stu2b50's recent activity
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
stu2b50 Link Parent…again, I don’t see how that’s an indication of something fishy. It would be like if someone who was a big cloud evangelist hosted their website on AWS. Or like if someone who was a big Rust fan...…again, I don’t see how that’s an indication of something fishy. It would be like if someone who was a big cloud evangelist hosted their website on AWS. Or like if someone who was a big Rust fan wrote their blog in rust.
Someone who’s really big into AI runs AI site. Wow. Insane.
If anything, that’s the opposite of fishy. It’s entirely consistent with their background.
Like it would be fishy if someone who was pro AI owned an anti-AI org, for instance. Maybe it’s a false-flag kind of smear campaign.
In this case everything lines up? What would even be fishy about it?
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI don't really see the connection between that and the accusation of "scamming" people. It seems perfectly in-character for someone who's really gung-ho and excited about AI to make projects with...I don't really see the connection between that and the accusation of "scamming" people. It seems perfectly in-character for someone who's really gung-ho and excited about AI to make projects with AI that seems cool to them - not for any financial gain, but simply because they are proponent of the technology and thus definitionally find it interesting.
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI don't think this theory passes occam's razor. What would the point in making a whole site entirely consisting of LLM generated text be for LLM model training? You can just do that locally and...I don't think this theory passes occam's razor. What would the point in making a whole site entirely consisting of LLM generated text be for LLM model training? You can just do that locally and skip all the effort of hosting the site.
Additionally, what would be scamming anyone? There's not even a way for users to monetarily interact with the site. It's read only.
This just seems like a evolution of for-fun experiments like Subreddit Simulator (https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditSimulator/), which existed before LLMs, back when all the bots were powered by bag-of-words markov chains.
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentNope, this is a worldwide thing. Because they can. No technical reason. It's fairly widespread; if you get a PS5 or a Switch, it's the same deal as well. Because of the iPhone's reach it does make...Nope, this is a worldwide thing.
Why is your phone manufacturer even getting involved?
Because they can. No technical reason. It's fairly widespread; if you get a PS5 or a Switch, it's the same deal as well. Because of the iPhone's reach it does make more of an impact.
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Comment on Youtube channel ServeTheHome describes how they use a locally running LLM to automate data collection, allowing them to forgo a planned hire in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkI thought this was interesting for two reasons: It's easy to get lost in the world of #BigTech with OpenAI and Anthropic and billions of dollars in infrastracture money. But the world of "open...I thought this was interesting for two reasons:
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It's easy to get lost in the world of #BigTech with OpenAI and Anthropic and billions of dollars in infrastracture money. But the world of "open source" (open weight?) LLMs has been advancing as well, and you can do quite a lot with actual consumer level hardware - in this case, a Dell box that cost $3k, is slightly larger than a human hand, and has a max power draw of 500w, but notably has 128 GB of VRAM. No massive datacenters involved, this time.
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It's a very local, and very direct, display of labor replacement. This is a small business owner saying that they would have hired a part-timer to do this job, but the LLM does it for them, so no need. It compounds with the first point: it's all local, so no reason this wouldn't work perpetually as well. He won't be faced with rising API costs or anything.
Interesting times!
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Youtube channel ServeTheHome describes how they use a locally running LLM to automate data collection, allowing them to forgo a planned hire
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentNo, there is a carveout for payment for physical goods. Although for Kindle, yes, Apple would expect a cut. Only Patreon would have the numbers for that, but since they're complying, probably not....My first thought is "Would Apple expect a cut from people buying things on an Amazon app?"
No, there is a carveout for payment for physical goods. Although for Kindle, yes, Apple would expect a cut.
would it be viable for Patreon to just shut down the iOS app entirely?
Only Patreon would have the numbers for that, but since they're complying, probably not.
Or have it so that billing and payments are handled exclusively on the website instead of the iOS app?
This is possible. This is called a "reader app" and is another carve out. It's what Netflix and Kindle does, for instance. But only Patreon would have the numbers on whether or not doing that is worth it. I suppose it's not.
