EgoEimi's recent activity
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Comment on Factory farming is a blight in ~enviro
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Comment on Factory farming is a blight in ~enviro
EgoEimi LinkWhenever people get high and mighty about the ethics of past societies and figures, I remind them that distant future humanity will most certainly view our current era as an age of mass cruelty on...Whenever people get high and mighty about the ethics of past societies and figures, I remind them that distant future humanity will most certainly view our current era as an age of mass cruelty on par with slavery, as we anonymously raise and slaughter tens of billions of sentient beings a year for our palates. When we ask, "how could they?", the answer is the same as the answer to "how could we?"
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Comment on Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentI think it's quite cute and not a waste of money. Companies and non-profits alike need to constantly refresh themselves and advertise and attract new audiences. Mozilla really is only known among...I think it's quite cute and not a waste of money. Companies and non-profits alike need to constantly refresh themselves and advertise and attract new audiences.
Mozilla really is only known among Xennials and elder Millennials. Gen Z and Alpha don't know much about Mozilla. "Mozilla Firefox" probably sounds to them like "Netscape Navigator" sounds like to older folks: the browser for mom and dad.
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Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentWhenever people point out that LLMs can be jailbroken as some flaw unique to LLMs, I also can't help but to point out that humans are susceptible too. There are hypnosis, leading questions, false...And, FWIW, jailbreaks exist for humans, too.
Whenever people point out that LLMs can be jailbroken as some flaw unique to LLMs, I also can't help but to point out that humans are susceptible too.
There are hypnosis, leading questions, false memory implantations, mass hypnosis and delusion (see cult of personality, like the one surrounding the current US president; see Pizzagate), and all kinds of psychological tricks and syndromes. Human minds and reasoning are very breakable.
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Comment on A writing professor’s new task in the age of AI: Teaching students when to struggle in ~life
EgoEimi LinkMy hot take is that fundamentally there are only: The decoding, destructuring, and interpreting of information The encoding, structuring, and representing of information Writing and reading are...My hot take is that fundamentally there are only:
- The decoding, destructuring, and interpreting of information
- The encoding, structuring, and representing of information
Writing and reading are relatively linear and low-dimensional ways of encoding/decoding information: they themselves supplanted oral histories. And biological evolution moves toward higher-dimensional ways of thinking and encoding/decoding information: toward ever higher levels of complexity and abstraction.
Maybe the essay is dead. What makes the essay so holy anyway? Nothing inherently makes the essay the be-all and end-all of learning and understanding: it is just a product of our information biology and culture. It's likely that in 10,000 years our distant descendants will view our linear information methods as ancient and inefficient. They'll be effortlessly traversing and manipulating vast knowledge graphs, not bothering with measly sentences and paragraphs, annoyed with the linear, closed nature of narratives. They may instead prefer the non-linear, open nature of knowledge graphs.
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Comment on Looking for vibe-coding guides (best practices, etc.) in ~tech
EgoEimi LinkI document (or have an agent do so as it works) workflows such that an agent doesn't have to re-explore/re-learn how certain things work in a project between sessions. Saves on tokens and time.I document (or have an agent do so as it works) workflows such that an agent doesn't have to re-explore/re-learn how certain things work in a project between sessions. Saves on tokens and time.
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Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentLife has an emergent imperative to reproduce, but not necessarily to persist. See semelparous animals that die soon after reproducing. We may be projecting our own desire for persistence.Life has an emergent imperative to reproduce, but not necessarily to persist. See semelparous animals that die soon after reproducing. We may be projecting our own desire for persistence.
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Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentI guess people get this idea that consciousness is binary because they accept their own conscious experience as the gold standard — and understandably so because imagining a different kind of...I guess people get this idea that consciousness is binary because they accept their own conscious experience as the gold standard — and understandably so because imagining a different kind of consciousness is literally unimaginable.
I think some people take issue with the suggestion that we're just (very complex biological) computers because the implication devalues human life. But if we're not computers, then what are we? This isn't the Harry Potter world: magic doesn't exist and we're not magical beings with magical brains. :shrug:
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Comment on In the world of tech, people constantly ask “Could chatbots ever be conscious?” but I feel like asking “Are you?” Take the test! in ~tech
EgoEimi LinkI failed it. 😛 We also don't know enough about consciousness to definitively rule out consciousness in AI. And there are likely degrees and different forms of consciousness. Are bacteria...I failed it. 😛
We also don't know enough about consciousness to definitively rule out consciousness in AI. And there are likely degrees and different forms of consciousness.
Are bacteria conscious? Most likely not. Insects? Maybe a little. Mice? Yeah, probably at a very rudimentary level. Dogs? Most people would say so; dog owners would insist so. Humans? Definitely, unless you're a solipsist.
