Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.
This is not debate club. Unless it’s amusing debate.
For actually-good tech, you want our NotAwfulTech community
Got a nice and lengthy sneer from film blog That Final Scene: the uncanny valet is not your friend (and other AI stories)
Beyond being an utter castigation of AI bros' "attempts" at aping art, its also wonderfully written from start to finish. Go check it out.
New eugenics conference just dropped
"Chatham House rules" so they can happily be racist without anyone pointing fingers at them.
the genomic emancipation of humanity
ffs, the euphemisms keep piling on today.
https://xcancel.com/GuiveAssadi/status/1920232405324955825
Steven Pinker: I've been part of some not so successful attempts to come up with secular humanist substitutes for religion.
Interviewer: What is the worst one you've been involved in?
Steven Pinker: Probably the rationalist solstice in Berkeley, which included hymns to the benefits of global supply chains. I mean, I actually completely endorse the lyrics of the song, but there's something a bit cringe about the performance.
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTVJjmabaas which nobody should watch, obviously
If someone creates the world's worst playlist, that would play right after RMS's free software song.
hymns to the benefits of global supply chains
We did it, we discovered awful's equivalent to Nostalgia Critic's The Wall
I want to make a CoE joke or something but jesus christ you really can’t improve on this.
OT: Estonia (and Helsinki) were very nice, but I did not see a single delivery robot running around. Stayed across from the MalwareBytes HQ tho, I thought that was cool.
What if we throw the CEO into a peat bog when the company underperforms?
Counterpoint:
finger guns activated 🟩 👉👉
I know the Rationalists tend to like (or used to) Freakonomics (contrarians recognize contrarians), and the Freakonomics podcast (there always is a podcast isn't there), so I was amused to see the YT channel 'Unlearning Economics', do a 'The Death of Freakonomics' episode.
Obligatory: If books could kill was started because they wanted to do a freakonomics takedown, lol. It’s their first ep.
Honestly I think his whole channel is pretty damn good if you want to see someone with actual chops - here meaning an economics doctorate and an encyclopedic memory for The Simpsons memes - dig into the research in a way that effectively balances depth and approachability. The first one of his that I remember was an examination of Pinker's use and abuse of data in his radical optimist manifesto that I can't remember the title of.
broadcom continuing to make vmware even more unappealing
bit of a fucking weird thing to do, too. guess they’re going full oracle?
subscriptionless vmware users
perpetual license holders
What a bunch of weird and off-putting ways to avoid saying owners of a product that they fucking bought.
The article is about broadcom sending cease and desists to vmware owners who download updates by the way, because apparently to be entitled to any kind of after sale support you need to be leasing the product.
Polymarket on the new pope skeet
Also there already is a bsky user with the username leoxiv, who makes from what I can tell final fantasy poses, some nsfw. Lol.
Skeet description
G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com :"A mere 2 hours ago, betting markets were giving the now Pope a 0% chance of becoming Pope. Lmfao"
Also there already is a bsky user with the username leoxiv, who makes from what I can tell final fantasy poses, some nsfw. Lol.
Being a bit more specific, its Final Fantasy XIV, which you've probably heard about from people using its free trial as meme material. Its also a better example of the metaverse than any actual metaverse out there, but that's a given for literally any MMO that has popped up for the last twenty fucking years.
Also:
When the cubbies won the series, I knew it meant that Trump 2016 was a lock. A Chicago pope can only mean Trump 2028 confirmed 😭
No, no, the Gays are fine actually. What I really hate is ketchup.
--God, probably
some thiel news, in which the tiny little man keeps trailblazing being the absolute weirdest motherfucker:
He has found religion recently. I don’t know if you’ve been following this, but Peter Thiel is now running Bible study groups in Silicon Valley.
now you may read this and already start straining your eyes, so I strongly suggest you warm up before you read with the rest of the paragraph, which continues:
He said in a few interviews recently that he believes that the Antichrist is Greta Thunberg. It’s extraordinary. He said that it’s foretold that the Antichrist will be seeming to spread peace. But here’s his thinking. He says Greta wants everyone to ride a bicycle. (Now, that’s a gross caricature of what she’s said.) But he’s said Greta wants everyone to ride a bicycle. That may seem good, but the only way that could happen is if there was a world government that was regulating it. And that is more evil than the effects of climate change.
