waxwing's recent activity
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Comment on The Onion buys Infowars in bankruptcy auction in ~society
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Comment on Guardian will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X from its official accounts in ~tech
waxwing LinkI think it's a bit embarrassing that the breaking point for many organisations has only just been reached. The site has transparently been a vehicle for advancing Musk's extreme views for quite...I think it's a bit embarrassing that the breaking point for many organisations has only just been reached. The site has transparently been a vehicle for advancing Musk's extreme views for quite some time.
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Comment on Why the US General in charge of nuclear weapons said he needs AI in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentBecause non-technical stakeholders also don't know what is meant by it, but demand that it be used. In the same way that people in this comment thread are panicking that we're giving the nuclear...Because non-technical stakeholders also don't know what is meant by it, but demand that it be used.
In the same way that people in this comment thread are panicking that we're giving the nuclear launch codes to GPT3, politicians will read statements like this and be happy that modern tooling is being used to keep up with the capabilities of adversaries, without much caring about what specifically the tooling is.
I disagree that "AI" means nothing, like the comment two up suggested. It's just that the term is too broad: I think it's more analogous to the word "computer". Computers come in many shapes and sizes and are specialised to different tasks. If a politician was to encourage a government agency in the 90s to "use computers" (since everybody's doing it), then we would take this as an instruction to use modern, appropriate, computer tooling, rather than, say, a supercomputer, a calculator, or a Nintendo 64 specifically.
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Comment on True crime podcasts in ~talk
waxwing Link ParentSeconding Swindled, but its selection of stories is much more diverse than you describe: there have been episodes about refereeing corruption, cover ups of defective health products, and serial...Seconding Swindled, but its selection of stories is much more diverse than you describe: there have been episodes about refereeing corruption, cover ups of defective health products, and serial con artists running infomercials, for example.
Its breadth is one of its major selling points, for me.
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Comment on How to monetize a blog in ~tech
waxwing LinkAn interesting piece about creativity and monetization in the blogging age. For those who think, based on the title, that this is spam or likely to be uninteresting: suspend your judgement and...An interesting piece about creativity and monetization in the blogging age.
For those who think, based on the title, that this is spam or likely to be uninteresting: suspend your judgement and give it a read.
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How to monetize a blog
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Comment on cohost.org to shut down by the end of 2024 in ~tech
waxwing LinkThe indie social media microblogging site cohost.org is shutting down at the end of this year. Like Tildes, I thought it was an interesting experiment in social media design, and it's a shame.The indie social media microblogging site cohost.org is shutting down at the end of this year. Like Tildes, I thought it was an interesting experiment in social media design, and it's a shame.
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cohost.org to shut down by the end of 2024
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Comment on FIFA's lowest ranked side, San Marino, win a competitive match for the first time in ~sports.football
waxwing LinkSan Marino are a tiny country in Europe, an enclave in Italy with a population of only 35,000 people. They have a football team who have played competitively in UEFA and FIFA competitions since...San Marino are a tiny country in Europe, an enclave in Italy with a population of only 35,000 people.
They have a football team who have played competitively in UEFA and FIFA competitions since 1987. Until today, however, they had only ever won one match: a friendly against fellow minnows Liechtenstein in 2004. Their 1-0 win today, also over Liechtenstein, sparked scenes of wild celebration among the attending fans and it was a joy to watch.
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FIFA's lowest ranked side, San Marino, win a competitive match for the first time
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Comment on Yogurrt Recommender v0.2 in ~misc
waxwing LinkInteresting! I'm guessing this is AI-based: is it using some kind of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) approach? Seemed to work quite well for the couple of cases I tried it in.Interesting! I'm guessing this is AI-based: is it using some kind of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) approach? Seemed to work quite well for the couple of cases I tried it in.
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Comment on Forgejo is now copyleft, just like Git in ~comp
waxwing Link ParentForgejo was created after a for-profit company took over the Gitea project. You can't self-host GitHub, and GitLab has a commercial and a community edition and feels a bit...Forgejo was created after a for-profit company took over the Gitea project. You can't self-host GitHub, and GitLab has a commercial and a community edition and feels a bit "too-many-batteries-included" sometimes.
(I'm not the person you replied to, I just thought I'd give my opinion.)
