skybrian's recent activity
-
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 17 in ~society
-
Comment on The DoorDash problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon in ~tech
skybrian LinkIf the value of the AI is figuring out what to purchase, maybe this ends up like flight search? There's a search engine that lets you do price comparisons, but at the end, they send you to the...If the value of the AI is figuring out what to purchase, maybe this ends up like flight search? There's a search engine that lets you do price comparisons, but at the end, they send you to the airline's web page to finish the transaction. Maybe some things get filled in for you. If the AI takes the place of flight search, it's just the start of the transaction.
What would a good user experience look like? The AI figures it out, you get a confirmation page from the seller with the transaction details and if it looks okay then you press "Buy."
(And sure, there would inevitably be upsells on that page.)
-
Comment on US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end all monkey research in ~science
skybrian Link ParentFrom the article: … …From the article:
The clinic was dirtier than any of the animal hospitals that Strickland had worked in, with swarms of cockroaches hiding between the metal cages. It was also more dangerous. Many lab monkeys carry an illness called B virus, which rarely harms them but has killed nearly half the people it has infected. Because it can be transmitted through scratches, bites, and saliva, Strickland was required to wear long sleeves, a head covering, a surgical mask, a face shield, steel-toed boots, and two pairs of gloves—and to sedate her charges for even the most straightforward procedures.
She was surprised by how many of the problems she was treating were caused by staff negligence. When the maintenance team forgot to fix a heater, she would end up needing to amputate frostbitten fingers and tails. Or a water line would break, and no one would notice for hours, at which point monkeys would come to her dehydrated, with pinched skin and sunken eyes. Cages were old, and repairs often makeshift, so animals were always escaping—or injuring themselves trying to. In e-mails from July, 2022, one veterinarian identified fifteen recent escapes, adding that a deeper search of records would likely yield more.
…
Employees at the facility stole pressure washers, respirators, ketamine, and at least one baby macaque, who was rumored to have been traded for a dog and an A.T.V. In the afternoons, some of the areas behind the enclosures took on the atmosphere of a night club. People drank, smoked weed, played dice. “It could get sexual out there,” a longtime supervisor told me. “It wasn’t just the monkeys breeding.”
Strickland glimpsed Westergaard only when he would pop out of his office to pay his respects to the capuchins. Although he drove flashy sports cars, he dressed casually: shorts, T-shirts, a Led Zeppelin hoodie. “We were warned never to speak with him,” Strickland said. “Doctors ended up in screaming matches when they went to him with concerns.”
…
In a letter to the N.I.H., Alpha Genesis later wrote that it had “terminated” the technician responsible, confirming, despite its own public statements, that Garvin hadn’t quit on the job. But perhaps Westergaard’s insinuation that Alpha Genesis was under siege from animal-liberation “extremists” was the cannier P.R. move. After all, though many Americans harbor an instinctive aversion to animal testing, they also dislike the idea of crunchy do-gooders meddling with private property. By hinting that his business was the victim of shape-shifting saboteurs, Westergaard distracted from the more prosaic story about the carelessness of his staff.
Yet it occurred to me that both narratives—the one about activists and the one about accidents—obscured the role played by the monkeys themselves, who seemed to be very much trying to leave. In “Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance” (2011), the writer Jason Hribal argues that confined animals are praised as intelligent beings until they escape, at which point their actions are attributed to brute instinct, or human error. But for monkeys in captivity, Hribal observes, freedom becomes an abiding preoccupation. He recounts a story about three Japanese macaques at the Pittsburgh Zoo who fashioned a bridge from a fallen tree branch to sneak out of their exhibit. Apes are even more methodical. Orangutans sometimes spend weeks finding the necessary materials (wires, bolts, screws), hiding their elaborate preparations from their keepers, and awaiting the perfect moment to execute their plans.
-
The US Patent and Trademark Office is about to make bad patents untouchable
22 votes -
Comment on Google must double AI serving capacity every six months to meet demand in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentMy understanding is that when doing inference, these large systems can run multiple queries at once in the same batch to improve efficiency. However, how big these batches typically are for the...My understanding is that when doing inference, these large systems can run multiple queries at once in the same batch to improve efficiency. However, how big these batches typically are for the major AI labs is unknown.
