• 0 Posts
  • 51 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: July 23rd, 2023

help-circle


  • Senator Josh Hawley was in his office, fumbling with a collection of outdated gadgets. His desk was cluttered with a clunky flip-phone, a ancient computer tower, and stacks of CDs labeled “Software for Dummies.” He had just been reading about this newfangled AI technology that everyone was buzzing about—though he wasn’t entirely sure what an AI was.

    The phone rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. He fumbled with the flip-phone, trying to press the correct buttons to answer. When he finally managed to say “Hello,” his voice dripped with confusion.

    “Senator Hawley, this is Greg from OpenAI. I wanted to discuss your proposed legislation about AI downloads,” the voice on the other end said.

    Hawley leaned back in his chair, trying to look wise. “Legislation? Oh, right, that’s what they call laws these days. Something about jailing people who download stuff from China.”

    Greg sighed. “It’s not just about downloading, Senator. It’s about AI models—complex software that can learn and adapt, like DeepSeek.”

    Hawley’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t heard of DeepSeek before. “DeepSeek? That sounds communist to me. Probably tracking your thoughts or something.”

    Greg tried to explain how AI works, but Hawley kept interrupting with questions about old technologies he thought were relevant. “So if someone downloads this AI, it’s like a CD-ROM, right? You just stick it in and hope it works?”

    Greg pressed on, trying to translate the concept of cloud computing into terms Hawley might understand. “It’s more like… a virtual flip-phone that you can talk to without actually holding it.”

    Hawley looked down at his desk, where his actual flip-phone was sitting. “I’m not sure I follow. Why would downloading this AI be bad?”

    “Because DeepSeek is state-sponsored and could be used maliciously,” Greg said. “It’s like giving someone a modem to the Chinese government.”

    Hawley brightened up. “Oh! Like that time I tried to use a dial-up connection? That was dangerous, wasn’t it? You didn’t know who was listening!”

    Greg couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not sure you’re understanding this correctly, Senator. This isn’t about phone calls or CDs—it’s about advanced algorithms that could change everything.”

    Hawley stood up, clutching his flip-phone like it was a weapon. “Advanced? Sounds like the kind of thing that could be used to spy on people or start wars! Just like those CDs I tried to use once—they had some kind of communist software.”

    Greg hesitated but decided to play along. “So you’re saying if someone downloads DeepSeek, they might be helping a foreign power? That’s why you want to jail them?”

    Hawley nodded vigorously. “Exactly! It’s like having a modem without the filter. I propose jailing these people to protect our freedoms.”

    Greg exchanged a glance with his colleague, who was now staring at him in disbelief. Finally, he said, “ Senator, this isn’t how technology works. If you jail people for downloading AI models, you’re not protecting innovation—you’re stifling it.”

    Hawley squinted at Greg as if he were staring into the sun. “Stifle? I’m trying to stop something dangerous. You think I don’t know about this communist tech? I’ve seen it on the internet—full of viruses and stuff.”

    Greg took a deep breath, realizing there was no way to reason with Hawley in this state. “Well, if that’s your stance, just remember: you’re not alone. There are people out there who think AI is a threat.”

    Hawley smirked. “Good. People like me keep them in check.”

    The call finally ended, and Greg sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Senator Hawley is running for re-election,” he muttered to himself. “And if this bill passes, it’s going to be a nightmare.”

    As for Senator Hawley, he was already back at his desk, scribbling notes about how to protect the country from “AI invasions.” He had no idea what he was up against—but one thing was certain: he was ready to fight.




  • LOL welcome to corporate America. The only reason they paid lip service to causes like you mention is because it was temporarily a pathway to more profit. Now that Trump is in office (or nearly so, anyway) they have read the room and realized these beliefs are actually a liability now. So, surprise! They dropped em like a rock in the pursuit of more profits. Never never never trust a corporation to do the right thing. They sometimes accidentally do it in the pursuit of profits, but tying your hopes and dreams to a large corporation is a foolish plan. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU THEY CARE ABOUT THE MONEY IN YOUR WALLET.


  • yarr@feddit.nltoProgrammer Humor@programming.devAI in reality
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    45
    ·
    2 months ago

    Plans like this work great for the first couple of weeks. Turns out software engineering isn’t this simple fucking thing. Making anything beyond a toy takes actual work. There are lots of people learning this first hand right now. There is some kind of belief that ChatGPT version 0.1+ (whatever ships in 2 weeks) will be able to take over the job of software development entirely. Well, guess what? Doing anything relatively complex in software takes actual intelligence. Once there is an AI that can just code by itself, it will also be smart enough to be a doctor, civil engineer, consultant, etc.

