aetherious's recent activity
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Comment on Is the detachment in the room? - Agents, cruelty, and empathy in ~tech
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Comment on Is the detachment in the room? - Agents, cruelty, and empathy in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentWe should make manners cool again. Without the classist parts of what were considered to be good manners.We should make manners cool again. Without the classist parts of what were considered to be good manners.
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Comment on Is the detachment in the room? - Agents, cruelty, and empathy in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentVideo game NPCs aren't quite the comparison I'd make, for the reason that there are games where 'playing' evil is a legitimate storytelling option. There's also validity in the argument that...Video game NPCs aren't quite the comparison I'd make, for the reason that there are games where 'playing' evil is a legitimate storytelling option. There's also validity in the argument that yelling at video games is fine because it's not directed at another person. I'm also not arguing for the personhood of LLMs, but there is something to be said about 'practicing cruelty'.
On a purely token usage level, saying please and thank you might take the same number of tokens as calling it inventive new slurs.
The most common use of LLMs happens to be through text, so the 'personality' you interact with is essentially the same as another person. I'm not on BlueSky so I haven't seen the author's Penny bot or any of the others, but I have used LLMs through their chat interfaces and locally. We've come beyond the point of the sci-fi Ex Machina reality where Turing Test was some futuristic threshold to be passed. There are genuinely bots you can interact with that you wouldn't be able to tell apart from people. There's also an existential question it raises as a species, in the face of technology that talks like a human, 'acts' like a human by modifying its behavior based on how you interact with it, giving better or worse results based on the probability space it draws from depending on whether you've been naughty or nice, what makes 'us' us?
I quite enjoy being nice. To people, to bots. You can practice empathy with LLMs if you can also practice cruelty. And I'm all about empathy these days. I consider storytelling to be practicing empathy, which I could go on about. I did write something about empathy on my blog a while back.
I would argue instead that we should examine the inverse: there is very little detachment from reality in talking to something that speaks like a human as if it were a human. There is detachment in wanting to obliterate, disregard, and humiliate something that speaks and behaves like a person - any person, real or simulated. That impulse toward cruelty reveals something worth examining, if only one takes the opportunity to do so.
It is funny to me that this was essentially the plot of Detroit: Become Human. Except we don't have androids with bodies that look like humans. Yet.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
aetherious Link ParentI didn't read it, but thank you for that pull quote, and here's my version of that: Unfortunately, reading Twitter posts for entertainment is ridiculous. You do not live in a website on the...I didn't read it, but thank you for that pull quote, and here's my version of that:
Unfortunately, reading Twitter posts for entertainment is ridiculous. You do not live in a website on the internet. You have theatre, you have sports, you have art, you have the real world. No one reads Twitter posts for entertainment anymore, because a platform for ragebait for short attention spans is inferior entertainment platform. The only people who still read tweets for entertainment are those who prefer their news to have DIY opinions they can get angry about.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentIt would be nice to have a new adaptation of Critchton other than the fifteen new Jurassic WorldIt would be nice to have a new adaptation of Critchton other than the fifteen new Jurassic World
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentNo offense to Chidi but Schur is a much better teacher :)No offense to Chidi but Schur is a much better teacher :)
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentDavid Farr's writing is a big reason why I think The Night Manager works for me. I'm not familiar with the writers of the upcoming series so I'm a little trepidatious but the casting does look...David Farr's writing is a big reason why I think The Night Manager works for me. I'm not familiar with the writers of the upcoming series so I'm a little trepidatious but the casting does look promising so far.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentHave you read Mike Schur's intro to moral philosophy book, How to be Perfect? I found it to be a fun companion piece to the show.Have you read Mike Schur's intro to moral philosophy book, How to be Perfect? I found it to be a fun companion piece to the show.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentI haven't, but it seems fun so I'll add it to my list. I saw Tom Hiddleston talk about this on Colbert, that le Carré wanted there to be more. The series is being made with le Carré's sons as...I haven't, but it seems fun so I'll add it to my list. I saw Tom Hiddleston talk about this on Colbert, that le Carré wanted there to be more. The series is being made with le Carré's sons as executive producers and the book also includes Colombia as one of the locations so they were able to include parts of it that couldn't be there in the first season.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious LinkI am loving the new season of The Night Manager so far. It's a show that I didn't expect to come back and I am enjoying more of the spy genre after Slow Horses. It's more serious and the...I am loving the new season of The Night Manager so far. It's a show that I didn't expect to come back and I am enjoying more of the spy genre after Slow Horses. It's more serious and the performances are excellent.
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Comment on How do you plan out your meals for the week/meal prep? in ~food
aetherious Link ParentI cannot plan meals since what I want to eat changes frequently. Meal-prepping got boring for me and it didn't stick. Instead, I've created a menu for things I like to eat often and I'll have...I cannot plan meals since what I want to eat changes frequently. Meal-prepping got boring for me and it didn't stick. Instead, I've created a menu for things I like to eat often and I'll have ingredients that can be used, similar to your cookbook but not as extensive and no recipes. I even designed it so it looks like an actual menu, I might get it physically printed just for fun.
