* Posts by O'Reg Inalsin

386 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Jul 2024

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Uber CEO warns robotaxis can't find a fast route to commercial viability

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Autonomous vehicles

Waymo jknows how to make an AV, Tesla doesnt.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Autonomous vehicles

Get killed in or by an Uber, Uber will not be paying.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: At what point...

The current Uber model is definitely socialize the costs. Kid gets run over by a Uber driver while getting off a school bus. Uber drivers insurance and Uber driver pay. Not Ubers fault at all, no Metter how hard the drivers have to hustle. AV would be the AV companies responsibility.

Agent P waxes lyrical about 14 years of systemd

O'Reg Inalsin

I was surprised to see Dorsey blacklisted for selling Twitter and making "a massive profit" from it. Firstly, he reinvested most of the sale money back into shares of New Twitter, so he has actually lost over half that value. Secondly, every anti-Musk activist I heard at the time was vehemently opining that Musk must stick to his original too high offer and not be allowed to back out of the deal. Go back and check the comments on the reg and ars technica.

Now he is a founder of Blue Sky, which is open source and quite big, so a talk seems reasonable.

I worry about the activist left poisoning itself with trigger finger cancellation as a substitute for policy.

Robocallers who phoned the FCC pretending to be from the FCC land telco in trouble

O'Reg Inalsin

Is the call originating network and country known? Surely this is a job for Hesgeth - secure the digital borders and blow up the terrorphonists.

Abandoned AWS S3 buckets can be reused in supply-chain attacks that would make SolarWinds look 'insignificant'

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: What!

At the very least each customer should have a non reusable account name, and the bucket names should be keyed off the account name, i.e. a prefix.

Suppose a large company abandons a bucket. However some links inside the company still refer the the documents inside the abandoned bucket for procedural instructions, or a list of authorized contacts, etc. That's a weak link too, isn't it?

White House asks millions of govt workers if they would be so kind as to fork right off

O'Reg Inalsin

Didn't Musk offer workers a Twitter a similar deal (resign now for some later reward) and then renege on the reward? Then this will be the same.

Welsh woman fined for flatulence-fueled cyber harassment

O'Reg Inalsin

The plot is hard to follow

The court heard that the 25-year-old stinkerbell, Rhiannon Evans, sent a series of videos to her boyfriend's former partner of her holding her smartphone camera to her rear end, farting into it while smirking throughout. ..... The court also heard that the relationship between Evans, her partner, and Prytherch came to blows amid disputes over access to child visitation. Evans and her ex had previously been in a relationship for two years.

Who is Even's ex? Who is Evan's boyfriend? To whom does the child belong?

Trump’s tariffs, cuts may well put tech in a chokehold, say analysts

O'Reg Inalsin

In return they are allowed to run royal monopolies.

Tesla's numbers disappoint again ... and the crowd goes wild ... again

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Here's the rub

Don't forget the index funds obliged by their contracts to invest in Telsa. The small fry with money in the index funds have no vote at all.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Car sales, an entirely unscientific survey

In a city it is possible to have no car, but busses and trains also exist.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Car sales, an entirely unscientific survey

If he had focused on improving Telsa instead of frittering away his energy on politics it might be different.

DeepSeek's R1 curiously tells El Reg reader: 'My guidelines are set by OpenAI'

O'Reg Inalsin

I'm convinced this was a very aggressive act to launch a model, to target OpenAI, and to target stocks in US AI technology companies..

Popping the blister is an act of mercy.

O'Reg Inalsin

Training is not inference.

US AI shares battered, bruised, and holding after yesterday's DeepSeek beating

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Too early...

I think there's a difference between try to use it to generate text from scratch or hints, and using it to fix spelling, grammar, and point out awkward phrasing. For example it can catch those stupid spell checker mistakes.

Meta blocked Distrowatch links on Facebook while running Linux servers

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: openKylin

I would have thought responding to the post with a personal opinion warning would be more effective than banning the post and the group.