-
California Department of Motor Vehicles approves Waymo operation in many more cities
20 votes -
Comment on A field guide to writing styles in ~humanities
skybrian LinkFrom the article:From the article:
For Thomas and Turner, a mature writing style is defined by making a principled choice on a small number of nontrivial central issues: truth, presentation, cast, scene, and the intersection of thought & language.
They present 8 writing styles: classic, reflexive, practical, plain, contemplative, romantic, prophetic, and oratorical.
The book argues for what they call the classic style, and teaches you how to write classically. While no doubt useful for many readers, my extended review will take a different approach. Rather than championing one approach, I’ll inhabit each style on its own terms, with greater focus on the more common styles in contemporary writing, before weighing their respective strengths and limitations, particularly when it comes to nonfiction internet writing.
-
A field guide to writing styles
9 votes -
Comment on Google must double AI serving capacity every six months to meet demand in ~tech
skybrian (edited )Link ParentThe future is hard to predict, but I don't think today's rate of growth in AI usage will keep doubling for five years and don't take that 1000x projection seriously. It's only a model....The future is hard to predict, but I don't think today's rate of growth in AI usage will keep doubling for five years and don't take that 1000x projection seriously. It's only a model. Hockey-stick graphs tend to turn into S-curves.
For a historical comparison, Internet usage in the US was doubling until 1996 or so, but after that, growth was more linear.
Edit: that is, unless AI query cost also went down exponentially, as happened with transistor count (Moore’s law). But most technologies don’t do that.
-
Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
skybrian Link ParentA positive example would make it easier to raise funds, but I doubt it would reduce local political opposition much, and it would be harder to buy land without people guessing why.A positive example would make it easier to raise funds, but I doubt it would reduce local political opposition much, and it would be harder to buy land without people guessing why.
-
Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
skybrian (edited )Link ParentIt's not all that close, but it's not too far from the SF bay area and Sacramento. Presumably, it will be significantly more affordable than the bay area. But that only works if there are jobs....It's not all that close, but it's not too far from the SF bay area and Sacramento. Presumably, it will be significantly more affordable than the bay area. But that only works if there are jobs. There need to be anchor businesses. It would be have to be the sort of business that can convince people to move in order to work there. Perhaps businesses that need more land and infrastructure (provided by the investors) will find it attractive?
-
Comment on Google must double AI serving capacity every six months to meet demand in ~tech
skybrian LinkFrom the end of the article: Some Googlers are going to motivated to find ways to improve efficiency. It looks good at promotion time when you can multiply a 0.1% improvement by a very large...From the end of the article:
This story is updated to more precisely reflect Amin Vahdat’s comments on the need to meet demand by both increasing capacity and improving efficiency.
Some Googlers are going to motivated to find ways to improve efficiency. It looks good at promotion time when you can multiply a 0.1% improvement by a very large number to demonstrate a cost savings that's many times your salary. There's no physical law preventing better results using less computing power.
Meanwhile, usage goes up. But with enough efficiency improvements, the cost of serving a lot more AI results might not be as expensive for Google as you'd expect. The efficiency improvements enable more growth with less capital costs and energy usage.
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
skybrian Link ParentIt sounds like it works out well for you, but are there any downsides?It sounds like it works out well for you, but are there any downsides?
-
Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
skybrian Link ParentIf they succeed then maybe someone else will try, but it might also be a one-off, considering the huge amount of long-term investment needed and the risks. I think that’s taking speculation a bit...If they succeed then maybe someone else will try, but it might also be a one-off, considering the huge amount of long-term investment needed and the risks.
I think that’s taking speculation a bit too far. Building a successful new city would itself be a tremendous achievement that benefits many thousands of people. That’s plenty of ambition.
-
Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
skybrian Link ParentIt wouldn’t on its own, but they also hope to attract businesses. That’s the difference between building a housing development and a city. It’s too far out to be a suburb.It wouldn’t on its own, but they also hope to attract businesses. That’s the difference between building a housing development and a city.
