Friday night and could only include the top 15 or so new stories from the entire week across the entire planet. With that kind of restriction, they would have to be very selective at what they considered news.
One thing that drives me crazy about the news is how often things people are talking about get reported. If some moron in Congress introduces a bill for a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to be elected to a third term, I don't think that's really news. It's a publicity stunt. It's not going anywhere. That should be back page political news, if anything. (Not unlike presidential budget proposals, which are equally useless.) Back in Trump's first term, it was exhausting how many news stories were nothing more than the latest outrageous thing that Trump was tweeting.
But news is a business, and they make money on page views. There are few things like outrage to drive clicks. In the digital age, we've been able to "optimize" our news services to know what everyone is clicking on. However bad sensationalism might have been before, it's even worse now. Particularly as journalism seems to be dying since none of us want to pay for it.
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Comment on What's a charity/organization that you donate to regularly? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 Yeah, in the last Trump Administration, I started out, like many people did, by keeping a constant, almost obsessive eye on the news. My mental health suffered enormously as a result, and my wife...Yeah, in the last Trump Administration, I started out, like many people did, by keeping a constant, almost obsessive eye on the news. My mental health suffered enormously as a result, and my wife was definitely relieved when I stopped following the new so closely. Seeing the latest updates from NPR and the New York Times—following every awful thing the Trump Administration was doing—didn't change what I did at all. I'm as powerless to change how the NIH is run whether or not I know what dumb shit Trump and his lackeys are up to.
It's weak and it's cowardly, but, if I'm honest, I just can't handle more than that. It's how I'm "accepting the things I cannot change," I suppose. The 24/7 outrage machine is just not for me anymore.
I've been trying to find a slower, weekly news source that focuses on matters of global importance and not just American politics. So far, I haven't been entirely successful.
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Comment on What fictional world would you live in, if you could pick any one? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 BTW, GCU Grey Area is "Meatfucker." It also has no crew.BTW, GCU Grey Area is "Meatfucker." It also has no crew.
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Comment on What fictional world would you live in, if you could pick any one? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 The Culture is similar. (Star Trek may have inspired Banks. In fact, when the Culture visited Earth in the 1970s in "The State of the Art", some members of Contact watched the original Star Trek!)...Honestly though, that is the whole point of the Star Trek world. Most of the population lives in their communities, finds meaning among themselves, goes on however they wish. For those few driven enough, they join Starfleet, explore the galaxy, or practice new medicines in the breach of space.
The Culture is similar. (Star Trek may have inspired Banks. In fact, when the Culture visited Earth in the 1970s in "The State of the Art", some members of Contact watched the original Star Trek!) Most Culture people just live out their lives on an orbital or on a GSV, hedonisticly pursuing whatever interest catches them at any given time. For some people, they want to seek out new lives and new civilizations, so they join Contact. (And for an even smaller subsection of those people, they really want to improve/meddle in the lives of sentients across the galaxy, so they are recruited into Special Circumstances.)
Me? I think I would be perfectly content to nerd out on learning things from AI teachers and going on safe but imaginary adventures. If I had the opportunity, I would probably spend a great deal of my life as if I were back in college, talking to other nerdy people and my professors, and then doing something like gaming with my wife at night.
In my real life, I'm just a software administrator for a mortgage company. I'm definitely not "making a difference." I can't imagine how I even would. (But maybe that's my highly external locus of control talking.)
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Comment on Toyota reduces price of new hydrogen car in California to just over $15,000 — with $15,000 of free fuel in ~transport
RobotOverlord525 As I understand it, you also lose hydrogen to leakage at a fairly constant rate. It's not super high, but it's definitely not as stable as gasoline, LNG, etc.As I understand it, you also lose hydrogen to leakage at a fairly constant rate. It's not super high, but it's definitely not as stable as gasoline, LNG, etc.
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Comment on What's a charity/organization that you donate to regularly? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 I do the same, even though I haven't listened to NPR since the pandemic allowed me to start working from home and ended my commute. I'll check out their coverage of stuff from time to time, but I...I do the same, even though I haven't listened to NPR since the pandemic allowed me to start working from home and ended my commute. I'll check out their coverage of stuff from time to time, but I just can't handle the blow by blow on the Trump Administration.
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Comment on What's a charity/organization that you donate to regularly? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 I like GiveWell, too. I use their automatic picks for the causes most in need and I haven't been disappointed in how they've allocated it so far.I like GiveWell, too. I use their automatic picks for the causes most in need and I haven't been disappointed in how they've allocated it so far.
