vektor's recent activity
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Comment on Journal that published faulty black plastic study removed from science index in ~science
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Comment on Elon Musk’s attack on F-35s fuels debate over expensive fighter jets in ~society
vektor Link ParentThis is another point that I think often goes underappreciated, particularly within the US. I meant to at least allude to it, but it certainly deserves explicit pointing out. The US is where it is...much of the political, economic, and cultural strength of the US comes from the strength of its military
This is another point that I think often goes underappreciated, particularly within the US. I meant to at least allude to it, but it certainly deserves explicit pointing out. The US is where it is in the world, and its people are where they are economically, not in spite of the US military, but because of it. To a substantial extent anyway.
Topologically, the diplomatic shape of the democratic world might as well be a star, with the US at the center: Many countries have very loose connections among each other, but most have close connections to the US, be it for trade, security guarantees, or what have you. That's not a coincidence.
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Comment on Study: essay graders rarely detect AI, give higher grades in ~tech
vektor Link ParentI mean, for the sake of validating whether you wrote it yourself, as long as there isn't a gap between two states that goes from "this is a prompt" to "this is ChatGPT's reply", it's sufficient.I mean, for the sake of validating whether you wrote it yourself, as long as there isn't a gap between two states that goes from "this is a prompt" to "this is ChatGPT's reply", it's sufficient.
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Comment on Elon Musk’s attack on F-35s fuels debate over expensive fighter jets in ~society
vektor (edited )Link ParentRight. There's a lot of waste in the DoD budget, as far as I'm aware. But getting to it requires a gentler touch that looking at the latest procurement project (that is being bought at more...Right. There's a lot of waste in the DoD budget, as far as I'm aware. But getting to it requires a gentler touch that looking at the latest procurement project (that is being bought at more expensive rates by export customers abroad, ffs) and question that.
I see two ways of saving money that the DoD doesn't automatically do all by itself already:
(1) Re-evaluating whether certain capabilities the DoD targets are actually necessary. Do you want to deter China? Probably. Do you want to be able to do it without your allies, while also being capable of roflstomping Russia? Probably not. The reality is more detailed than that, because there's shades of gray and also because a capability you don't think you need is also essential for a contingency you're not even thinking of right now. But it's not hard to argue that the US military is trying to do too much at the same time.
(2) Make internal processes leaner. Basically, if you can make sure that less red tape and paperpushing happens before you arrive at the same outcome, do it. This is so mindnumbingly boring, I'm sure Musk isn't even thinking of it. And no, you can't just gut entire processes outright because you don't like them. Somewhere, a decade or maybe a century ago, a procurement project went way over budget because this process didn't exist. Find the problem the process intends to solve, check if the cost/benefit is there, see if you can reduce the cost without reintroducing the problem.
But nahh, X-Man probably simply wants to get into the defense space, because at this point where else can he make enough money to become a trillionaire? Ohh, Tesla should upgrade all the DoD's guns with coil guns. You could call them Tesla Coils. That sounds like a trillion dollar idea to me, if the US govt is corrupt enough to play ball.... wait a sec...
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Comment on Study: essay graders rarely detect AI, give higher grades in ~tech
vektor Link ParentAny AI detector used in such a manner needs to be field tested to at least a basic degree by the institution using them. That would weed out almost all and cast sufficient doubt on any that...Any AI detector used in such a manner needs to be field tested to at least a basic degree by the institution using them. That would weed out almost all and cast sufficient doubt on any that remain. Plus, it would inform the people doing the testing about just how difficult the task they're asking actually is.
A very basic field test could look as such: Enter an essay that was definitely not AI. Could be archived essays from a few years ago, could be written during a proctored exam, whatever. Get some students to supply "authentic" cheating attempts using AI tools; so have them make it look natural. See what the tool says about both those groups of works.
Since we're leveling grave accusations at students here (expulsion being on the table), take the results from above, and shoot for 99% statistical confidence. 95% if the intended consequences are less severe (e.g. only down-grading the work in question).
I'd be surprised if you could clear even 80% with any tool currently on the market.
Barring that kind of statistical performance, the only other evidence I'd accept that "this was AI actually" would be if the AI company supplies the time the piece was generated, along with the user that had it generated. And no, asking ChatGPT when it generated a certain piece is not sufficient, the LLM itself does not have the information required but could easily hallucinate it. If OpenAI offers a "proctor"-API for exactly this purpose, and OpenAI specifically says that this is what the API does, then go for it. AFAICT, no one does this currently though. But they surely have the records that would make it possible.