It is very important to notice and continually point out that these people appear to believe more fervently in their chosen demons than they do in their proclaimed god
Does anyone know what church Thiel is involved with? I’ve heard catholic as well as evangelical…like are they making an exception to the gay marriage because he’s rich??
Thiel isn't known to be among any laity. He was raised as some flavor of evangelical fundie and follows a specific philosopher, René Girard. He generally hasn't gotten a pass on being queer from the wider Christian community, and if you want to hear some psychoanalysis of his closet then you might enjoy the relevant Behind the Bastards: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy.
He’s into AIDS denial too I’ve heard. thats made a big comeback among the far right lately.
Hm, I don't believe in biblical apocalypse stuff, but if I did I wouldn't think that the climate activist gambling her life to get supplies to the starving population in Gaza is the anti-christ.
I think a power hungry, wannabe vampire, billionaire with companies named after corrupting artifacts, more fits the bill.
The anti-christ also needs to be universally liked iirc. And the Catholic church explicitly bans calling out a time (and thus a person) as the anti-christ. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Council_of_the_Lateran if by a miracle I'm declared Pope (which is technically possible (yes, im unironically linking to r/neoliberal, it was one of the first hits on google, but I'm never beating the accusations)) I will excom all these people, Oprah giving out cars style. (vote for me you cowards).
Re: the white smoke, anyway, still available to become an antipope at reasonable rates.
that handy old adage: every accusation a projection!
I’m gonna be real disappointed if thiel is the anti-christ. Like disappointed in the writing and narrative of the universe
As a Dutch person, why can't yall be normal about bikes? Just invest in separate bike lanes and protect people on bicycles from drivers (I really need to write out my ~~manifesto~~ blog post on how I think car ownership turns you into a psychopath one day). It isn't that hard. (Shoutout to the couple who was crossing the Houtribdijk (actually a dam, not a dike) on bikes last week)
I remember seeing a particularly stupid libertarian guy argue against public transport by saying that car owners would lose out because the value of having a car would decrease. I think it’s a crab in a bucket type mentality. Everyone should suffer from cars. I blame Big Car for this.
Hey that's unfair, us North Americans are as normal about bikes as we're normal about cars.
Found a sneer in the wild, made in response to another piece of Deportee Slop™:
Searching through the quotes, I also found someone openly accusing AI of contributing to fascism:
Road rage victim 'speaks' via AI at his killer's sentencing [Archive]
I fucking can't right now.
[Judge] Lang allowed Pelkey's loved ones to play an AI-generated version of the victim — his face and body and a lifelike voice that appeared to ask the judge for leniency.
“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me: It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the artificial version of Pelkey said. "In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness."
This is beyond horrifying:
I don't know to decide wether I should be glad this wasn't show to a jury, or sad we don't get an obvious mistrial setting some kind of precedent against this kind of demented ventriquolism act, indirectly asking for maximum sentencing through what should be completely inadmissible character testimony.
Does anyone here know how 'appeals on sentencing' vs 'appeals on verdicts', obviously judges should have some leeway, but do they have enough leeway to say (In court) that they were moved for example by what a spirit medium said or whatnot, is there some jurisprudence there?
I can only hope that the video played an insignificant role in the judges decision, and it was some deranged—post hoc—emotional—waxing 'poetic' moment for the judge.
Yuck.
Story goes he got an extra year of prison and the judge mentioned the ai testimony.
If I ever get murdered in the USA and my ai fake is not shouting about jury nullification you know it isnt the real me.
does anyone know who the company who did the AI video was? This reeks of PR.