    A lot of fucking companies are going to learn this first hand. They are either firing their staff thinking the AI wave is already here, and in reality, it may never come.

    The near future of AI is skilled software engineers using AI to augment their productivity. By the time you can take the human out of the loop, AI will be so powerful it will slay any white collar job, but this won’t be for years and years and years and by then it won’t just be software that is in trouble as a career; it will be many, many industries.


  • If the polio vaccine happened today:

    “Salk’s Menace” Vaccine Spreads Fear

    As the nation’s newly adopted vaccine against poliomyelitis, the inactivated poliovirus (IPV) shot, began to circulate, reports of its alleged dangers were already being touted by concerned citizens.

    “This is just another example of Big Pharma trying to control our bodies,” declared Agnes Johnson, a local mother of five, who claimed she had “lived” with the symptoms of the vaccine. “I’ve been hearing stories from friends and family of children who suffered from ‘long-term’ effects” from receiving the shot.

    At a recent public health meeting in Brooklyn, Dr. John Smith, a prominent anti-vaxxer, presented his research on what he called “the true story” behind the IPV. He alleged that Salk had “tainted” the vaccine with experimental ingredients, and that the vaccine was being aggressively pushed by government agencies to cover up its supposedly disastrous effects.

    “I’ve seen patients come in with symptoms that were clearly caused by the ‘new’ shot,” Dr. Smith said, his voice filled with conviction. “We’re being told it’s just a minor risk, but I’m telling you, this is not safe.”

    As the vaccine continued to gain acceptance across the country, another vocal critic, Rev. John Williams, took to the pulpit to warn of the alleged dangers of mass vaccination. “We are being herded onto the ‘tragedy’ of the Salk shot,” he declared to a packed church. “We must stand up against this medical monolith and reject the experimental treatments.”

    Meanwhile, health officials were left scrambling to address the growing public outcry, as reported cases of vaccine-induced illness began to rise. As the nation’s top medical leaders struggled to counter the growing misinformation, Dr. Salk himself was quick to respond. “The science is on our side,” he said in a recent press conference. “We are confident that our vaccine will do more good than harm.”

    Despite this reassurance, anti-vaxxers remained resolute in their claims of a government-led conspiracy, citing the supposedly “mysterious” circumstances surrounding the vaccine’s development and distribution.

    As the debate over the new vaccine continues to rage, one thing is certain: the battle over public health will not be won by the voices of reason, but by the loudest and most fervent of critics. The true story of Salk’s menance is just beginning to emerge – stay tuned for further updates.



  • Let me weigh in with something. The hard part about programming is not the code. It is in understanding all the edge cases, making flexible solutions and so much more.

    I have seen many organizations with tens of really capable programmers that can implement anything. Now, most management barely knows what they want or what the actual end goal is. Since managers aren’t capable of delivering perfect products every time with really skilled programmers, if i subtract programmers from the equation and substitute in a magic box that delivers code to managers whenever they ask for it, the managers won’t do much better. The biggest problem is not knowing what to ask for, and even if you DO know what to ask for, they typically will ignore all the fine details.

    By the time there is an AI intelligent enough to coordinate a large technical operation, AIs will be capable of replacing attorneys, congressmen, patent examiners, middle managers, etc. It would really take a GENERAL artificial intelligence to be feasible here, and you’d be wildly optimistic to say we are anywhere close to having one of those available on the open market.








  • Why do people care so much that it’s an app? If it was not an app would everyone have been buying it in droves?

    At least part of this is due to a direct quote from the CEO mentioning how they need a VERY bespoke Android version for it to run, which is clearly bullshit because you can run the APK on other devices other than the Rabbit R1 hardware.

    Since Rabbit was at least partially funded by the “Cyber Manufacture Co” rug-pull and they suffered NO penalty the CEO has taken this as a sign the market will tolerate his scams. You should view the Rabbit R1 through the lens of it being a former “web3” company and I’m sure the shady legacy remains inside that company.

    Since Rabbit sells at $199 and then NO monthly charge, there is basically no viable funding model for this company. Every single request you send the Rabbit costs them money. So, it’s only a matter of time before the R1 itself is “rugged”, whether that’s suddenly requiring a monthly fee OR just shutting down entirely.

    My guess would be, like the Humane Pin, they wanted to do a monthly fee, but if they did the R1 would sell even worse (since it’s basically entirely broken out of the box). If these guys make it 3 years I’ll be surprised. And, since the R1 does nothing locally, it turns into a nice paperweight when these guys eventually pull THIS rug.