AI facial recognition could sink this murder probe

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: "Clearview doesn't want to come defend its technology in court"

Nowadays you can get DNA from a hair. But DNA can be misleading too. DNA from the daughter of the Long Island killer was found on one of his victims, because the victim rode in the killers family car. Police confirmed wife and daughter were outside the country on vacation at the time of that murder.

AI agents? Yes, let's automate all sorts of things that don't actually need it

O'Reg Inalsin

AI is already helping busy doctors automate the process of challenging insurance rejections written by AI. This kind of perpetual motion system can only be made even more efficient with AI agents. Who would have dreamed of perpetual motion in our lifetimes? What a great time to be alive (*exempting those with serious illness)!

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Not sure I agree

for whatever their ratings are worth, I certainly don't want one that can't cross that low bar

Automated AI bots burning the midnight to create plausible sounding 1 star reviews will soon destroy the plausibility of that assumption.

May the strongest bots win!

What happens when we can’t just build bigger AI datacenters anymore?

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Better algorithms?

On that factual point, I think you are wrong. See tech crunch article "Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is already using Deep Seek instead of Open AI at his startup Gloo".The source AND the weights are already on Hugging Face.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: DeepSeek

How fortunate! That should just balance out the 6+ months extra wait for the cancer test insurance approval due to AI generated insurance claim denials.

Tech stocks tank as US AI dominance no longer a sure bet

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: No Path to Profitability except handwavey

As for profit, you could start by charging based on actual costs. Within 20 % of break even, say, for usage where the data is not also being used for training.

Especially in the gratuitous pleasure market, e.g., home generation of graphics, music, unmentionable, there is really no justification to be taking a loss on those, yet OpenAI has set low prices for those uses simply because that's is all the market would bear. Never mind deep seek, the writing is right there on the wall already.

Resource constraints and competition drives innovation. If Deep Seek is really 10x better, that is how they got there. The current US model of a king and his handful of tech lords has become the anti thesis of capitalism - it harks back to the medieval economy. I am exaggerating, but that trend is real.

I would argue that the problem is not AI per se, but the pseudo capitalist ego baring way in which it is developing.

FCC to telcos: By law you must secure your networks from foreign spies. Get on it

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Paperwork is not going to fix the problem.

And let's not forget that insiders can also be bought. The humans are also a weak link.

Enterprises in for a shock when they realize power and cooling demands of AI

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Funny...

You don't like humans do you?

Allstate accused of quietly paying app makers for driver data

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: No leakers, no insiders..

I would the companies would exclusively employ H1Bs or outsource to experienced scammers overseas. Your average US college graduate is just too likely to not understand, or at least care, that loose lips sink ships.

In this case, it's true the H1Bs would be doing a job that no US droid could do.

DEF CON's hacker-in-chief faces fortune in medical bills after paralyzing neck injury

O'Reg Inalsin

You could also say the it was the patient that decided to not pay up front for an open tab. Keep in mind that when the patient pays, they will pay even more than the insurance company would, because the patient can't bargain without hiring a specialist lawyer.

Quantum? No solace: Nvidia CEO sinks QC stocks with '20 years off' forecast

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: While he's probably right

True AGI isn't even well defined. How many angels can you fit on head of a pin? However ML, including LLMS, are already at practical working tool status today. That includes positive and negative (mis)uses, from the pov of human well being. QC, on the other hand, apart maybe from that Canadian version, can't even do Hello World yet.

AI hype led to an enterprise datacenter spending binge in 2024 that won't last

O'Reg Inalsin

Why the relatively high growth in Enterprise?

Probably the need to protect private information and worry that such information could be used for training.

AI can improve on code it writes, but you have to know how to ask

O'Reg Inalsin

That's just a simple O(n) algorithm, so unless it goofed by sorting first, it's just a question of optimization. Not knowing knowing what it did makes the article seem speculative and a little boring. (Sorry).

