mattgif's recent activity
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Comment on Harbor Freight cannot easily develop their own flesh detection table saw in ~life.home_improvement
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Comment on Harbor Freight cannot easily develop their own flesh detection table saw in ~life.home_improvement
mattgif Link ParentI'm not onboard with this take making SawStop the good guy. Gass's initial move when being granted the patent was to lobby for legislation requiring his technology in every table saw. The...I'm not onboard with this take making SawStop the good guy. Gass's initial move when being granted the patent was to lobby for legislation requiring his technology in every table saw. The technology which only he could legally license, for an 8% fee.
Since then, SawStop has had over 20 years to produce this product without competition. Bosch attempted to produce a competing product, and SawStop sued. Since the stopping mechanisms were different, Bosch was banned from selling this product because of the way they detected flesh--via conductivity (this last bit is me reading between the lines). Since then, no other manufacturers have tried. Because why bother? Either you build it in the obvious working way and get sued, or you pay SawStop a significant chunk of each sale.
Now that original legislation is up for consideration, and the industry is facing a choice: every one who sells a table saw must pay SawStop, or lobby to defeat safety legislation. No one benefits from this but SawStop. Consumers have fewer safe choices, face higher prices, and one brand gets dominance delivered to them via government mandate.
That's what this article is about.
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Comment on Cobalt – a media downloader that doesn't piss you off in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentThe official response was to add another extension to enable monkeying with custom search, and managing session keys. The problems with private mode in Firefox are documented here, and the...The official response was to add another extension to enable monkeying with custom search, and managing session keys.
The problems with private mode in Firefox are documented here, and the associated GitHub page:
They're actively working on it, so maybe things are smoother than they were over the summer
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Comment on Cobalt – a media downloader that doesn't piss you off in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentI used it for three months and generally liked it, but it had major issues with private mode searching due to requiring a login. Firefox private mode simply didn't work, even after installing the...I used it for three months and generally liked it, but it had major issues with private mode searching due to requiring a login. Firefox private mode simply didn't work, even after installing the three or so add ons they suggest.
Probably a minor issue for most people, but I use private mode constantly for session sandboxing as a web dev. Too much friction for me vs Google.
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Comment on Greedflation: corporate profiteering ‘significantly’ boosted global prices, study show in ~finance
mattgif Link ParentWhy are you treating those as exclusive options? Voting for the best candidate that can beat trump in no way prevents you from protesting, or providing mutual aid. Denying a despot the...Why are you treating those as exclusive options? Voting for the best candidate that can beat trump in no way prevents you from protesting, or providing mutual aid. Denying a despot the presidential office is a pretty high priority item.
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Comment on The Boys | Season 4 official teaser trailer in ~tv
mattgif Link ParentIt's a comment about a comedy TV show! I find the rhetoric about "harm" or causing "major issues" to be overblown. My first comment, even if people missed the irony (not, fwiw, sarcasm, which has...It's a comment about a comedy TV show! I find the rhetoric about "harm" or causing "major issues" to be overblown.
My first comment, even if people missed the irony (not, fwiw, sarcasm, which has malice) didn't say anything more controversial than the non-ironic posts that were here before.
What seems to have happened is that a few people missed the joke, felt bad about themselves as a result, and decided that the problem is irony itself, and that people who use it are engaging in, I quote, "asshole behavior."
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Comment on The Boys | Season 4 official teaser trailer in ~tv
mattgif (edited )Link ParentC'mon. The jape about South Park having too many jokes didn't give it away? The whole joke is that people here, before I posted, where whining about the show's raison d'etre. The beauty of irony...C'mon. The jape about South Park having too many jokes didn't give it away? The whole joke is that people here, before I posted, where whining about the show's raison d'etre.
The beauty of irony is that it points the way to the problem with the thing being criticized, but doesn't outright state it. The reader hopefully makes the leap to put together the problem themselves, which makes the implicit argument more "sticky" in their mind.
But, now that I've written all that out, isn't it more succinct and fun to winkingly complain that, oh, the boy's characters have too much moral ambiguity for my taste?
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Comment on The Boys | Season 4 official teaser trailer in ~tv
mattgif Link ParentThe Boys could also stand to tone down the social commentary. Why can't we just have a nice show where the good guys always win, no one dies, and it says nothing meaningful about the world?...The Boys could also stand to tone down the social commentary. Why can't we just have a nice show where the good guys always win, no one dies, and it says nothing meaningful about the world? Like... A marvel movie... But on TV!
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Comment on The Boys | Season 4 official teaser trailer in ~tv
mattgif LinkI agree with the other commenters: The Boys is too cynical and violent. Likewise, I am tired of South Park, which I feel has too many jokes.I agree with the other commenters: The Boys is too cynical and violent. Likewise, I am tired of South Park, which I feel has too many jokes.
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Comment on Advice on GPU upgrade wanted in ~tech
mattgif LinkCan you get a used card? I picked up a 6800xt for around $400 back in January. Runs Cyberpunk at ultra on a 1440pCan you get a used card? I picked up a 6800xt for around $400 back in January. Runs Cyberpunk at ultra on a 1440p
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentIt'd be functionally the same. It's fact checking itself and providing sources. I'd be happy with that.It'd be functionally the same. It's fact checking itself and providing sources. I'd be happy with that.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentI don't think it's realistic to train the human population to be smart about AI use. "Setting expectations" with a TOS is definitely not going to be enough. Unless maybe you were thinking of...I don't think it's realistic to train the human population to be smart about AI use. "Setting expectations" with a TOS is definitely not going to be enough.
