skybrian's recent activity
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Comment on Some of my family members aren't convinced that ICE isn't overstepping and that they are just deporting people that broke the law, can you help me share unbiased links that proves they are? in ~society
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Comment on Communities, relationships, and navigating the enshittification of absolutely everything in ~talk
skybrian Link ParentI do try to tag my posts with "artificial intelligence." There's just a lot of news going on. During the pandemic we had a group devoted to it, but after the pandemic it was discontinued in favor...I do try to tag my posts with "artificial intelligence." There's just a lot of news going on.
During the pandemic we had a group devoted to it, but after the pandemic it was discontinued in favor of tags.
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Comment on Against the state – a primer on terrorism, insurgency and protest in ~humanities.history
skybrian (edited )LinkFrom the article: [...]From the article:
What I want to note here is that these actions were not disconnected or unthinking but carefully planned and selected. In particular the target of the action is intended to itself demonstrate the injustice (which thereby aids in gaining support) and to provoke overreaction. In this way a non-violent movement does not just receive violence, but it disrupts and provokes, it makes people uncomfortable as a way of drawing attention and baiting overreaction. Perhaps the most famous example of this principle anywhere in the world was Mahatma Gandhi’s strategy of non-cooperation, in which protestors simply refused to buy British goods, work in British industries or in jobs in the British governing institutions. Gandhi also protested the British salt monopoly in India by illegally making his own salt (very much in public, as part of a large demonstration), to which the British responded with more repression. The disruption forced a response (British authorities arrested tens of thousands of Indians): after all if the British authorities did nothing in response to these kinds of actions, British revenues in India would collapse and they would be unable to govern the country anyway. But of course violent British crackdowns further delegitimized British colonial rule.
Moreover, it must be noted that these protect actions, while non-violent were disruptive. They were designed to disrupt something, because if they didn’t disrupt anything, they could be ignored. It is important here to separate two kinds of ‘protest the right way’ arguments here: practitioners of non-violence pointing out that violent actors claiming to act for the movement harm it and people outside the movement demanding that the movement not be disruptive at all. In the very case it is very obviously true that for a movement pursuing a non-violent strategy like this, violent actors are actively detrimental because – again – this is all an exercise in messaging and they harm the message. Crucially, while violent actors may feel like they are accomplishing more by fighting the authorities violently, remember that the entire reason movements adopt these strategies is they they cannot expect to win by fighting the authorities directly, consequently violent actions accomplish nothing (you will not win a street battle with the cops)6 but they do harm the message. But at the same time some disruption is necessary to attract attention and a response by the state.
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But the tactics of anti-ICE protestors, most visible in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, follow the outline for non-violent protest here quite well. While protestors do attempt to impose a significant degree of friction on DHS immigration enforcement by (legally!) following and documenting DHS actions, that has also served as the predicate for the classic formula for non-violent action: it baits the agents of the state (ICE and CBP) into open acts of violence on camera which in turn reveal the violent nature of immigration enforcement. In this, DHS leaders like Gregory Bovino have essentially played the role of Bull Connor, repeatedly playing into the hands of protestors by urging – or at least failing to restrain – the spectacular, cinematic violence of their agents. Just as the armies of Jim Crow had many Bull Connors and few Laurie Pritchetts, it turns out that Border Patrol and ICE appear to have many Bull Connors; it remains to be seen if they have even one Laurie Pritchett.
The result has been a remarkable collapse in public approval for immigration enforcement, mirrored by some pretty clear implications for elections later this year of the trend continues. Indeed, while doubtless many in the movement are impatient at what they perceive as the slow pace of movement given that they are trying to stop deportations happening right now, as non-violent movements go, the public perception shift has been remarkably fast. ‘Abolish ICE’ went from being a fringe position to a plurality position – close to a majority position – in roughly a year. Civil Rights and Quit India took decades. In part I suspect this has to do with both the prevalence of mass media technologies in the United States – a society in which nearly everyone has a pocket internet device that can immediately send or receive text, audio or most importantly video – and the increasing capability of those platforms. Where the public may have experienced the Birmingham protests through a TV screen at a delay on the nightly news, today high-detail color footage of DHS uses of force are beamed directly into people’s phones within hours or minutes of the event taking place.
By contrast, the administration is fundamentally caught on the horns of a dilemma. Their most enthusiastic supporters very much want to see high spectacle immigration enforcement, both as an end unto itself and also as a sign of the administration’s continued commitment to it. In this, they act much like the white supremacist publics that sat behind men like Bull Connor demanding repression. But while the administration clearly remains unwilling to actually change its immigration policies, it desperately needs them out of the news to avoid catastrophic midterm wipeout. But ‘go quiet’ on immigration and lose core supporters; go ‘loud’ on immigration and produce more viral videos that enrage the a larger slice of the country. A clever tactician might be able to thread that needle, but at this point it seems difficult to accuse Kristi Noem of being a clever tactician.