However I'll just chime in now with a boring personal anecdote. Yesterday I asked copilot to write something in bash to parse a section of a .ssh/configuration file. It used awk in way I hadn't seen before and saved me some trouble. While I don't think that AGI, I do think it was something even better that could be called AUI (actually useful information).

Taiwan reportedly claims China-linked ship damaged one of its submarine cables

O'Reg Inalsin

A big factor is cost.

Honey co-founder's Pie Adblock called out for copying GPL'd uBlock Origin files

O'Reg Inalsin

PiHole Trademark violation too

They choose that name to scoop those who had read about pihole in the mainstream press but didn't have clue what it meant. Pihole did make the NYT a few years ago.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Check out now

Giving a credit card number to some random site you just met ...

How datacenters use water – and why kicking the habit is nearly impossible

O'Reg Inalsin

Hold on, I'm thinking ....................

This approach may also not be appropriate for latency-sensitive workloads, like AI inferencing, where proximity to users is imperative for real-time data processing.

Thats old thinking. Latency is the new Genius. Delayed gratification is worth more. $2000/mo, in fact, for "Pro" reasoning ability.

It's only a matter of time before LLMs jump start supply-chain attacks

O'Reg Inalsin

Be everyone you can be

My bank is still asking me, every time I phone them, if I want to enroll in voice validation. I always reply no in a squeaky voice - but it is probably no worse that the last 4 of my social, so ....

Second Jeju Air 737-800 experiences mechanical issues following deadly crash

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Not a landing gear problem

I should have said that "Blancolirio's" video includes stock footage of emergency deployment of landing gear using those manual cables. (Not during the flight in question).

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Not a landing gear problem

This aviation expert [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzmptA6s-1g ] "Blancolirio" notes that if the wheels are not down then the flaps and spoilers will not deploy. But the landing gear can be deployed by hand by pulling on emergency cables - the video even shows footage of the emergency cables being deployed. So if they had done that (manual deployment) then the flaps could have been deployed. The flaps/spoilers lockout will be released even if the landing gear is up when the aircraft is under 10 feet from the ground. But they were floating for over the runway quite high so ....

Boffins ponder paltry brain data rate of 10 bits per second

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: "listening comprehension in English (13 bits/s)" Huh?

Paraphrasing from an elsewhere reported version of this story - Typists typing words of random letters are extremely slow compared to when they type natural language, the difference resulting from natural language being so predictable. The information is more dense in the case of words with random letters, because their no predictable structure. Another way to look at it is that the time it takes a human typist to type a document depends more upon the size of zip++ file that can contain it then its expanded length. (Zip++ because language complexity is more than the number of unique words).

That also explains the characteristic long winded and flowery language - padded with every possible platitude, while devoid of originality - seen in the output of ChatGPT when talking of weighty but soft human issues.

US Army soldier who allegedly stole Trump's AT&T call logs arrested

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: #FREEWAIFU

"Free Waifu" appears to be the name of an AI chat "companion" service. She might have been a fellow conspirator - maybe even the mastermind.

OpenAI plans to ring in the New Year with a for-profit push

O'Reg Inalsin

What it said

Hey ChatGPT, is it possible that AGI can not be achieved until there are further fundamental improvements in computing hardware?

Yes, it is entirely possible that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) may not be achievable until there are further fundamental improvements in computing hardware. While progress in AI has been impressive, especially in areas like deep learning, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning, achieving AGI requires more than just better algorithms—it may also require significant advances in hardware. Here are some reasons why this could be the case: ... Energy Efficiency: Deep learning models, particularly large-scale ones, are energy-intensive. AGI may require hardware that can process massive amounts of data with orders of magnitude better energy efficiency to become practical for widespread use....

There are already profitable applications for general machine learning, including some uses of LLMs. Development while having to satisfy energy cost constraints is the secret of the evolution of life - and its no different for human progress.

