Posts by OldSurferDude

I stumbled upon LLM Kryptonite – and no one wants to fix this model-breaking bug

Here's the prompt, "Generate an article about AI that looks real enough to get someone to actually pay me money for it."

Engineers on the brink of extinction threaten entire tech ecosystems

Be the change

When I started with Hewlett-Packard I had a fabulous compensation package: a good salary, profit sharing, stock purchase plan, 80% medical benefits (with 100% for life after 30 years employment) HP was the gold standard of test and measurement tools and then owned the printer market with inkjet printing. Then came along the likes of Mrs. Fiorina. She saw money on the table and took it. My compensation package went to: salary flat for 10 years, no profit sharing, no stock purchase, medical 10% (if that). Support personnel were all fired. Investment into R&D went from 12% to 2%. My retirement medical is $300/yr and I was given a choice on my pension: lump sum or a an annuity for life (that could be canceled at any time) and I lost money on my stock purchase plan.

Today your HP computer is just like the rest. If your printer last through two ink cartridges, you got lucky.

What we're seeing now is the seeds that were sown years ago. The quarter-over-quarter bottom line is the only thing that is important (well, second to CEO compensation.)

There is no quick fix. It's a combination of long term fixes. Like many comments, free education for all. Everyone first learns a trade before moving on: electrician, plumber, carpenter, accountant, etc. This is two fold; first my experience is that the good engineers also could be a trades person, the best, two or three trades. Second: when the technology changes the engineer has a trade on which she can fall back while studying for the next technology.

But that's just the start. We need to design a circular economy. Design For: manufacturability, repairability, reuseability, recyclability. In short, sustainability.

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. The neo-feudal forces in place today are fully aware that an educated population is ungovernable. This trend started long ago and swung into high gear when Ronald Reagan (then governor of California) dismantled the California Educational System (The pre-Reagan UC system resulted in the technology we have seen come to fruition in the last 40 years.) Just for fun, he literally, overnight, put all the institutionalized people who were unable to care for themselves and had no resources, out on the streets.

Doom and Gloom. If you want something different, be the change.