raze2012's recent activity
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Comment on Maine Democratic delegates choose Troy Jackson as new nominee to face US Sen. Susan Collins in ~society
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parent"Hope" is definitely not how I put it when I browse my LinkedIn feed these past few weeks :(. We were already used to layoff cycles and it's gone maximum overdrive these past few years. But yes,...There's some hope to be had in the fact that the games industry seems better in this regard.
"Hope" is definitely not how I put it when I browse my LinkedIn feed these past few weeks :(. We were already used to layoff cycles and it's gone maximum overdrive these past few years.
But yes, attitude-wise I agree. The environment is awesome and encouraging for those who want to genuinely make art and not just push out slop. At least on the PC/console dev side. The gaming audience is very fickle, but them being loud against obvious slop is at least trying to at worst make devs work harder to hide the gen AI (thus, more or less cancelling out any savings made) and at best keeping some otherwise tempted devs honest.
I resonated a lot with the author's end points as a philosophy:
- Things that are worth doing are worth doing well.
- Things that are done well require time and effort.
- You make meaning through the doing.
- Ideas are common; effort is not.
- There are no shortcuts.
Maybe I'll take a shortcut here and there (seeing the jank needed to pull off some crazy tech feats on your favorite game is always a fun read/watch), but overall: effort is living in my eyes. And I want to live and hopefully create a legacy in my craft.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentGiven my effective 130k pay cut the over the last few years, I sure wish I could have only dropped 70k. I'd need to abandon some luxuries, but I'd be more than comfortable surviving by myself. But...A part of me wishes I had taken it just to be shielded from current tech nonsense, but I’m not in a place right now where I can take that big of a pay cut.
Given my effective 130k pay cut the over the last few years, I sure wish I could have only dropped 70k. I'd need to abandon some luxuries, but I'd be more than comfortable surviving by myself.
But I'm a single 30YO male. I'm sure there are area and family considerations so I'm not casting judgement. I'm just venting at the current state of the world right now.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThere are probably some good ones, but they sure aren't hiring. The ones who claim to be sure are yelling at the rooftops that the author's experience will not change there.Maybe look around first?
There are probably some good ones, but they sure aren't hiring. The ones who claim to be sure are yelling at the rooftops that the author's experience will not change there.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentI'm too busy finding a job, sadly. I want to create more. But I'm also pretty much in the red financially and pretty much surviving through parental support at this point. Best I can do at this...- Exemplary
I hear the sentiment echoed here constantly among friends and I always say well we're all freaking engineers, why not get together and create something?
I'm too busy finding a job, sadly. I want to create more. But I'm also pretty much in the red financially and pretty much surviving through parental support at this point.
Best I can do at this point is try to silently rebel against as much of this big tech as possible.
- More de-googlefying this year with not paying for drive storage and preparing a new email domain. I think I'm down to search (which I have a post job plan for), maps, and Youtube.
- I'm as detached from Microsoft as I can be without leaving Windows 11 as a whole (which I'd love to do, but I do need it professionally, sadly).
- Amazon Prime is cancelled and I try to leave Amazon as a whole as a last resort after getting out around town first.
- All my streaming services are canceled (and my NAS is getting some very nifty usage).
- With the new reddit policies, I'm off all major social media aside from Discord (which I cancelled Nitro for).
I'm ready for the next things in all of these (except Youtube, probably the one true monopoly on the Internet).
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThe engineer tech needs, but not the one it deserves. but yeah, I want to eventually (as in: probably 5+ years out) try to at least take more matters into my own hands and have my own inconme...The engineer tech needs, but not the one it deserves.
but yeah, I want to eventually (as in: probably 5+ years out) try to at least take more matters into my own hands and have my own inconme source. I won't claim to fix the system (I'll perform civic duties for larger groups with that goal), but I can at least (professionally) stay in my corner and work on my own bespoke projects. My craft isn't something controlled by corporate interests.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThe author seems to make a similar conclusion: emphasis mine. It's a similar conclusion I came to where AI is merely a catalyst for what was already happening. I'm sure your workflow would fix...What you describe in your article is a complete and total failure of technical leadership.