Bleeding edge fundamental research is also fine - obviously - as long as honesty is maintained. To much hype is counterproductive.

FYI - According to The Information [paywalled] via Tech Crunch, Microsoft and OpenAI have a very specific, internal definition of artificial general intelligence (AGI) based on the startup’s profits ... The two companies reportedly signed an agreement last year stating OpenAI has only achieved AGI when it develops AI systems that can generate at least $100 billion in profits.This is an important detail because Microsoft loses access to OpenAI’s technology when the startup reaches AGI.

Suspected LockBit dev, facing US extradition, 'did it for the money'

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: So clever yet so dumb

Ten thousand a month.

SoftBank pledges to pour $100B into US, create 100,000 jobs in Trump's second term

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Trade deficit?

I don't think your assertion that foreign investment simply increases the deficit is 100% correct.

The US runs a huge merchandise trade deficit, also known as the "US trade deficit", that you mention. That includes goods and services.

Much of that money comes back to the US - if only because exporters need to do something with their earned dollars that doesn't cause their own currency to appreciate (because a surfeit of dollars would drive down the dollar), which would kill their exports. The main avenues for investment are (1) US Bonds, (2) Stocks, (3) Direct investment in US businesses.

Because these return investments keep the dollar from dropping, they keep foreign imports cheaper, preventing competition from US domestic competitors. On the other hand it is great for the financial engineers on Wall Street, for political parties that need a limitless debt ceiling to preserve their preferred status quo, for bit coin bros, AI hype professionals, and so forth. There really is so much investment capital floating around that it makes more economic sense to surf short term hype waves than be stingy with it and worry about realistic long term future returns.

So indirectly, your assertion could be correct - if a good part of that $100B goes into investments that are based more on hype than careful long term reasoning, thus ensuring that the merchandise trade deficit continues.

If however, the money is invested in ways that improve much needed US competitiveness in goods and services, then it could theoretically improve the merchandise trade deficit - contradicting your assertion.

Intel sued again over struggling foundry business

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: Hmmm...

Can the shareholders sue themselves for the years when dividends were prioritized over investment in foundry and other R&D?

US reportedly mulls TP-Link router ban over national security risk

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: I wouldn't trust the software either...

At a small loss in latency and throughput you can put your own router between you and the IPS-supplied equipment. That will add some security protection if the IPS-supplied equipment is compromised.

O'Reg Inalsin

If the ban goes through, I bet that CCP manufactured TP-link-a-like hardware will still be available, just with a name change and USDA Approved Patented Secure Firmware © on the EEPROM. (And of course a 2x higher price tag for the extra minute of labor + stock dividends + CEO bonus). Although I would be happy to be proven wrong and see it manufactured elsewhere.

O'Reg Inalsin

Re: I wouldn't trust the software either...

Your model Archer C3200 does appear to be hardware-locked-down by design [https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=62821&p=2]. :(

Obviously, it is better to check whether the hardware is supported before buying. Lots of hardware is supported by OpenWRT. I don't know much about DD-WRT - I thought they had merged.

Just how deep is Nvidia's CUDA moat really?

O'Reg Inalsin

Isn't Cerebras' aiming primarily for the so-called "language output inference" (better name "statistical-inference of language output") niche? Similar to another "language output inference"-niche company "Groq"? So they are not exactly directly competing with NVidia, because NVidia hardware can used for both "training" and "inference".

Fear of Foxconn reportedly driving possible Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi merger

O'Reg Inalsin

You are soooo 20th century!

the reality that [21st century] consumers want cars that ... come with subscription features and sell their location and driving behavior to advertising marketers. Get with it!

Australia moves to drop some cryptography by 2030 – before quantum carves it up

O'Reg Inalsin

No free lunch?

Proof that Free Lunch Exists - Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) stock up 52.95% today (12/18). Q.E.D.

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