Unless maybe you were thinking of something like a license-to-use test? I would accept that this is an alternative approach.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentPut another way, you are saying that LLMs are perfectly safe in the hands of knowledgeable users that understand their limits and purposes. I agree. On the flip side, then, they are unsafe in less...Put another way, you are saying that LLMs are perfectly safe in the hands of knowledgeable users that understand their limits and purposes.
I agree. On the flip side, then, they are unsafe in less capable hands.
Problem: AIs are widely available, and it turns out that most people--even very smart people--can be mislead by them.
I proposed a solution: Get AIs to cite their sources.
So now I'm curious where our area of disagreement is: Do you disagree that there is a problem? Do agree there is a problem, but do not care if it is solved? Or do you have an alternative solution?
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif (edited )Link ParentYou're asking a lot of rhetorical questions as "gotchas," but they seem to have fairly clear cut answers. For my purposes, the US Department of State's definition is good enough: You then ask: A...You're asking a lot of rhetorical questions as "gotchas," but they seem to have fairly clear cut answers.
What counts as an ai?
For my purposes, the US Department of State's definition is good enough:
“The term ‘artificial intelligence’ means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.”
You then ask:
[W]hat counts as a source?
A source is where the information came from. I'm not sure how that's a puzzle. In your example if you are taking the measurements, then you would be the source. You would probably cite your data set, and include some way to access and scrutinize it. If it's not your data, you would cite wherever you got the data as a source. If you are applying some mathematical methods to them, then presumably you're showing your work so all of the data is there to be reconstructed. If it's non-obvious, you might cite sources showing the validity of applying those methods to the problem at hand. This is how we expect scientific papers to work (including pure mathematics). It's how we expect journalists to behave. Why should AI get off the hook? I say it shouldn't.
You then lament:
More generally, I notice a tendency to assume that technical problems can simply be solved.
We have a problem with AI: It produces unreliable information with no discernible providence, and companies nevertheless expect us to accept these systems into our lives. To drive our cars. To write the news. To edit our code. To help with term papers.
I'm saying: It would help mitigate these problems if AI cited its sources. If tech companies can figure that out, great! If not, maybe AI doesn't get to run wild. Maybe its use is heavily restricted.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentIf the AI is answering a question or giving an example, it should cite its source. How does that fail to make sense for the 50% of the time you're not looking for fabulated non-information?If the AI is answering a question or giving an example, it should cite its source. How does that fail to make sense for the 50% of the time you're not looking for fabulated non-information?
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Comment on Multi-source journalism subscriptions? Also, seeking recommendations for sources. in ~talk
mattgif Link ParentDoes your library have any digital resources? You may be surprised with how many resources even small libraries have available via apps like Overdrive, Libby, Gale, etc.Does your library have any digital resources? You may be surprised with how many resources even small libraries have available via apps like Overdrive, Libby, Gale, etc.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentDefinitely not AGI. But yes, a departure from stochiastic parrots. You can imagine how this would work in the absence of AGI by exploiting the ability of LLMs to both generate and summarize: Make...Definitely not AGI. But yes, a departure from stochiastic parrots. You can imagine how this would work in the absence of AGI by exploiting the ability of LLMs to both generate and summarize:
- Make a first pass generative assertion
- Find what sources are relevant to that topic (simple tagging model, weighted for authority)
- Search sources for key words
- Summarize results
- Does assertion match any summaries?
- If yes, return assertion citing matching result
- If no, go to 1 and try again
Way more tedious than machine-gunning assertions and hoping something is true. But what are computers for, if not doing repetitive tedious tasks? Way more computationally expensive too. But bad information has a high price too.
The main problem with that approach would be figuring out how to calculate a "match" between a summary and an assertion. (Also, the summary process is fallible.) But you wouldn't need AGI to solve it, just recursive LLMs.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif Link ParentRight. That's the part that needs to be fixed. The AI companies need to prove their products are safe before unleashing them on the market. Source citing is one part of doing that. I'm not moved...Right. That's the part that needs to be fixed. The AI companies need to prove their products are safe before unleashing them on the market. Source citing is one part of doing that.
I'm not moved by the argument that they are useful and therefore we should let other concerns slide with the public as beta testers. I say this as someone who loves Copilot for coding. I would love it more if it told me where it was getting its advice.
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Comment on Fact sheet: US President Joe Biden issues executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence in ~tech
mattgif LinkWhat I would really like to see is for there to be a legal requirement for AI output to cite its sources. If AI is offering allegedly factual information, it should be able to provide annotations...What I would really like to see is for there to be a legal requirement for AI output to cite its sources. If AI is offering allegedly factual information, it should be able to provide annotations which direct readers to the factual basis for these assertions.
This would help mitigate what are, to my mind, the most pressing issues with AI:
- Hallucinations: If the source doesn't exist, or doesn't actually say what the AI claims it does, it is easy enough to check
- Theft: If the source is some forbidden material (due to copyright or other protections), we would know
- Dubious knowledge base: If the only source of a claim, say, about the war in Gaza is a paranoid blog that also features UFO news, we should be aware of that.
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Comment on Multi-source journalism subscriptions? Also, seeking recommendations for sources. in ~talk
mattgif LinkMy friend, you are describing your local library. Not only do they have newspapers you can read in person, but many offer digital versions (through Gale, e.g.) that you can read from home. News...My friend, you are describing your local library. Not only do they have newspapers you can read in person, but many offer digital versions (through Gale, e.g.) that you can read from home. News magazines are even more widely available.
For sources, it depends on what you're most interested in. Global news: The NY times, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, and the Christian Science Monitor (don't let the Christian Science affiliation scare you off -- it's one of the few papers that maintains its own foreign desks, and the reporting quality is excellent).
If you like reading culture war stuff then The Atlantic is your jam, I guess.
The people that are buying a HF table saw are the people who likely need the tech the most: amateurs that possibly lack training and materials to do things safely.