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Comment on Do not buy NZXT | Predatory, evil rental computer scam investigated in ~tech
vektor Link ParentMy "favourite" pastime is reading contracts/TOS/EULAs from US tech companies, but applying what I know about EU/DE Consumer protection law. Sometimes I feel like all that'll be left after a judge...My "favourite" pastime is reading contracts/TOS/EULAs from US tech companies, but applying what I know about EU/DE Consumer protection law. Sometimes I feel like all that'll be left after a judge went over it would be the definitions.
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Comment on Someone made a dataset of one million Bluesky posts for 'machine learning research' in ~tech
vektor Link ParentPlus, it severely restricts the ability of small companies, academia and the FOSS community to provide LLMs and other AI products. The genie is out of the bottle, it's at this point a question of...There are so many downsides to that, such as excluding any third-party indie developers from say developing third party clients (see e.g. 'reddit is fun'), or restricting useful infornation from being found via search engines (see e.g. the reddit+google deal).
Plus, it severely restricts the ability of small companies, academia and the FOSS community to provide LLMs and other AI products. The genie is out of the bottle, it's at this point a question of who gets access. I'd rather have the option of using models from non-monopolists, and I'd rather everyone with a GPU can run the state of the art, rather than being reliant on Big Tech for models trained on proprietary (and thus potentially unethically/illegally sourced) data.
The more data is out there for everyone to use, the less power the big corporations have.
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Comment on Is the current war in Palestine the first time the victim wound up being seen as the aggressor? in ~humanities.history
vektor Link ParentRight. Colloquially, you could perhaps become the aggressor if you take your defensive war too far, or perhaps if your unarmed actions leave the other party no other choice. The latter I'd reject...Right. Colloquially, you could perhaps become the aggressor if you take your defensive war too far, or perhaps if your unarmed actions leave the other party no other choice. The latter I'd reject out of hand, as I'd rather not turn non-violent action into a even-only-colloquially valid cases belli. Compare when Ukraine oriented itself towards Europe, or when the US embargo Japan: I'd like to view the respective violent responses as escalatory and unjustified.
Any argument that they were unjustified, but that some violent responses against some nonviolent provocation us justified, is probably too nuanced and subjective for international relations.
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Comment on Donald Trump's team mulls postponing Ukraine's NATO membership for at least twenty years, WSJ reports in ~society
vektor Link ParentUnironically, yes, that might be where we're headed. Anyone in the EU who doesn't eat frog, lost the credibility of their nuclear umbrella on Tuesday. Expect to see moves in that direction....Unironically, yes, that might be where we're headed. Anyone in the EU who doesn't eat frog, lost the credibility of their nuclear umbrella on Tuesday. Expect to see moves in that direction. Perhaps also from east Asian countries.
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Comment on British startup plans to supply solar power from space to Icelanders by 2030, in what could be the world's first demonstration of this novel renewable energy source in ~space
vektor Link ParentWiki says iceland is 99.98% renewable. (Renewable energy certificates from there are also a bit of a greenwashing whoopsie: they apparently export certificates to companies abroad that want to be...Wiki says iceland is 99.98% renewable.
(Renewable energy certificates from there are also a bit of a greenwashing whoopsie: they apparently export certificates to companies abroad that want to be greener. And then of course they sell the actual electricity to domestic customers. Now both customers think they paid for renewable energy - after all it's hardly possible tk get non-renewable power in Iceland, right?)
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Comment on Morrowind doesn't have any rivers in ~games
vektor (edited )Link ParentI remember keeping note of that Elder Scrolls "Equinox", when Skyrim was as old as MW was when Skyrim came out. Must've been 2020 give or take a few months. Let that sink in. The time when TES6...I remember keeping note of that Elder Scrolls "Equinox", when Skyrim was as old as MW was when Skyrim came out. Must've been 2020 give or take a few months.
Let that sink in. The time when TES6 was already a longer wait than Oblivion and Skyrim combined was during the initial pandemic craziness, which is also again a distant memory. At this point no product that I believe Bethesda is capable of developing will live up to the expectations. They've done themselves in thoroughly.
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Comment on Morrowind doesn't have any rivers in ~games
vektor Link ParentMade all the more likely because the Odai is largely lacking slaughterfish. Yes, slaughterfish! You're not one, are you? Are you? All I want to do is catch some slaughterfish. Go ahead! Do your...and you're moderately likely to end up swimming in it to escape from guards.