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Against the state – a primer on terrorism, insurgency and protest
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Comment on Communities, relationships, and navigating the enshittification of absolutely everything in ~talk
skybrian Link ParentSome of these ads are effectively trolling. They're from companies with hardly any users but they want to get attention by being edgy.Some of these ads are effectively trolling. They're from companies with hardly any users but they want to get attention by being edgy.
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Comment on A comparative security analysis of three cloud-based password managers in ~comp
skybrian LinkFrom the article: ...From the article:
We examine the extent to which security against a fully malicious server holds true for three leading vendors who make the Zero Knowledge Encryption claim: Bitwarden, LastPass and Dashlane. Collectively, they have more than 60 million users and 23% market share. We present 12 distinct attacks against Bitwarden, 7 against LastPass and 6 against Dashlane. The attacks range in severity, from integrity violations of targeted user vaults to the complete compromise of all the vaults associated with an organisation. The majority of the attacks allow recovery of passwords. We have disclosed our findings to the vendors and remediation is underway.
Our attacks showcase the importance of considering the malicious server threat model for cloud-based password managers. Despite vendors’ attempts to achieve security in this setting, we uncover several common design anti-patterns and cryptographic misconceptions that resulted in vulnerabilities. We discuss possible mitigations and also reflect more broadly on what can be learned from our analysis by developers of end-to-end encrypted systems.
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In Section 4, we give a detailed analysis of Bitwarden, Dashlane and LastPass, presenting a cornucopia of practical attacks. In the artefacts that accompany our paper, we give Proof of Concept (PoC) implementations of all of these attacks, demonstrating their feasibility. The attacks allow us to downgrade security guarantees, violate security expectations, and even fully compromise users’ accounts. [...] Worryingly, the majority of the attacks allow recovery of passwords – the very thing that the password managers are meant to protect.
We group the attacks into four categories: attacks exploiting the key escrow features used for account recovery and SSO login, attacks based on lack of integrity of the vault as a whole, attacks enabled by the sharing features, and, finally, attacks exploiting backwards compatibility features.
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A comparative security analysis of three cloud-based password managers
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Comment on How to make a living as an artist in ~arts
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]From the article:
I first wrote down these ideas in early 2017, just after I started to make a living as an artist. I came to them over time, but I wanted to document them at that specific moment in my career. The moment when I was finally sure that what I was doing was working. I had just finished a year with $54k in sales and was about to have one with $150k. A few years later I would sell over $1M in art. I figured that whatever I was thinking at that moment of transition would be the most relevant to other aspiring artists.
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Most people who enjoy making art should not try to make it their full time job. When you turn an avocation (hobby) into a vocation (job) you have to do new things you do not enjoy. Emails, events, meetings, accounting, and more. These are not only a drag but can actually strip the joy from the rest of your art practice.
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The number one mistake I see artists make is not accepting that they run a business. If you cannot accept and even embrace this simple fact, you are totally hosed. It is hard to start a business; it is way harder to do it by accident.
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The second most common mistake I see artists make is creating work that people do not want to buy.
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There is a concept in entrepreneurship called Product-Market Fit. It exists when you create something that people want. This sounds easy to do, but it is not, and the vast majority of startups never do it. How do you know if you have Product-Market Fit? If you have to ask, you don't.
I have found something similar in art, which I call Image-Market Fit. This is achieved when you create art that people want. It will not be subtle when it happens.
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While people liked my earlier projects, the response to the Honey Bear was markedly different. In the three days before the city removed it, I watched a group of school children scream "Honey Bear!" when they noticed it. I saw a girl demand her mother stop and take a photo of her with it. An Instagram influencer shared it with her tens of thousands of followers. This photo eventually ended up (without my permission) in a book in Urban Outfitters. That is Image-Market Fit.
One of the biggest mistakes I see artists make is painting things that don't resonate with people. Once you have an aesthetic that works, the market rewards you for exploring adjacent aesthetic territory. You might not make a living right away — it took me over two years from when I painted that first Honey Bear until I took my art full time — but it is totally necessary if you are to make a living off your own art (as opposed to teaching or commercial art). Until then, if what you're doing isn't resonating, you just need to just paint something else. Experiment with different concepts and directions until you find something that works.
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I am not saying you should attempt to pander to the masses, and in fact I do not believe this works (more on that below), but you should explore your interests until you find something that interests other people as well.
