* Posts by Meeker Morgan

56 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Mar 2021

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White House attempts to 'explain' mystery drone sightings: The FAA authorized 'em

Meeker Morgan

Re: Eh?

1) It's the government.

2) A non-explanation explanation.

Of *course* it's a conspiracy.

No theory as such, but I must say they lo-o-o-o-o-ove general surveillance of the population.

Apple 'broke law' by pushing out labor-organizing dev

Meeker Morgan

Is this type of behaviour typical in US companies .. you ask?

In general no, but historically yes.

It is how we have such laws in the first place.

Record labels gang up to sue AI music generator duo into utter oblivion

Meeker Morgan

AI will win in the end

Paying for music is so-o-o-o-o-o-o middle of the last century.

Making money from music, other than live performances or third party advertising, is on the way out.

The war is not over, but it's 1944 after D-Day for the so called music industry.

Biden bans Kaspersky: No more sales, updates in US

Meeker Morgan

I trust Kaspersky Labs to keep my computer secure more than I do the US government.

And that's not just a partisan hit on Joe Biden.

It's the reason I went with Kaspersky in the first place years ago.

Hugely expanded Section 702 surveillance powers set for US Senate vote

Meeker Morgan

Bipartisan support -- they unite against their common enemy ...

... the American people.

The 4th amendment to the constitution has been a dead letter for a while, to beat the Taliban you know, but it keeps getting worse.

Developers beware, Microsoft's domain shakeup is coming soon

Meeker Morgan

Not necessarily this but something like this ...

.. is what I anticipated when I decided not to use Microsoft cloud.

I use applications on my own computer and use non-MS cloud services for backups.

Will AI take our jobs? That's what everyone is talking about at Davos right now

Meeker Morgan

Am I a paranoid for thinking ...

... this is a deliberate distraction?

Just the other day, someone at the WEF (prematurely?) announced that farming and fishing were "ecocide" and got a lot of push back.

New information physics theory is evidence 'we're living in a simulation,' says author

Meeker Morgan

We are in a simulation of a *real* universe ...

... itself a simulation in an *even* *realer* universe, and so on. And why assume we are on the bottom of the sequence? That's akin to geocentrism.

The open question is whether this is truly infinite or merely wraps around.

Alternate hypothesis: The experts are f*cking with us.

Japanese PM says international AI regulations will be here by Christmas

Meeker Morgan

The war will be over by Christmas?

Step one -- Define AI in a way that makes it possible to regulate.

Uh oh.

Cops cuff pregnant woman for carjacking after facial recog gets it wrong, again

Meeker Morgan

There are all manner of issues to unpack here ...

But the big one is cops just aren't very bright.

This fact intensifies all the other issues.

Brave cuts ties with Bing to offer its own image and video search results

Meeker Morgan

Re: A pity about …

Brave has the capability of turning off all the crypto crap, right there in the settings clearly labelled.

I do that, and free ride on all the crypto dupes.

Google wants to target you – yes, YOU – with AI-generated ads

Meeker Morgan

I suppose it's all moot for me personally?

With Adblock plus and Noscript that is.

Or will they somehow use AI in the ad blocker arms race?

When you try to hire a freelancer to write SQL and all you get is incorrect AI garbage

Meeker Morgan

OK. Here goes nothing ...

Me: Make a case against using AI for writing SQL.

It:

As an AI language model, I cannot have personal opinions or beliefs, so I will present some possible arguments against using AI for writing SQL.

1. Lack of human understanding: While AI systems can mimic human behavior, it lacks human understanding. Artificial intelligence cannot think critically about solving problems, dynamic programming, or understand human experience. SQL writing requires a deep understanding of data and human experience, which AI lacks. Writing SQL requires an understanding of the business logic behind the database schema, the historical values of data, and the context of how the data is used.

2. Missed optimization opportunities: AI SQL writing can promote lazy optimization, whereby the generated queries meet criteria but may not be optimal. A human being can intuitively understand the data sources used, in contrast, the AI can only generate a rule-based set of conditions that may not always capture the optimal optimization strategy. Writing SQL queries is not only about generating code but also understanding how to optimize them to get the best possible performance.