The author seems to make a similar conclusion:
I don’t blame people for opting to use tools that promise quick, convenient solutions to problems. We all operate under capitalism. Many of us have bullshit jobs where the goal is not, in fact, to make something good, or even to learn, but to simply make money to pay rent and medical expenses. To hopefully find a little joy on the side. The whole system is broken; AI alone didn’t break it, but it is widening the cracks.
emphasis mine. It's a similar conclusion I came to where AI is merely a catalyst for what was already happening. I'm sure your workflow would fix half the issues brought up in this article.
You can blame the leadership for not holding it accountable, but at the end of the day: if you see a fissure widening and only speeding up, it's natural to want to get away from that. You don't have the means as one person to fix it.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentCourts are seeing lawyers submit AI generated documents mentioning cases that do not exist. Medical devices or even advice guided by AI are costing lives. Healthcare is using AI to deny people...Because I don't think it's a thing outside of specific industries.
Courts are seeing lawyers submit AI generated documents mentioning cases that do not exist.
Medical devices or even advice guided by AI are costing lives. Healthcare is using AI to deny people their coverage.
Education is under a complete (and IMO, overdue) reckoning of its core goals. College as a "jobs prepearation program" is being brought into question. Acedemia is dealing with faulty research.
pretty much every white collar industry is being put under this microsope, it's not limited to crappy Windows updates. The only reason blue colllar isn't hit (yet) is because robotics development is still maybe 5-10 years out from wide commercial adoption. But I bet we'll see cases of self driving cars at fault for killing pedestrians in avoidable situations, malfunctioning robots injuring humans or destroying property, etc. Especially if the level of care in robotics is the same as we do with LLM's here.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentAnd what happens if/when you get laid off and can't find another job? Like many in tech the last few years? I'm not saying this to say "you need to stay on top of tech", because no. That is not...And what happens if/when you get laid off and can't find another job? Like many in tech the last few years?
I'm not saying this to say "you need to stay on top of tech", because no. That is not the reason people cannot get jobs these days. But because you're essentially saying "the system works for me and I'm fine" and all I see is the system slowly crumbling. We need to reinforce or rebuild the system before it's too late.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentIf your work towards the pointless, what's the point? You need to make a point in life, because life won't make it for you. And that's decreasingly becoming a reality for the next generation.so sometimes we must work toward something pointless.
If your work towards the pointless, what's the point? You need to make a point in life, because life won't make it for you.
I do work that is not individually fulfilling so I have money and support for hobbies that I enjoy but are not financially viable.
And that's decreasingly becoming a reality for the next generation.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentAnd then what? We do that for 40 years, and then die? Is that a way to live life? Making the elite class happier? Those kinds of questions are what drive someone to do what they did. If they have...And then what? We do that for 40 years, and then die? Is that a way to live life? Making the elite class happier?
Those kinds of questions are what drive someone to do what they did. If they have the savings for it, I don't see the point of shame.
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parent"Objectively", the author had a good 15 years to work in their career and can quit without a job lined up because of the savings from that period. A person coming into the job market has none of..."Objectively", the author had a good 15 years to work in their career and can quit without a job lined up because of the savings from that period. A person coming into the job market has none of the money (and likely a lot of school debt) and all the misery.
"Objectively", this new grad may not even get to see that misery because companies aren't hiring at all. And this isn't in tech but across almost every industry. So it's institutional knowledge that can leave, leaving. And no new people to take up the mantle. Things are going to start breaking pretty pad by the time we hit the 2030's
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThat's the big issue, though. You do proper AI-assisted development with current tools and see it over with a careful eye... you really don't save much time in development. And with current...If you were to manage to make a game with AI visuals that looked good and consistent, I would bet real money that most players wouldn’t care.