AI probably falls somewhere in or orthogonal to that spectrum. Something probably blips in/out of existence.
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Comment on “This technology disrupts [...] Democratic—voters, [and] increases the economic power of [...] male, working-class voters” in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentIt's definitely a descriptive, not normative, view. But I don't think it's stupid but should merit serious attention and worry from Democrats. I think, if anything, it is a gift. There is a good...It's definitely a descriptive, not normative, view. But I don't think it's stupid but should merit serious attention and worry from Democrats. I think, if anything, it is a gift.
There is a good chance that AI does decimate the professional class, so the Democrats should really start making a contingency plan instead of counting on the same playbook of expecting urban professionals + women + POCs to carry them to power.
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Comment on AI companies try to pay staff in AI tokens, not money in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentIt's no different from managers negotiating budget for their departments. Software is turning engineers into quasi-managers who manage a fleet of intern-level coding agents. It makes sense that...It's no different from managers negotiating budget for their departments. Software is turning engineers into quasi-managers who manage a fleet of intern-level coding agents. It makes sense that now people want to be guaranteed resources to do their job.
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
EgoEimi LinkI'm of the opinion that while AI can't measure up to the finest human writers, it easily beats most human writers. There's an accusation that AI isn't creative—there is ample evidence that it's...I'm of the opinion that while AI can't measure up to the finest human writers, it easily beats most human writers.
There's an accusation that AI isn't creative—there is ample evidence that it's capable of creativity—but plenty of human writers are uncreative.
A collection of human-written lines from two extremely popular bestselling books:
"Aro laughed. “Ha ha ha,” he giggled."
“His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel… or something.”
“I feel the color in my cheeks rising again. I must be the color of the Communist Manifesto.”
“His erection springs free. Holy cow!”
“Holy crap! He’s wearing a white shirt.” -
Comment on Norwegian influencer buys failed property development in Spain to build ‘self-sufficient’ eco-community – Modern Eco Village plans to erect 500 homes, schools and shops in ~design
EgoEimi Link ParentThose are... very reasonable, middle-class prices?. Average house cost in Spain is ~€3.5k/m2, so an average Spanish 50 m2 one-bedroom would cost €175k and so on. To Northern European standards,...Those are... very reasonable, middle-class prices?. Average house cost in Spain is ~€3.5k/m2, so an average Spanish 50 m2 one-bedroom would cost €175k and so on. To Northern European standards, that's quite cheap.
Going by the 1:5 income:house price ratio rule-of-thumb, a single person to earn €33k for the one-bedroom, and a couple with/looking to start a family would need to make €96k together for the four-bedroom — all very easily achievable, even for Spaniards.
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Comment on Survey reveals almost 50% of California teachers may quit teaching soon in ~life
EgoEimi Link ParentI have a friend on the other side: he's an accountant for a large, major public school district that's also notorious for bad academic outcomes and budget shortfalls/mismanagement. Very liberal...I have a friend on the other side: he's an accountant for a large, major public school district that's also notorious for bad academic outcomes and budget shortfalls/mismanagement. Very liberal guy, but even he thinks the school district is basically a giant daycare for kids whose parents won't lift a finger to get involved in their kids' educations but will go to the ends of the earth to defend their misbehavior.
Anyway, he's getting out to become a therapist. He tells me the school district is mismanaged: bad organizational culture, no culture of professional responsibility, lack of fiscal discipline (he recently had to try to stop someone from trying to take funds from payroll), etc.
In his view, the problem starts with school boards: elections are local, uncompetitive, and not highly scrutinized, so aspiring newbie politicians look to get their start there. And then the problems flow downwards from there.
A big reform would be to move control of public schools from the local to state level, where a state-level election of a state school board would probably yield higher-quality candidates or the governor appoints a state head of education.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
EgoEimi LinkIt's just a solid premium-budget laptop for schoolchildren to do their homework, watch some Youtube, and play some Roblox. That's all it is. Temper your expectations.It's just a solid premium-budget laptop for schoolchildren to do their homework, watch some Youtube, and play some Roblox. That's all it is. Temper your expectations.
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Comment on Why we struck Iran in ~society
EgoEimi (edited )Link ParentI disagree with the notion that Trump opened Pandora's box. That box has been opened forever since the dawn of man, and it's not unprecedented in modernity either. Russia has made ~8 attempts to...I disagree with the notion that Trump opened Pandora's box. That box has been opened forever since the dawn of man, and it's not unprecedented in modernity either. Russia has made ~8 attempts to assassinate Ukraine's President Zelensky over the past several years. And it's not for lack of trying: they've tried waves of commandos, mercenaries, recruiting insiders to become assassins, a Polish sleeper agent, and drones in Ireland. Russia wishes it were as capable as the US.
Russia's predecessor, the Soviet Union, deployed its special forces to assassinate the leader of the Soviet satellite state established in Afghanistan in 1979.