Made all the more likely because the Odai is largely lacking slaughterfish. Yes, slaughterfish! You're not one, are you? Are you? All I want to do is catch some slaughterfish. Go ahead! Do your worst! I am a god!!!
Don't let them bite you.
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Comment on Wikipedia article blocked worldwide by Delhi high court in ~tech
vektor Link ParentReally bummed, not to say worried, by Indias backsliding on democracy, in general.But if India really is going down this path, it might be only a matter of time.
Really bummed, not to say worried, by Indias backsliding on democracy, in general.
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Comment on Wikipedia article blocked worldwide by Delhi high court in ~tech
vektor Link ParentYes, but. It absolutely jams an organisation (I.e. the people) from sourcing and distributing new data.Yes, but.
It absolutely jams an organisation (I.e. the people) from sourcing and distributing new data.
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Comment on E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders in ~food
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Comment on How to build greener, affordable AC for high humidity and hotter summers in ~engineering
vektor Link ParentThis was my thinking as well. I admit there might be detail's we're overlooking, but from first principles this is where I arrived as well. My naive expectation would also be to that ACs are more...This was my thinking as well. I admit there might be detail's we're overlooking, but from first principles this is where I arrived as well. My naive expectation would also be to that ACs are more efficient when the inside temperature is high, because thermodynamics passively helps the heat exchange along, but again, could be details I'm missing.
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Comment on You're running for office on a somewhat petty, yet univerally-understood single issue. What is it? in ~talk
vektor Link ParentPretty sure that's some sort of super-exponential. Big-O nerds represent!Pretty sure that's some sort of super-exponential. Big-O nerds represent!
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Comment on You're running for office on a somewhat petty, yet univerally-understood single issue. What is it? in ~talk
vektor Link ParentRitalin Scrip is the best typo. Now I'm imagining a pharma corp that pays employees in Ritalin, and the company store accepts Ritalin as quasi-legal tender. Some neurotypicals are on stims all...Ritalin Scrip is the best typo. Now I'm imagining a pharma corp that pays employees in Ritalin, and the company store accepts Ritalin as quasi-legal tender. Some neurotypicals are on stims all day, and it's called financial abuse.
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Comment on Satisfactory is the best automation game ever made and I seriously can't recommend it enough in ~games
vektor Link ParentI feel that pain. This only really gets better once you unlock that hover... pack... thingy. Then you can easily fly to the vantage point you need to make the factory look the way you want to....The 1st person perspective makes planning elegant factories much more difficult vs games like Dyson Sphere Program and Factorio.
I feel that pain. This only really gets better once you unlock that hover... pack... thingy. Then you can easily fly to the vantage point you need to make the factory look the way you want to. Standing on the ground floor, it can be very difficult to place a 20m x 10m building the way you want to, because either you're too far away to see the necessary detail, or you're so close the building fills up your screen.
That said... consider revisiting. They've added a lot of QoL features around building mechanics, it feels a lot smoother now.
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Comment on Addressing the cause of collapsing fertility: status in ~life
vektor Link ParentOne unsavory consequence of this is that often we're pulling the creme de la creme from the labor pools of emigration countries, which stifles their development. That's not really fair and could...For rich countries that are more open to immigration and are also able to attract immigrants that would be a good fit, maybe it’s not a problem?
One unsavory consequence of this is that often we're pulling the creme de la creme from the labor pools of emigration countries, which stifles their development. That's not really fair and could arguably be construed as a modern form of colonialism. If you don't filter off the best, you're now playing with massive problems if you allow relatively unfiltered access. Not the least of which is the massive resurgence of xenophobic authoritarianism we're currently seeing. And without either immigration or addressing fertility, you're looking at a hell of a demographic problem. I also don't really see a global long-term future that I like where this continues to remain unaddressed: If the leaders in human development now don't start to work on the problem, eventually it's going to blow up in the faces of currently-developing countries too, and they'll have nowhere to turn for immigration. And I don't think actual degrowth policies will realistically happen. So eventually this will mess humanity up. Might as well look for a solution now, especially considering that it's an extremely long-term problem, what with every proposed solution taking potentially about a generation to study and then another to deploy.
My guess? Neither. Overworked/underappreciated reviewers. Reviewing is thankless work, and usually people who's primary job is doing research are moonlighting/volunteering as reviewers. They probably don't have the time to check tiny details like that. There's also often a baseline assumption of competence: you're more checking what they said, rather than what they did.
Different fields might have different standards though. I'm not a chemist.