To state this again. There are a set of things that excite you artistically, and there are a set of things that the public enjoys, and you are looking for something in the intersection of those two sets. You can make work that is commercially successful while still staying true to your artistic interests.
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I want to state again that I do not believe you should paint what you think people will like. I do not believe this works because I do not believe you can know what people will like. I certainly do not, and from my observations, I do not believe anyone does. The only way to find out what the market likes is to go to the market.
My approach is to paint things that I like and trust that my taste is good enough to get hits every now and then.
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I don't know. You don't know. Don't try to know. Just make art that excites you, and make enough of it that you eventually make work that resonates with people.
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How to make a living as an artist
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Comment on Communities, relationships, and navigating the enshittification of absolutely everything in ~talk
skybrian LinkThat seems pretty reasonable. AI is the Current Thing. In the bay area at least, most conversations tend to converge on the Current Thing sooner or later. Some previous current things were: The...My stance is somewhat neutral. I read a blog post absolutely glazing it, I roll my eyes. I read a blog post absolutely trashing it, I roll my eyes. I think about AI, I roll my eyes. It's all just so tiring.
That seems pretty reasonable.
AI is the Current Thing. In the bay area at least, most conversations tend to converge on the Current Thing sooner or later. Some previous current things were:
- The Internet. (Dot-com era).
- House prices. (Comes and goes.)
- 9/11.
- Smartphones.
- The Great Recession.
- Cryptocurrency.
- Trump.
- The Pandemic.
I totally get that conversation about the Current Thing can get really tiresome. There is so much duplication - people saying pretty much the same thing lots of other people have already said.
On Tildes, we had to quarantine pandemic discussion for a while so people could get away from it. Yep, it's important, but often you want a break from it.
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Waiting for the barbarians
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentYeah, my Mac laptop is great for everything except running AI locally, so I'll be running agents in the cloud for now.Yeah, my Mac laptop is great for everything except running AI locally, so I'll be running agents in the cloud for now.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link Parent"Restoring democracy" is a big nebulous project. It's one I support, but it's not really actionable by individuals. While aiming in that direction, we need to think smaller scale than that."Restoring democracy" is a big nebulous project. It's one I support, but it's not really actionable by individuals. While aiming in that direction, we need to think smaller scale than that.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentWell, yes, not simply trusted, but trust is not simple. It depends on the domain and what you mean by trust. I don't entirely trust my coding agent. I run it in its own VM and I keep backups, in...Well, yes, not simply trusted, but trust is not simple. It depends on the domain and what you mean by trust.
I don't entirely trust my coding agent. I run it in its own VM and I keep backups, in case it decides it should delete the home directory or something. I don't have any important secrets in the VM. But sometimes I do run code it generated without reviewing it.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentMaybe I'll buy more memory next time I buy a new computer.It is recommended to have >45GB unified memory or RAM/VRAM to run 4-bit quants.
Maybe I'll buy more memory next time I buy a new computer.
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Comment on Culture is the mass-synchronization of framings in ~life
skybrian Link ParentI've heard that in Australia, this is called tall poppy syndrome. Maybe that's subtly different, though?I've heard that in Australia, this is called tall poppy syndrome. Maybe that's subtly different, though?
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Comment on Culture is the mass-synchronization of framings in ~life
skybrian (edited )Link ParentYeah, the article is really about something else entirely, but I thought the story was too good not to share.Yeah, the article is really about something else entirely, but I thought the story was too good not to share.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentIf you prefer benchmarks, there are plenty to choose from. The situation is more like there are lots of good, clear, real pictures of UFO's going around and also lots of fakes.If you prefer benchmarks, there are plenty to choose from.
The situation is more like there are lots of good, clear, real pictures of UFO's going around and also lots of fakes.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentCompare with a politician saying that the Internet is a series of tubes. This timecube stuff discredits the person saying it. It's not proof that there's nothing to it. Regarding the...Compare with a politician saying that the Internet is a series of tubes. This timecube stuff discredits the person saying it. It's not proof that there's nothing to it.
Regarding the centralization of power: I see a lot of trends in the opposite direction. First of all there are hundreds of millions people using AI chatbots. There's also strong competition from both US and Chinese firms, and a few in Europe. Local models aren't good enough for me to bother with yet, but they're getting better.
It would be surprising to me to see a rerun of what happened with Internet search, where one company gets a 90% share.
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Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentIf you combine this with anecdotes of people getting great results, I think this is evidence that performance is uneven.If you combine this with anecdotes of people getting great results, I think this is evidence that performance is uneven.
I do think we should acknowledge that provoking agents to violence is an important tactic of nonviolent protest and it has been quite effective in changing public opinion. Which isn't to say that anyone expected to be shot, nor should they be.