[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 1 month ago

They’re not cheering. Evangelical anti-abortion activists have long targeted IVF and it’s been practically banned in at least one US state.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 25 points 1 month ago

Repeating a comment I made in another forum here...


The Nobel organization is basically all about PR, and while as the nominating body they’re nominally independent, the Royal Academy of Science knows on which side their bread is buttered. Having a prize adjacent to AI in the year of our LLM 2024 is a no-brainer.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 24 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

snrk

https://mastodon.social/@Daojoan/113228461302575676

I’m going to start replying to everything like I’m on Hacker News. Unhappy with Congress? Why don’t you just start a new country and write a constitution and secede? It’s not that hard once you know how. Actually, I wrote a microstate in a weekend using Rust.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 25 points 3 months ago

Musk is probably unique among Big Tech owners in that he's using his product daily (most people think to the detriment of both Xshitter and his other ventures). He is definitely the person who both directed company resources to be devoted to a GenAI product, and ensured that it doesn't have the "guardrails" his fans and himself decry as "woke".

In other words, no other Big Tech CEO is dumb enough to give the OK to a product that trashes its reputation.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Well, they got their wish, the Guardian piece is now updated:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/16/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-eugenics-scientific-racism

This article was amended on 17 June 2024 to include a comment from Oliver Habryka about the purchase of Lighthaven that was received after publication; in responding, Habryka disclosed an escrow document for the property’s purchase showing a $1m deposit from, and refunded to, North Dimension Inc, a subsidiary of FTX’s sister company Alameda, which he said meant “the relevant funds never entered our bank account”. An earlier version mistakenly said Lightcone, rather than CFAR, was the sole member of Lightcone Rose Garden, and that Habryka was the latter’s registered agent, when another individual is listed in that role. A reference to Manifund as a “prediction market” has also been corrected.

I think the Gruaniad had a lot of fun with this. By hyperfocusing on the nitpicks, the rats gave them an open goal in correcting tiny details (who now cares whether any money from SBF actually entered the account of Lightcone?) but left the bigger details in place: namely that Lightcone is tight with racists.

Edit a few libertarians(?) in the comments are urging Habryka to sue for libel in the UK, totally fine with using the power of the state to enforce speech! He modestly declines, likely he knows it's not a slam-dunk win (especially if the newspaper actually amends the piece) and that news orgs live for being sued for defamation. It's the classic sign of a bully to sue, and it generates a ton of press.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 24 points 5 months ago

But ChatGPT is like a really bright high-schooler, according to the AGI investment firm bro with the lin log chart!

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 8 months ago

ensure you are wearing industrial-grade condoms

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 25 points 8 months ago

According to Wonkette, they're now in danger of deportation because they don't know any Russian, and don't seem interested in learning it

https://www.wonkette.com/p/canadian-idiots-who-fled-to-russia

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 24 points 8 months ago

I just read an account of the Nazi occupation of Norway in WW2 and it was a bit like that. The local Nazis (the OG Quisling!) were widely hated, there was passive resistance at every turn, and very few Norwegians were interested in some sort of "racial bond" with Germany.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 8 months ago

What I kinda appreciate about all this AI stuff is that people who a few years ago were convinced that postmodernism was a poison that was destroying Western civilization are now just cool with "it's just text, bro, it's all the same!"

I mean, what's more postmodern than looking at some text generated by spicy autocomplete, deciding it's just like something a human would write, and therefore the model is as intelligent as a human?

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 9 months ago

As a child of the 80s I recognize the feeling of doom, but in my case it was for global thermonuclear war. I vividly remember the only thing keeping the feelings of dread away was sitting in the children's section of the library, reading the Moomin books. I remember being most worried about having to eat the family dog after the bombs fell.

[-] gerikson@awful.systems 23 points 1 year ago

Some of us need the validation because we can’t do well in sports.

Life is more than high school, my friend.

7
21

Pretty soon, paying for all the APIs you need to make sure your Midjourney images are palatable will be enough to pay a human artist!

30

Also the hivemind seems to have taken against ~~tweets~~Xeets, a stunning reversal from last year when St. Elon was gonna usher in a new Dawn of civilized discourse.

5

Sorry for Twitter link...

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gerikson

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