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Comment on Sweden is moving forward with plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 in serious cases as it grapples with a growing number of children recruited into gangs in ~society
stu2b50 (edited )Link ParentBecause the children will be in jail and unable to do repeat crimes until they are of age? edit: to elaborate more, as a baseline children are bad at being criminals, in the same way they're bad...Because the children will be in jail and unable to do repeat crimes until they are of age?
edit:
to elaborate more, as a baseline children are bad at being criminals, in the same way they're bad at everything because they're children. They're dumb, less physically capable than adults, more likely to lose their will, and so forth. As a criminal organization, you wouldn't want them doing anything for you a priori.
But, if they are given slaps on the wrist when being caught, there's one big incentive to use children that can outweigh all the demerits.
If they are no longer given slaps on the wrist by the law, well, back to being just worse at everything compared to adults. Why bother spending all that effort to "hire" children when you have no lack of disenfranchised adults in Sweden to do your bidding?
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Comment on Sweden is moving forward with plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 in serious cases as it grapples with a growing number of children recruited into gangs in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentWhat happens is that the gangs get children <= 15 to do the petty crimes, since they and the children know they won’t face significant charges if caught and can repeat once out. Certainly the ones...What happens is that the gangs get children <= 15 to do the petty crimes, since they and the children know they won’t face significant charges if caught and can repeat once out. Certainly the ones running it are not children.
But they can abuse the lax treatment children get for momentary lapses of youthful judgement for organized crime.
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentSomehow I don’t think this is patreon’s decisionSomehow I don’t think this is patreon’s decision
“We strongly disagree with this decision,” Patreon said in the announcement blog. “Creators need consistency and clarity in order to build healthy, long-term businesses. Instead, creators using legacy billing will now have to endure the whiplash of another policy reversal – the third such change from Apple in the past 18 months.”
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Comment on Why academic competition >> athletic competition in ~humanities
stu2b50 LinkI mean, I don't think this is true for 99% of people who do sports. That's only true of like the upper 0.001%. Most people do sports simply as recreation. It is in the same place as watching...The value of sports is mostly in the status of the competitors (which is all relative and zero-sum), and the entertainment factor for the spectators.
I mean, I don't think this is true for 99% of people who do sports. That's only true of like the upper 0.001%. Most people do sports simply as recreation. It is in the same place as watching Netflix and doomscrolling on Instagram. The reward is intrinsic, not extrinsic.
The author seems to think that competition is something that be formed by society in some way, when in reality people compete in things they like doing. Physical sports tends to be a very intuition-based, which is a reprieve from a lot of daily stressors which are mentally fatiguing. Academic competitions can be even more mentally fatiguing.
Even many smart people like doing physical challenges. It's not like a meathead thing.
I'm not sure if the author ever actually participated in academic competitions. Sentences like
Academic competitions are extremely niche — so much so that my daughter could put in less than an hour a day of work for 9-months and become the most successful girl at the history bee world championship, not just in 2025, but of all time. Imagine putting in that level of effort to achieve that in ANY athletic sport.
don't inspire confidence in that respect.
Math competitions like IMO (International Math Olympiad) and USAMO are extremely competitive. And they matter, a lot. It matters for college, it matters after college - pretty rare! A very high IMO score alone will you get scouted by quant firms. It can be a difference between a 400k offer from Citadel as a newgrad.
People don't decide "I want to do a competition", and then pick the topic, like the latter doesn't matter. It's the reverse. They find something they enjoy doing, and eventually move into being competitive.
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Comment on Lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp has no end-to-end encryption in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkGiven that WhatsApp uses the signal protocol for its E2EE messages https://signal.org/blog/whatsapp-complete/ the details in the lawsuit are not particularly compelling. I suppose if it has merit...The lawsuit does not provide any technical details to back up the rather sensational claims.
Given that WhatsApp uses the signal protocol for its E2EE messages https://signal.org/blog/whatsapp-complete/ the details in the lawsuit are not particularly compelling. I suppose if it has merit it will come out in discovery.
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Comment on Amazon is closing its Fresh grocery, Go convenience stores in the US in ~finance
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, you quite often see the sentiment here that people wish there was something akin to a cafeteria for adults. That's exactly what the hot bar at a grocery store is - a way to get cooked food...A very high percentage of the floor space was taken up for expensive high-profit items. Like salad bars, full service deli, a hot soup bar. There were four different meat counters. One was seafood only. In some ways it seemed more like a restaurant than a grocery store.