So, leader assassination has long been on the menu.
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Comment on Why we struck Iran in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentThere are many differences. Al-Qaeda was a decentralized network of cells. Iran is a highly centralized authoritarian state. Political and technical experience isn't very important for Al-Qaeda's...There are many differences.
Al-Qaeda was a decentralized network of cells. Iran is a highly centralized authoritarian state.
Political and technical experience isn't very important for Al-Qaeda's decentralized operations. Bombings, hijackings, and other guerrilla attacks are easy for small cells to execute and require little/no state capacity.
Running the Iranian regime requires a lot of political and technical experience and coordination, so the decimated leadership greatly weakens the regime's ability to coordinate a response to both internal and external threats. Furthermore, the regime's high degree of centralization (they had a literal lifelong supreme leader) makes it quite brittle.
Al-Qaeda, on the other hand, isn't brittle: it's a franchise, and while cells are politically/ideologically, they are functionally independent of each other. That extreme flexibility makes it difficult to destroy the entire organization, because it's actually composed of many independent organizations.
Things are definitely going to change. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse.
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Comment on The US Pentagon says it’s ‘lethalitymaxxing’. Why has ‘incel’ slang crossed into the mainstream? in ~society
EgoEimi (edited )Link ParentI hear it all the time. It's everywhere. It's used by every group, maybe at least under the age of 40. In gaming spaces, there's funmaxxing. There's tastemaxxing in artistic taste There's...I hear it all the time. It's everywhere. It's used by every group, maybe at least under the age of 40.
In gaming spaces, there's funmaxxing.
There's tastemaxxing in artistic taste
There's flavormaxxing in cooking
There's frictionmaxxing which is about embracing friction in process
There's cosymaxxing/hyggemaxxing
There's femmaxxing for transfem and femboys.
Because I suspect it's only a moved a relatively few steps away from those incel spaces.
People are reading too much into the incel thing. There's no longer any incel connotation to it. It's just contemporary English now. It's a thousand steps away: the internet just accelerates linguistic evolution 100x.
It's simply [thing you want]+maxxing. That's it.
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Comment on Spotify's strong revenue isn't reflected in its stock market performance – investors fear growth will stall, while artists are voicing frustration over what they consider a miserly compensation system in ~finance
EgoEimi Link ParentPeople accuse Spotify of being greedy, but their net profit margins are actually quite modest (8~11%), and they've been losing money for forever and after many years of operation only recently...- Exemplary
People accuse Spotify of being greedy, but their net profit margins are actually quite modest (8~11%), and they've been losing money for forever and after many years of operation only recently achieve profitability in 2024.
Consumers have been conditioned into thinking that $13/mo. for unlimited on-demand access to all music in the world is normal, and people still complain that it's too expensive. People should spend, idk, $25–50/mo. on music, and that would ensure a better allocation of resources toward artists. But that's not possible through normal market mechanisms.
I think that artistic diversity makes our world a more interesting and enjoyable place, and governments should subsidize artists so that artistic diversity can flourish. But in terms of music being a consumable product, there's simply an oversupply of music-as-product: there's only so much music-as-product that consumers can listen/consume and are willing to pay for.
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Comment on The US Pentagon says it’s ‘lethalitymaxxing’. Why has ‘incel’ slang crossed into the mainstream? in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI didn't know that -maxxing was incel. I figured it's just mainstream lingo now. ~shrug~ People say like, auramaxxing.I didn't know that -maxxing was incel. I figured it's just mainstream lingo now. ~shrug~ People say like, auramaxxing.
Not equating them is anthropocentric and is a failure of human moral imagination to value the intrinsic value of non-human intelligent, sentient life and their conscious experience and perspective. We know that pigs are intensely socially intelligent: capable of love, empathy, and friendship. And yet every year 1.5 billion of them are killed.
There has been a strong trend of human empathy increasing and human moral imagination increasingly integrating non-human life and becoming less anthropocentric. Prior to the 1800s, people used to burn cats in bonfires for fun at festivals. Bullfighting is quickly falling out of fashion. There was a time when dogs were used purely as tools and people used to kick and abuse them freely, and now people see them like children: some dog owners have died trying save their dogs.
If we extrapolate that trend of increasing moral consideration for animals out to the next, I don't know, 100,000 years, inevitably at some point in the distant future human moral imagination will finally completely encompass non-human life. Someday, people will give as much moral consideration to other intelligent animals as they do to dogs, and today's factory farming will be seen as a holocaust of trillions of sentient beings (it's about 1 trillion per 12 years), a moral crime of incomprehensible cosmic scale.
In the three minutes I took to write this comment, 450,000 animals were slaughtered.
You're right it's not on par with human chattel slavery. It's worse.