It’s too far out to be a suburb.
-
Comment on A lot at steak: US beef and cattle prices soar to record highs in ~food
skybrian Link ParentIt’s mostly not up to them. I’m sure a grocery store chain would be happy to take the extra profits if they happen to get a good deal on beef. Alternatively, they could lower their prices to try...It’s mostly not up to them. I’m sure a grocery store chain would be happy to take the extra profits if they happen to get a good deal on beef. Alternatively, they could lower their prices to try to gain market share, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will.
Market trends are bigger than any single business, unless it’s a monopoly.
-
Comment on A lot at steak: US beef and cattle prices soar to record highs in ~food
skybrian Link ParentThis is tricky to judge because, as the link you shared tells us, McDonalds owns real estate but the restaurants are separate businesses run by franchises. The McDonalds corporation is mostly the...This is tricky to judge because, as the link you shared tells us, McDonalds owns real estate but the restaurants are separate businesses run by franchises. The McDonalds corporation is mostly the landlord.
So food and wages aren’t a cost to McDonalds. They are costs for the franchise owner. Looks like franchises are estimated to have a 10-15% profit margin. But their rent and franchise fees are a cost of them and McDonalds profits come out of that. According to This article rent is 10-16%, there’s a royalty fee of 4-5% of sales, and an advertising fee of at least 4% of sales.
This report suggests food costs for the franchise owner are about 25%.
This suggests the McDonalds makes more money by opening new restaurants (with higher rents) and by increasing sales (since they get a percent of sales).
-
Comment on Mexico, a country caught between mafias in ~society
skybrian LinkFrom the article: … …From the article:
Homicides and much of the high-impact crime rate are declining, a reason for celebration after more than 15 years of almost uninterrupted increases. Yet at the same time, a shadow is spreading: the shadow of extortion, a crime practiced by mafias for which authorities seem to have no answer. Where once drug production and trafficking dominated as the main criminal enterprise, extortion schemes are now taking over and becoming increasingly sophisticated.
…
According to information obtained by EL PAÍS, the criminals were asking for two pesos for every kilo of lemons picked and an additional two pesos for every kilo sold, an amount Bravo was trying to lower. The guild leader was also trying to get the criminals to allow them to pick lemons more than three days a week, a recent imposition used to try to control the market price of the citrus fruit. It was in this context that the extortionists murdered Bravo. The criminals reportedly lured him to a town near Apatzingán, killed him, and took his body back to the municipality where his office was located.
…
More than a criminal group, Los Viagra are in fact a family clan, one that grew in the wake of North America’s preferred security strategy: tracking down kingpin or crime bosses. The plan assumes that beheading criminal structures reduces their capacity. In reality, what has happened over the years is that, in Mexican regions like Michoacán, a myriad of criminal groups have emerged — often fighting one another — and have turned the economic relations of the societies they inhabit into a source of income. Drug trafficking has thus become a secondary option. Extortion is simpler than moving drugs: it requires no large logistical networks and can easily be disguised as part of the frictions of the productive economy.
That is what happens in Michoacán, as well as in other states, where multiple criminal groups coexist, none able to fully dominate the others. In Guerrero, for instance, different armed actors rooted in distinct municipalities and regions are fighting for control. In these battles, they tap into legal markets — such as poultry production and sales, transportation, or public works — to finance themselves.
As Dr. Beatriz Magaloni, coauthor of Living in Fear: The Dynamics of Extortion in Mexico’s Drug War, explains: “When drug-trafficking organizations control their territories, they can behave like benign bandits and offer help to their neighbors. But as these groups violently compete for control of territory and smuggling routes, they turn on citizens to extort them and extract resources.”
The solution does not appear simple, because over time crime has become interwoven with the economy, creating complex networks that are difficult to untangle.
-
Mexico, a country caught between mafias
6 votes -
By administratively redefining 'who is a foreigner,' the Lai government is turning the constitutional 'One China' framework into a dead letter
19 votes
Supreme Court temporarily restores Texas’ new congressional map
...