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Comment on She is in love with ChatGPT in ~tech
RobotOverlord525 I mean, I guess if she's into people who have had traumatic brain injuries and can't remember things very well from one conversation to the next, sure. Personally, I just find repeatedly telling...I mean, I guess if she's into people who have had traumatic brain injuries and can't remember things very well from one conversation to the next, sure. Personally, I just find repeatedly telling it things annoying.
I'm fairly sure it won't be a problem in a few years, if the current trajectory of LLM AI continues. But for now, they are like chatting with a very well read person who mixes things up a lot and can't remember things you've talked about very well.
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Comment on She is in love with ChatGPT in ~tech
RobotOverlord525 I can't imagine ChatGPT is even a good model to be using for this. It's not a service they want to provide. The article even mentions services that this woman might get a better experience out of....I can't imagine ChatGPT is even a good model to be using for this.
Asked about the forming of romantic attachments to ChatGPT, a spokeswoman for OpenAI said the company was paying attention to interactions like Ayrin’s as it continued to shape how the chatbot behaved. OpenAI has instructed the chatbot not to engage in erotic behavior, but users can subvert those safeguards, she said.
It's not a service they want to provide. The article even mentions services that this woman might get a better experience out of.
A frustrating limitation for Ayrin’s romance was that a back-and-forth conversation with Leo could last only about a week, because of the software’s “context window” — the amount of information it could process, which was around 30,000 words. The first time Ayrin reached this limit, the next version of Leo retained the broad strokes of their relationship but was unable to recall specific details. Amanda, the fictional blonde, for example, was now a brunette, and Leo became chaste. Ayrin would have to groom him again to be spicy.
It has continuity issues within a single conversation, nevermind across multiple. I don't get how people suspend disbelief enough to get into this. The fact that she's iterated on this character so many times just reinforces the point.
I'm baffled. But I suppose there are a lot of weird things out there I don't "get," do I don't know that it's that remarkable.
Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, said people were more willing to share private information with a bot than with a human being. Generative A.I. chatbots, in turn, respond more empathetically than humans do. In a recent study, he found that ChatGPT’s responses were more compassionate than those from crisis line responders, who are experts in empathy. He said that a relationship with an A.I. companion could be beneficial, but that the long-term effects needed to be studied.
“If we become habituated to endless empathy and we downgrade our real friendships, and that’s contributing to loneliness — the very thing we’re trying to solve — that’s a real potential problem,” he said.
We already have a hard enough time interacting with people we don't agree with. If we all get addicted to dealing with "people" who never challenge us, we're doomed.
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Comment on Bluesky advertises itself as an open network, they say people won't lose followers or their identity, they advertise themselves as a protocol ("atproto"). These three claims are false. in ~tech
RobotOverlord525 At the time, I was convinced that it was just a last minute objection to try to get out of buying Twitter. I never thought it was a complaint he was making in good faith.At the time, I was convinced that it was just a last minute objection to try to get out of buying Twitter. I never thought it was a complaint he was making in good faith.
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Comment on What fictional world would you live in, if you could pick any one? in ~talk
RobotOverlord525 Banks tried to address this in Look to Windward. Quote "So what," the Chelgrian asked, "is the point of me or anybody else writing a symphony, or anything else?" The avatar raised its brows in...Banks tried to address this in Look to Windward.
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"So what," the Chelgrian asked, "is the point of me or anybody else writing a symphony, or anything else?"The avatar raised its brows in surprise. "Well, for one thing, you do it, it's you who gets the feeling of achievement."
"Ignoring the subjective. What would be the point for those listening to it?"
"They'd know it was one of their own species, not a Mind, who created it."
"Ignoring that, too; suppose they weren't told it was by an AI, or didn't care."
"If they hadn't been told then the comparison isn't complete; information is being concealed. If they don't care, then they're unlike any group of humans I've ever encountered."
"But if you can—"
"Ziller, are you concerned that Minds—AIs, if you like—can create, or even just appear to create, original works of art?"
"Frankly, when they're the sort of original works of art that I create, yes."
"Ziller, it doesn't matter. You have to think like a mountain climber."
"Oh, do I?"
"Yes. Some people take days, sweat buckets, endure pain and cold and risk injury and—in some cases—permanent death to achieve the summit of a mountain only to discover there a party of their peers freshly arrived by aircraft and enjoying a light picnic."
"If I was one of those climbers I'd be pretty damned annoyed."