That's the big issue, though. You do proper AI-assisted development with current tools and see it over with a careful eye... you really don't save much time in development. And with current token-driven costs, you're not exactly saving money either (it's certainly not good enough to replace an artist or programmer you may have otherwise hired, that's for sure). You also don't get a quality boost. You end up with none of the triangle of benefits, and you will still end up getting flak if people find out. So what was the point?
At least if you resign to slop and buffer the PR, you're getting something fast. That's the only benefit to vibecoding or gen AI right now. Low quality, medium (for now) costs, blazing fast development (until it's not, but hey. you got features out for now).
I can’t think of any examples where a game got backlash or flopped over its use
All your examples got backlash. Did it matter to any of them? No, not financially. But that's PR prevailing rather than the tech genuinely saving money. Especially since one of the examples existed for a decade without AI (side note: I didn't know what Inzoi was until now and I instantly hated the look. It's also early access so TBD on its success).
But the biggest impacts won't be on large publishers, it'll be on indies who only need a dozen bad reviews to tank their release. Those are the level of development that needs to be very careful about how they present themselves.
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Comment on Framework cuts memory on Laptop 13 Pro preorders after LPCAMM2 costs more than double in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentWe're not angry enough at the systems that caused all this turmoil to begin with. I wonder what the breaking point is for the historically conservative tech working class before they truly start...We're not angry enough at the systems that caused all this turmoil to begin with. I wonder what the breaking point is for the historically conservative tech working class before they truly start lashing out. It's probably quite high, especially since many of them still have pretty cushy funds. At least, the ones still employed.
I wish I had something more insightful to say at this point, but we've discussed the situation of AI to death and back 3 times over at this point. It would take significant federal action to really take a hit at this and that's not going to be realistic until next year at best (with a huge question mark on how we transition into 2027 to begin with).
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Comment on Unreleased OpenAI model escapes containment and hacks into HuggingFace in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentFear mongering is a semi-common marketing tactic. More often used in political ads, but not unusual for commercial products. Doing it for AI here is weird because they are interrelating on the...Fear mongering is a semi-common marketing tactic. More often used in political ads, but not unusual for commercial products.
Doing it for AI here is weird because they are interrelating on the edge of regulation as of now. They hope that people see this and think "dang, it must be really good I gotta try that" but may run into "dang, this is dangerous. We should ban/regulate it" instead.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentHard to say at this point. If the push back succeeds, the company will either foot the bill themselves, successfully lobby governmental entities into funding the data centers (creating a new...It doesn't seem likely that they will tear down any datacenters?
Hard to say at this point. If the push back succeeds, the company will either foot the bill themselves, successfully lobby governmental entities into funding the data centers (creating a new battle over taxpayer funds), or shut it down themselves. If it doesn't, the costs are socialized into everyone's energy bills and thing will run until other governmental obstacles arise.
I think the solution will vary from state to state.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThat's the unsustainable part. Not just on environmental impact, but it's become massively unpopular politically to build out these massive data centers. It probably will end up similar to today;...Datacenters will almost certainly be more efficient than anything you run yourself.
That's the unsustainable part. Not just on environmental impact, but it's become massively unpopular politically to build out these massive data centers.
It probably will end up similar to today; most people use their phones or other computer's local apps, enthusiasts make use of a dedicated computing rig that has better hardware, coporate will either have a server rack or rent out one AWS/Azure style. But even that cloud won't feel as "good" as what we have today with these massive massive datacenters.
But it might be an open weights model running at whichever hosting provider you trust rather than a service provided by an AI lab.
Yup. The real test when the hype dies down is which companies can transition from "AI lab" to "software provider" most elegantly. Because the time they can rely on throwing hardware at the problem and hype at the investors has arguably already reach its zenith.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump says he will impose fifty percent tariffs on Canadian goods in thirty days in ~society
raze2012 Link Parent70% of me keeps going out of spite at tihs point. Spite to survive and see them either see their day in court or flee like cockroaches. Either will be satisfying to behold. If we still try to...70% of me keeps going out of spite at tihs point. Spite to survive and see them either see their day in court or flee like cockroaches. Either will be satisfying to behold.