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Comment on Helldivers movie in the works from Justin Lin, Sony in ~movies
aetherious LinkI wonder what direction they'll be going in. I haven't seen any Fast & Furious movies recently, but I do remember watching Tokyo Drift which Lin had directed. He's made some of the newer ones. The...I wonder what direction they'll be going in. I haven't seen any Fast & Furious movies recently, but I do remember watching Tokyo Drift which Lin had directed. He's made some of the newer ones. The script is from Gary Dauberman, who was the screenwriter for Annabelle and It movies, which I haven't seen either.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
aetherious LinkI've been watching Pluribus which started strong but the last few episodes have been a little slower. I'm also rewatching the limited series Mrs Davis, which is what the first episode reminded me...I've been watching Pluribus which started strong but the last few episodes have been a little slower.
I'm also rewatching the limited series Mrs Davis, which is what the first episode reminded me of. Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen show) is one of the co-creators. It's also another show like Pluribus that I recommend watching without knowing anything about it. I had seen it when it first aired and it's very underrated. It didn't get much attention, probably because it's on Peacock, but it's excellent.
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Comment on The spy who came in from the WiFi: Beware of radio network surveillance! in ~comp
aetherious LinkThis reminds me of something I came across a while ago, which is how WiFi can be used to map the position of human bodies. From Popular Mechanics in 2023. Quote from the paper: Link to the paper:...This reminds me of something I came across a while ago, which is how WiFi can be used to map the position of human bodies. From Popular Mechanics in 2023.
Quote from the paper:
“We developed a deep neural network that maps the phase and amplitude of WiFi signals to UV coordinates within 24 human regions. The results of the study reveal that our model can estimate the dense pose of multiple subjects, with comparable performance to image-based approaches, by utilizing WiFi signals as the only input.”
Link to the paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.00250
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Comment on The Devil Wears Prada 2 | Teaser trailer in ~movies
aetherious LinkIt's coming out May 1st, 2026. Devil Wears Prada released in 2006 so this is coming out 20 years later. The teaser doesn't give anything away so I have no idea what's bringing Meryl Streep and...It's coming out May 1st, 2026. Devil Wears Prada released in 2006 so this is coming out 20 years later.
The teaser doesn't give anything away so I have no idea what's bringing Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway's character together again but I don't need any more details to see it.
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Comment on Is this a game? | Blank Quiz, made in Google Forms in ~games
aetherious LinkStats are up on my blog here! If you scroll up, you can read more about the 'game'. It ended up getting 108 'plays' after I shared it here and in some other places. There were 45 responses in the...Stats are up on my blog here! If you scroll up, you can read more about the 'game'.
It ended up getting 108 'plays' after I shared it here and in some other places.
There were 45 responses in the text box, which was the most fun part to go through. I've published all of them. I was a little apprehensive about what people might put in an anonymous text box, but everyone who played it was super nice about it even when they didn't get what this was supposed to be. I'm sharing some here:
- Did Sam Reich develop this? It feels like an early episode of Game Changer
- I feel like a speedrunner :)
- I'm not sure why I'm doing this
- Open sesame
- If this were Reddit, this is where I would put a snarky comment about something related to this quiz. Since this is not Reddit, I will write snark about Reddit instead.
Pinging @AaronNight and @Noox
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Comment on Is this a game? | Blank Quiz, made in Google Forms in ~games
aetherious Link ParentYou can replay if you don't follow the instructions ^^You can replay if you don't follow the instructions ^^
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Comment on Is this a game? | Blank Quiz, made in Google Forms in ~games
aetherious Link ParentI'll definitely share it after giving it a few days!I'll definitely share it after giving it a few days!
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Comment on Is this a game? | Blank Quiz, made in Google Forms in ~games
aetherious (edited )LinkThank you, @Dr_Amazing for posting the question, What makes a game, a game? survey and inspiring me to make this 'game' and testing out what you can do with Google Forms, including some features I...Thank you, @Dr_Amazing for posting the question, What makes a game, a game? survey and inspiring me to make this 'game' and testing out what you can do with Google Forms, including some features I had never tried before.
Edit: There is an Easter egg. I'm not sure how that particular feature works, but it should be findable. It's open to submitting multiple responses and doesn't require a Google login or email address input to fill out.
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Is this a game? | Blank Quiz, made in Google Forms
25 votes
Yes, video games are a flawed comparison. I get the anger of bots entering 'human' spaces online. I don't think it's very productive to reply back to them with insults. I understand why, but I think that anger would be better directed to platforms who make the decision to allow that, along abdicating responsibility of all other forms of moderation. Especially since they profit from engagement, including the outrage. They won't be incentivized to change even if the platform is all bots making posts and humans being angry at bots, but spend all their time there.