updawg's recent activity

  1. Comment on If AI is sentient then so is ‘Age of Empires II’ in ~tech

    updawg
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    Sapience refers to the ability to deeply understand things and make sound decisions based on that understanding. Dogs categorically do not have this.

    Sapience refers to the ability to deeply understand things and make sound decisions based on that understanding. Dogs categorically do not have this.

  2. Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro

    updawg
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    Maybe it wasn't clear, but that's what I was referring to.

    Maybe it wasn't clear, but that's what I was referring to.

    1 vote
  3. Comment on US Congress clears housing bill, cementing a rare bipartisan feat in ~society

  4. Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro

    updawg
    Link Parent
    There are all kinds of "temporary" fixes that have been in place for decades.

    There are all kinds of "temporary" fixes that have been in place for decades.

    2 votes
  5. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 22 in ~society

    updawg
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    Yeah, it seems a dark pool would have actually absorbed more heat, if anything. But that doesn't mean this wasn't one big, corrupt, idiotic fiasco.

    Yeah, it seems a dark pool would have actually absorbed more heat, if anything. But that doesn't mean this wasn't one big, corrupt, idiotic fiasco.

    1 vote
  6. Comment on Aer Lingus apologises to Canadian family for refund delay after removal from flight in ~travel

    updawg
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    The guy was "fit to fly" but was removed by the flight crew anyway. And then while things were being sorted out, his condition deteriorated so much that he had to stay in a local hospital for over...

    The guy was "fit to fly" but was removed by the flight crew anyway. And then while things were being sorted out, his condition deteriorated so much that he had to stay in a local hospital for over a month.

    “I have requested a refund multiple times and have filed a formal complaint. Still they refuse. All I wanted was the ticket price refunded. If they would have let us fly home [on] April 23rd, he would be in Canada getting well,” she said.

    I guess that would depend on how far the flight had flown when it would have been determined it would need to make a medical diversion.

    In response, an Aer Lingus spokeswoman said the airline “recognises the difficulties encountered by this family during their journey. The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our highest priority and our flight operations team made the difficult decision that the passenger should not fly due to health concerns.”

    She added that Aer Lingus “sincerely regret the delay in processing this customer’s refund request, which has now been prioritised. We wish our customer well as they continue to recover.”

    I love how quaint this story is, though. It's not even technically about a controversy. It's just about Aer Lingus issuing an apology about not quickly issuing a refund. It makes Ireland feel like a small town.

    5 votes
  7. Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro

    updawg
    Link Parent
    Why use a heat pump when you can burn all natural oil?

    Why use a heat pump when you can burn all natural oil?

    1 vote
  8. Comment on SpaceX stock tumbles 23% from its high as average investor sees gains wiped out in ~finance

    updawg
    Link Parent
    To be clear, these people aren't the gamblers. The number that has always been quoted is that the market averages 8-10%, so they see themselves as just playing the long game. The gamblers are...

    I've lost count of the number of times I've read threads by people in their 20s planning an early retirement on the assumption of 8%-10% annual gains on their savings.

    To be clear, these people aren't the gamblers. The number that has always been quoted is that the market averages 8-10%, so they see themselves as just playing the long game. The gamblers are hoping to retire early when they sell their options.

    5 votes
  9. Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro

    updawg
    Link Parent
    I don't see why drowning deaths would be more likely to trigger action against climate change than direct heat deaths.

    I don't see why drowning deaths would be more likely to trigger action against climate change than direct heat deaths.

    6 votes
  10. Comment on Celebrating 30th wedding anniversary - AMA in ~life

    updawg
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    Relevant username? ...irrelevant username?

    Relevant username?

    ...irrelevant username?

    3 votes
  11. Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro

    updawg
    Link Parent
    There have been thousands of deaths in previous heat waves. I don't see this making a dent in the wider discourse.

    There have been thousands of deaths in previous heat waves. I don't see this making a dent in the wider discourse.

    19 votes
  12. Comment on The largest wind project in US history, SunZia, has begun powering California in ~enviro

    updawg
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    I remember when a 200-turbine wind farm went up in the 2000s. It was (and still can be) a bit eerie and mesmerizing to see all those warning lights blinking in unison. I can't imagine seeing 916...

    I remember when a 200-turbine wind farm went up in the 2000s. It was (and still can be) a bit eerie and mesmerizing to see all those warning lights blinking in unison. I can't imagine seeing 916 of them.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents in ~finance

    updawg
    Link Parent
    Good to hear. More affordable housing would also lower rents even more, but the market gets what the market wants and the market wants "luxury" apartments.

    Good to hear. More affordable housing would also lower rents even more, but the market gets what the market wants and the market wants cheap "luxury" apartments.

    7 votes
  14. Comment on If AI is sentient then so is ‘Age of Empires II’ in ~tech

    updawg
    Link Parent
    I think the issue is that "sentience/sapience" is two completely different things. For sentience, yeah that's controversial. For sapience, though, I would say it's pretty uncontroversial to say...

    I think the issue is that "sentience/sapience" is two completely different things. For sentience, yeah that's controversial. For sapience, though, I would say it's pretty uncontroversial to say that dogs can be smart but they aren't intelligent in the sense of "intelligent life."

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Plans for nearly 4,000 homes over Safeways divide Bay Area residents in ~finance

    updawg
    Link Parent
    I guess 55 is more than 0...

    I guess 55 is more than 0...

    6 votes
  16. Comment on If AI is sentient then so is ‘Age of Empires II’ in ~tech

    updawg
    Link
    Paper Dude made an "LLM" (just a perceptron, which is the simplest kind of neural net) using goats in the AoEII scenario creator to try to demonstrate the absurdity of calling LLMs sentient. I...

    Paper

    Dude made an "LLM" (just a perceptron, which is the simplest kind of neural net) using goats in the AoEII scenario creator to try to demonstrate the absurdity of calling LLMs sentient.

    I think the logic doesn't fully work, probably because he's going out of his knowledge zone, but it could be much worse with this premise.

    He doesn't believe it's fully absurd, but rather that the things people say are absurd in their specific formulations:

    He’s also not ruling out that LLMs have some form of consciousness, but said that’s beside the point. “We tend to ascribe consciousness as some sort of binary construct (either it is or isn't!) but I'd argue that there are levels. It's hard to say that humans aren't conscious. But, what about a dog? Yes, of course. What about a potato? What about a virus? It's quite relative and we do tend to go for something human-like when we evaluate/define it, where, in reality, LLMs are things we have never seen before,” he said. “There was a recent article in science about bumblebees solving problems. Everyone was like surprisedpikachu.png — it's a great, amazing discovery. I love bumblebees and people understanding their behaviour is absolutely fantastic. But, did we really assume that they couldn't perform some sort of problem-solving? Why are we so surprised?”

    15 votes
  17. Comment on Nobody clicks your share buttons in ~tech

    updawg
    Link Parent
    I just don't understand how they can share a 300-character URL that uses plaintext to show what it's tracking without even being curious.

    I just don't understand how they can share a 300-character URL that uses plaintext to show what it's tracking without even being curious.

    5 votes