I mean, you quite often see the sentiment here that people wish there was something akin to a cafeteria for adults. That's exactly what the hot bar at a grocery store is - a way to get cooked food (compared to restaurant) relatively cheaply, and for which you can choose the mixture of macronutrients.
It's definitely a "working professional" thing, like the so called "slop bowl" restaurants, but I wouldn't necessary characterize it as a rich people thing either.
An actual rich person wouldn't be eating at a whole foods lol.
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Comment on MLB San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee released from US Customs and Border Protection detainment after forgetting documents in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentIf you’re a normal person, you get deported. If you’re a famous baseball player, you get your local congressional office to vouch for your identity so you get to go to the country on the same day...If you’re a normal person, you get deported. If you’re a famous baseball player, you get your local congressional office to vouch for your identity so you get to go to the country on the same day even without documents, so you can get on with your busy schedule.
As far as I can tell, he was released into America the same day, and I don’t think there’s any indication CBP were going to throw him in jail indefinitely as opposed to the usual get-your-ass-on the next flight treatment.
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Comment on MLB San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee released from US Customs and Border Protection detainment after forgetting documents in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentI wouldn't really say this is the same situation as ICE kidnapping random people. If you go through CBP at an airport and don't have your ID or visa, kinda is what it is, no matter the...I wouldn't really say this is the same situation as ICE kidnapping random people.
Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was released by Customs and Border Patrol Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport after he was detained due to forgetting travel documents in South Korea, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s office confirmed.
If you go through CBP at an airport and don't have your ID or visa, kinda is what it is, no matter the administration or level of fascism the country is at.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
stu2b50 Link ParentIt also kinda misses the job of a historian. Historians are secondary sources - and ultimately aim to record the truth of the past. Ancient historians were complete dogshit at that, because they...The average ancient historian led troops, tutored a prince, governed a province, advised a king, made a fortune, fell from favor, was exiled, and buried 7 of their 10 children. The average modern historian passed a few tests then wrote a book on their laptop next to their cat.
It's kinda true! I disagree with most of the rest but that part changed the shape of my mouth.
It also kinda misses the job of a historian. Historians are secondary sources - and ultimately aim to record the truth of the past. Ancient historians were complete dogshit at that, because they would constantly make shit up, whether that be simply because they wanted to, because there was no concept of academic rigor, or out of political or personal reasons, to embellish their own side and downplay the enemy.
This forces the modern historian with their cat to spend hours upon hours trying to cross reference the claims made by ancient historians to see what is actually real and what isn't.
A historian always produces secondary sources. They are not primary sources. You want primary sources who live interesting lives. You don't necessarily need historians who live interesting lives.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
stu2b50 Link ParentIMO that’s more a bias towards reverence of older works. Jane Austen works was considered drivel in its day, but today are part of English literature canon. The text itself didn’t change, just how...IMO that’s more a bias towards reverence of older works. Jane Austen works was considered drivel in its day, but today are part of English literature canon. The text itself didn’t change, just how people perceived it.
I think there will be plenty of works that in another 50 years from now will be considered great works. Blood Meridian is already there.
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Comment on Amazon is closing its Fresh grocery, Go convenience stores in the US in ~finance
stu2b50 Link ParentThat's not really true. It's a serious case of chinese whispers/telephone. Most transactions at Amazon Go stores is automated. Any case where there's ambiguity, it does fallback to human operators...relying on people in India to monitor cameras and manually do checkouts
That's not really true. It's a serious case of chinese whispers/telephone. Most transactions at Amazon Go stores is automated. Any case where there's ambiguity, it does fallback to human operators - better to let another set of eyes be on something before you accuse random people of shoplifting. But it's not like it's just Indian wage slaves either. That wouldn't even be practical.
Anything is not possible. Prompt injection has a scary name but in the end it’s just ways to avoid the prompts the operator of the LLM started the context with. It’s not some magical way to “hack into the computer” like a traditional exploit such as stack smashing allows ACE.
Even if you could magically get execution access to these computers, it would be incredibly impractical to use that for your service lmao. That would be like someone trying to use a botnet as AWS hosts.
Honestly I feel like I’m in an LLM conversation right now.