waxwing's recent activity
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
waxwing (edited )LinkI haven't read the whole thing, but he's misunderstood the MIT report that he references at the beginning. Quoting from Ed's piece: He's wrong about what the "learning gap" means here. He's...I haven't read the whole thing, but he's misunderstood the MIT report that he references at the beginning. Quoting from Ed's piece:
An incorrect read of the study has been that the "learning gap" that makes these things less useful, when the study actually says that "...the fundamental gap that defines the GenAI divide [is that users resist tools that don't adapt, model quality fails without context, and UX suffers when systems can't remember." This isn't something you learn your way out of. The products don't do what they're meant to do, and people are realizing it.
He's wrong about what the "learning gap" means here. He's referring to users learning rather than, as the report talks about, the ML systems adapting to workflows and processes. If you just blithely slather ChatGPT onto an internal system, it starts fresh each time with no context about the internal system, and doesn't evolve over time. By contrast, the report says:
Organisations on the right side of the GenAI Divide share a common approach: they build adaptive, embedded systems that learn from feedback […] the organizations and vendors succeeding are those aggressively solving for learning, memory, and workflow adaptation, while those failing are either building generic tools or trying to develop capabilities internally.
So anyway, I stopped reading. It's 16k words and his interpretation of his first source doesn't inspire enough confidence to look over the rest.
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Comment on Reddit sues Anthropic, alleging its bots accessed Reddit more than 100,000 times in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentThe idea that very much "authentic human-to-human" conversation happens on reddit these days, especially in the larger subreddits, is laughable.The idea that very much "authentic human-to-human" conversation happens on reddit these days, especially in the larger subreddits, is laughable.
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Comment on OpenAI slams US court order to save all ChatGPT logs, including deleted chats in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentIt's extremely broad and quite an unpleasant development. As a citizen of a country covered by the GDPR, it's worrying to think that some judge in New York basically has veto power over the rights...It's extremely broad and quite an unpleasant development. As a citizen of a country covered by the GDPR, it's worrying to think that some judge in New York basically has veto power over the rights which it grants me.
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Comment on Eurovision 2025: Austria's JJ wins with "Wasted Love" in ~music
waxwing LinkYou could practically hear buttcheeks unclenching at the EBU when Israel didn't win. That would have been extremely awkward for them I think.You could practically hear buttcheeks unclenching at the EBU when Israel didn't win. That would have been extremely awkward for them I think.
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Comment on Firefox's new Terms of Use grants Mozilla complete data "processing" rights of all user interactions in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentI don't know how they provide those two features (ads on new tab, sponsored suggestions in search), but I don't agree that selling data is necessarily involved. They've recently put in quite a bit...I don't know how they provide those two features (ads on new tab, sponsored suggestions in search), but I don't agree that selling data is necessarily involved. They've recently put in quite a bit of work on PPA and other differential privacy systems, and so it could be that these are being used.
By the way I totally agree that Mozilla should also not be in the advertisement business, but they need to pay for development somehow and perhaps opt-out, privacy-preserving ads are among the least bad ways to raise revenue.
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Comment on Firefox's new Terms of Use grants Mozilla complete data "processing" rights of all user interactions in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentI suspect the answer is probably "neither": some lawyer was worried that they weren't definitely legally clear, and wanted to add some protective language. "This is probably legal" gives lawyers...I suspect the answer is probably "neither": some lawyer was worried that they weren't definitely legally clear, and wanted to add some protective language.
"This is probably legal" gives lawyers the same feeling of unease as "my car is probably locked" does for the rest of us.
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Comment on Firefox's new Terms of Use grants Mozilla complete data "processing" rights of all user interactions in ~tech
waxwing LinkPeople are really jumping to the worst possible interpretation of this. I think there's some "abused dog syndrome" happening here: in recent years we have become so used to product offerings and...- Exemplary
People are really jumping to the worst possible interpretation of this.
I think there's some "abused dog syndrome" happening here: in recent years we have become so used to product offerings and privacy guarantees becoming steadily worse that we flinch whenever we think it might be happening again, even when what we're actually reacting to has no ill-intent.
The most likely explanation (and the one that Mozilla implies in their update) is that some lawyer has got twitchy about the fact that Mozilla don't ask for permission, when using user data, to do the thing that the user wants to do with it, i.e. send a web request.
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Comment on Rasmus Højlund hasn't scored in his last fourteen Manchester United appearances – why has his form tailed off massively? in ~sports.football
waxwing LinkI'm quite entertained by the notion that Arsenal's central midfielder Mikel Merino has scored as many league goals as a centre forward in 25ish minutes of football as Højlund has all season.I'm quite entertained by the notion that Arsenal's central midfielder Mikel Merino has scored as many league goals as a centre forward in 25ish minutes of football as Højlund has all season.
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Comment on Reddit will lock some content behind a paywall this year, CEO says in ~tech
waxwing Link ParentDoes this really work in practice though? This was also part of the rationale for Twitter's monetising checkmarks, but (at least anecdotally), there's more spam there than ever, including from...Does this really work in practice though? This was also part of the rationale for Twitter's monetising checkmarks, but (at least anecdotally), there's more spam there than ever, including from blue-checkmark accounts.
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Comment on Speculative fiction that speaks to our current moment(s) in ~books
waxwing Link ParentTo speak more to Radicalized, I think it's an extremely timely read. I read it maybe two years ago and I still recall the details of three of the four short stories very clearly. Personally, I...To speak more to Radicalized, I think it's an extremely timely read. I read it maybe two years ago and I still recall the details of three of the four short stories very clearly.
Personally, I think "Unauthorized Bread" and the eponymous "Radicalized" were the two which speak most directly to social-technological developments which are happening right now, with the latter being referenced a lot in the context of the recent discourse around healthcare companies.
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Comment on Chatbots urged teen to self-harm, suggested murdering parents, Texas lawsuit says in ~tech
waxwing LinkOne of my biggest concerns about generative AI in general is that it will allow people and corporations to feel as though they can abandon editorial responsibility for what these autonomous...One of my biggest concerns about generative AI in general is that it will allow people and corporations to feel as though they can abandon editorial responsibility for what these autonomous systems produce.
If we don't set social norms and legal precedents to the contrary, I think this will be an extremely undesirable development.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
waxwing Link ParentAh, sorry: I suppose I should delete this. I missed the annnouncement about ~society and wasn't added to it automatically. Thanks!Ah, sorry: I suppose I should delete this. I missed the annnouncement about ~society and wasn't added to it automatically. Thanks!
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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
44 votes -
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
36 votes
In the report, the "learning gap" refers to "tools that don't learn, integrate poorly, or match workflows". Ed talks about user experience with the tools before saying "this isn't something you learn your way out of" (implying, at least to me, that the users would be doing the learning—or possibly that these tools cannot learn, but this interpretation would also be very wrong).
But in any case, he's very clear there and in surrounding paragraphs that his interpretation of the report is that AI is not having an effect on companies because it is fundamentally incapable of doing so:
But this just isn't what the report says. The purpose of the report is very literally to evaluate what companies who have seen returns from AI tooling are doing differently to those who haven't: the conclusion being that many businesses are trying to throw a generic AI solution at some internal process, shouting "AI!", and hoping for returns. This does not work. Others are actually seeing returns, because they're taking the time and effort to produce tooling which fits the processes which they already have.