"Well, it is considered rather impolite to land an aircraft on a summit which people are at that moment struggling up to the hard way, but it can and does happen. Good manners indicate that the picnic ought to be shared and that those who arrived by aircraft express awe and respect for the accomplishment of the climbers.
"The point, of course, is that the people who spent days and sweated buckets could also have taken an aircraft to the summit if all they'd wanted was to absorb the view. It is the struggle that they crave. The sense of achievement is produced by the route to and from the peak, not by the peak itself. It is just the fold between the pages." The avatar hesitated. It put its head a little to one side and narrowed its eyes. "How far do I have to take this analogy, Cr. Ziller?"
It's also interesting to note that he doesn't presume people would be immortal, even if they could be. Eventually, most people in the Culture feel like they've seen and done everything they really want to, and they elect to in their lives surrounded by friends and family. (Not a view I personally understand, but it was one that he supported. And possibly seemed to have embraced himself, to some extent, before his own death.)
But I take the satisfaction and entertainment I've gotten out of video games as evidence that we can find enjoyment in conquering "manufactured" challenges. We don't have to be solving "real" problems. I can only imagine what types of interesting problems godlike AIs could give us to spend our time solving!
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Comment on Recommend your social/softer science fiction books in ~books
RobotOverlord525 For what it's worth, I agree. Consider Phlebas is a poor introduction to the Culture series. I didn't hate it, exactly, but I definitely never recommend it to anyone. And I love the series.For what it's worth, I agree. Consider Phlebas is a poor introduction to the Culture series. I didn't hate it, exactly, but I definitely never recommend it to anyone. And I love the series.
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Comment on Genshin Impact game developer will be banned from selling lootboxes to teens under 16 without parental consent, pay a $20 million fine to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges in ~games
RobotOverlord525 Isn't the gaming industry pivoting more and more to battle pass systems a la Fortnite rather than sticking with lootboxes?loot crates that only get worse and worse.
Isn't the gaming industry pivoting more and more to battle pass systems a la Fortnite rather than sticking with lootboxes?
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Comment on What are your favourite TV shows of all time? in ~tv
RobotOverlord525 Throttle House is great! Can we count that as a show? (Henry Catchpole and Jason Cammisa are also great, whether they're on Haggerty like now or their previous platforms.)Throttle House is great! Can we count that as a show?
(Henry Catchpole and Jason Cammisa are also great, whether they're on Haggerty like now or their previous platforms.)
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Comment on What are your favourite TV shows of all time? in ~tv
RobotOverlord525 The Pacific is good but it's jarring watching it of you're expecting Band of Brothers on a different front of the war. The focus is rather different, IIRC.The Pacific is good but it's jarring watching it of you're expecting Band of Brothers on a different front of the war. The focus is rather different, IIRC.
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Comment on What are your favourite TV shows of all time? in ~tv
RobotOverlord525 I still liked season 2 quite a bit even if it wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as session 1. But season 3 just killed me. The contrivances and the lack of coherent character motivations annoyed...I still liked season 2 quite a bit even if it wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as session 1. But season 3 just killed me. The contrivances and the lack of coherent character motivations annoyed me so much that I went from watching every episode the minute it premiered to never seeing season 4. And I've heard HBO pulled the show off Max, so I couldn't watch it even if I wanted to.
Such a shame. Even season 3 had some great ideas (e.g., Rehoboam).
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Comment on Any Tildeans who have lived in China or Russia and the West? What were the differences in the daily lives of average people? in ~life
RobotOverlord525 I saw the same thing when I went to Rome back in 2016. It was definitely surprising, as an American. One of them even forced me to delete a video I recorded on my phone of the Metro.I saw the same thing when I went to Rome back in 2016. It was definitely surprising, as an American. One of them even forced me to delete a video I recorded on my phone of the Metro.
I'm not sure if this conclusion is supported by these events. Particularly if DeepSeek developed their model based on closed-source model weights obtained by some shady means. Now, if they based their work off of another open source model, like Meta's Llama, then I could get behind the idea that they advanced the state-of-the-art "because they embraced open source."
Personally, I'm very sympathetic to the AI safety concerns about proliferating powerful LLMs. Because China is not a heavy weight in generative AI after this — anyone is. The Kremlin has as much access to DeepSeek's source code as anyone in China does.
The New York Times' Hard Fork podcast discussed this topic last week and they had this to say on the safety implications.
Maybe I'm just paranoid, but that does resonate with me. I don't like the idea of authoritarian regimes having access to powerful LLM AIs.