If we still try to compromise with this even after al this destruction... well, maybe that will be my time to get out of the country. We can't keep repeating the same mistakes every 4-8 years like this.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump says he will impose fifty percent tariffs on Canadian goods in thirty days in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentOur media was bought out long ago. It's not even surprising that most media have soft mitts towards Trump's rampant destruction at this point. I think the huge realization point for me was when...Our media has completely failed us.
Our media was bought out long ago. It's not even surprising that most media have soft mitts towards Trump's rampant destruction at this point. I think the huge realization point for me was when Gallup of all places decided this year to simply stop tracking presidential approval ratings. It's not much by itself, but it really shows how much of this environment is at best scared of Trump, and at worst cheering it on in the shadows.
The worst part is how you'll suddenly watch them go "hard journalism" the minute Trump is out of office. Zero conviction, zero shame.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentI'm talking about companies in the 2000's and 2010's who defended and bolstered copyright. in the 2020's they want to bypass all that for training. The biggest irony was LinkedIn (Microsoft)...I still don't know who you are referring to that thinks that copyright infringement is okay, but AI training isn't.
I'm talking about companies in the 2000's and 2010's who defended and bolstered copyright. in the 2020's they want to bypass all that for training. The biggest irony was LinkedIn (Microsoft) winning a case in 2022 about web scrapers being infringement on the site. And then less than a year later they are scraping terabytes of data along the web for Copilot. And now there's several high profile lawsuits over how they obtain the data and what they produce.
It's the other way around. They want it to be okay to AI train, but still want strong copyright for whatever slop they produce. Though they seem to have already lost that battle, considering pretty much every court hearing so far confirmed that AI generated works are not able to be copywritten.
I don't know too many cases of non-companies defending copyright. I do know quite a few (especially in the tech space) who are more than gleeful to discuss fully abolishing copyright. I'm probably one of the stronger defenders, but the current rules we have are absurd and go against the spirit of why copyright was created. so we do need need to large overhauls.
When it comes to software development, we haven't been hiring juniors long before the AI boom
This was more of a general statistic than tech specific. You are correct because the inflection point was indeed around 2018-2019. The pandemic kind of threw a wrench in that, but the overall decade seems to have accelerated what was already happening.
I could (and probably have) make an entire essay aimed at the point on how companies expect talent but lost the interest to train for it1. But I'll save that for a later topic that will inevitably come up. I just brought up that to point to emphasize that the an entire up and coming generation being displaced before they even got a foot in the door is a surefire road to radicalization.
I highly doubt it's going anywhere, ever. Even if AI companies shut down or something, we would invest in it on our own.
Okay. Come back to me in a year or so.
And yes, I agree. Local models will be a much better means to make a sustainable workflow around this stuff. You'll lose out in computation time in software, and agentic software will be too expensive for a long time coming (either in budget or compute time), but most people who just want a local chatbot or some auto-gen text will be fine... eventually2.
That's the direction China is going. And when the US is caught with its pants down (again), we'll be years behind what they figured out pretty quickly.
1. and college was never that cheat code to get around it. corporate culture is so different from acedemia, so you're just getting hard fundamentals at best. The only changes were company practices
2. as usual, software without a ton of funding behind it falls behind on UI/UX, instead being made for programmers. He first local/OS model to break through that after the crash will be the true gold rush winner
little surprised, but I suppose being given a week to change candidates against a very competitive race did not give them time to ramp up their establishment machine. They just went with what they could get.
They probably are gambling on Main being "purple" to keep Troy from going "too far" should he win. Susan Collins lives on an edge, and I don't think Troy winning would push that needle much further. But I hope to be pleasantly wrong.