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Comment on Sid Meier’s Civilization VII | Gameplay reveal trailer in ~games
waxwing LinkThere's an interview with the producer, Ed Beach, on the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/games/article/2024/aug/20/civilization-7-history-firaxis-games-civilization-6 It seems like they're...There's an interview with the producer, Ed Beach, on the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/games/article/2024/aug/20/civilization-7-history-firaxis-games-civilization-6
It seems like they're quite radically changing the pacing of the game, as well as the leader/civilization selection system. Personally I'm very excited to play this and will probably pre-order.
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Comment on 'I was misidentified as shoplifter by facial recognition tech' in ~tech
waxwing (edited )Link ParentGiven that the tech is known to racially prejudice to a significant degree, I would have thought there is even some basis for legal action here. Imagine if you were to roll a D20 every time a...Given that the tech is known to racially prejudice to a significant degree, I would have thought there is even some basis for legal action here.
Imagine if you were to roll a D20 every time a black person walked into a shop, and then were to turn them away if it landed on a 1. This would obviously be illegal: why doesn't the same argument apply here? (In fact, looking at numbers elsewhere in this thread, the rate seems higher than 1 in 20).
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Comment on Mozilla is adding vertical tabs, profile management, and local AI to Firefox in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentFirefox's "local translation feature" (which is AI powered) is very useful to me, and I think the automatic alt-text feature will be too. "AI" is an extremely heterogeneous technology with a range...Firefox's "local translation feature" (which is AI powered) is very useful to me, and I think the automatic alt-text feature will be too.
"AI" is an extremely heterogeneous technology with a range of applications and in some contexts it works much better than in others. I wish people didn't have such a visceral reaction to it (in either direction)!
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Comment on A British nurse was found guilty of killing seven babies. Did she do it? in ~health
waxwing Link ParentFor what it's worth, I can confirm that it's inaccessible from the UK. Oddly, it shows something which looks like a 404 page, which was a bit confusing.For what it's worth, I can confirm that it's inaccessible from the UK. Oddly, it shows something which looks like a 404 page, which was a bit confusing.
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Comment on Switzerland's Nemo wins Eurovision as UK comes 18th in ~music
waxwing Link ParentI wouldn't say that the jury and public disagreed that much here, really. 4 of the top 5 songs were the same for both, so there was some broad consensus about which were the best entries.I wouldn't say that the jury and public disagreed that much here, really. 4 of the top 5 songs were the same for both, so there was some broad consensus about which were the best entries.
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Comment on Switzerland's Nemo wins Eurovision as UK comes 18th in ~music
waxwing Link ParentOne of my favourite entries in years. Wonderfully sung, musically diverse, and performed with a terrifically impressive level of genuine enthusiasm and energy. Very happy for them!One of my favourite entries in years. Wonderfully sung, musically diverse, and performed with a terrifically impressive level of genuine enthusiasm and energy. Very happy for them!
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Comment on Macklemore - Hind's Hall (2024) in ~music
waxwing Link ParentTo be clear, I agree with this! I lean utilitarian, and the consequences of what I do at the ballot box are "the point", and more important to me than my conscience. Some people don't agree with...To be clear, I agree with this! I lean utilitarian, and the consequences of what I do at the ballot box are "the point", and more important to me than my conscience.
Some people don't agree with this though, and that's the point.
...[voting] is a means aimed at some utilitarian end, or you wouldn't even go
This is precisely an expression of the utilitarian worldview rather than some unique property of voting :)
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Comment on Macklemore - Hind's Hall (2024) in ~music
waxwing Link ParentNot wanting some bad consequence is not unique to utilitarianism. Deontologists also do not want bad things to happen. On the one hand, there are people who say "I cannot bring myself to vote...Not wanting some bad consequence is not unique to utilitarianism. Deontologists also do not want bad things to happen.
On the one hand, there are people who say "I cannot bring myself to vote democrat": I think it's clear that in most cases, those people feel that they don't want to be complicit, that their vote is morally an endorsement. This is a deontological thing to do.
On the other hand, there are those who say "I will not vote democrat because I think sending this protest vote will effect positive change overall" (perhaps on a longer timescale). Those people are probably acting in a utilitarian way.
Obviously, I am not a mind reader; I don't know everybody's moral frameworks. But actually I think the deolontogical justification is much more reasonable! I don't think there's much evidence to think that voting third-party will have a positive long-term effect (it doesn't seem to have done in 2016) and I frankly suspect that many people justifying their decision as utilitarian are trying to rationalise it.
Ah, sorry: I suppose I should delete this. I missed the annnouncement about ~society and wasn't added to it automatically. Thanks!