3. Unreliable code quality: AI generates code based on pre-programmed rules and use-case examples. However, these algorithms can be error-prone, with logical and syntax errors. Queries with syntax errors cannot run, but queries with logical errors may produce incorrect data or lead to data loss or corruption. Ensuring that these queries deliver reliable results requires a high level of expertise that AI at the present moment cannot provide.

4. Poorer documentation: The automated SQL generation process does not provide the same level of.

Here's how the data we feed AI determines the results

Meeker Morgan

Remember Tay the Nazi stoner chatbot that passed the Turing test?

And yes it did. Passing for human is the Turing test, not passing for a good person let alone an all knowing oracle.

ChatGPT is too clever for that, but you can get something close to Nazi propaganda by specifically asking about Nazi propaganda. You still have to edit out where is says things along the lines of "The Nazis said" and references to the Holocaust. So you can't actually get it to be a Nazi like Tay, but if you're a lazy Nazi propagandist it can cut down your workload.

hth

Microsoft tells people to prepare for AI search engine that goes Bing!

Meeker Morgan
Happy

Bing + Clippy?

Like that only much more (artificially) intelligent?

If someone weaponizes our robots, we'll be really, really sad, says Boston Dynamics

Meeker Morgan

For generations, Man has dreamed of killer robots. Now that great dream is about to be realized.

If it hasn't already. All we know for sure is there have been no large deployments.

Heart now pledges 30-seat hybrid electric commercial flights by 2028

Meeker Morgan

United Airlines? Chicago O'Hare is their hub.

Illinois. Lots of wind turbines compared to other states, but that's mostly good in rural areas near the wind turbines.

In effect (assuming the grid can take it), airplanes powered by coal fired steam engines.

Several diesel powered fast freight trains per day carrying the coal from further south.

Well OK I haven't done all the calculations.

Maybe it's still less CO2 than using jet fuel?

Climate change prevention plans 'way off track', says UN

Meeker Morgan

When is a climate denier not a climate denier?

For example me.

Climate change is real, but does that mean I have to sign on to every cockamamie climate scheme proposed by the elite?

If I say "first get rid of your private jets" that makes me a denier right there.

NASA selects 'full force' for probe into UFOs

Meeker Morgan

The aliens will be contacted around the middle of this October ...

... and their message to Americans will be to vote Democrat for the good of The Planet.

There will also be vague hints about being invited to The Federation, if we shape up.

Is the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope worth the price tag?

Meeker Morgan

Science will genuinely be advanced and never mind economic efficiency.

Of the various ways the US federal government might spend 10 billion dollars, this is one of the least harmful.

For comparison, that's roughly the price of a a Reagan class aircraft carrier.

Cable cut blamed for global four-hour internet disruption

Meeker Morgan
Alert

What ever happened to ...

The internet routes around damage?

Experts: AI inventors' designs should be protected in law

Meeker Morgan

Full disclosure: I am a patent holder.

IMO Patent law has been in need of a major overhaul through most of the 20th century.

After all consider the original assumption behind it in the US constitution which in this respect follows English law.

To oversimplify: It was to protect individual inventors.

It does not really do that now, though somewhat better than nothing.

Maybe this AI business will finally shake it up?

Elon Musk buys 9.2% of Twitter, sends share price to the Moon

Meeker Morgan

Never mind "free speech absolutism".

Banning a sitting president was bad for the brand.

Yes they have the legal right. That's not the point, nor that he was a stinker (at least in my opinion).

It was a decision that was bad for business by people who lost sight of the reason for being in business.

FTC sues Intuit for false advertising, says 'free' TurboTax isn't always free

Meeker Morgan

I pay for Turbo Tax

My finances are just a little too complex for the free option, but not so complex as to need to hire a human.

And the terms really are laid out clearly. Just really read the terms of service. Really.

Google Chrome's upcoming crackdown on ad-blockers and other extensions still really sucks, EFF laments

Meeker Morgan

There will be more countermeasures.

The arms race continues. There will be no final winner.

Remember pop-up ads and how some websites said they needed them?

This is like that.

Why machine-learning chatbots find it difficult to respond to idioms, metaphors, rhetorical questions, sarcasm

Meeker Morgan

Remember that schizophrenic chatbot, back in the days of Eliza?

I remember it only vaguely, sorry no links. Damn I'm old.

It worked the same way as Eliza though with a different vocabulary. The point was it "passed for human" better than Eliza, once it was understood that the human in question was schizophrenic. Yes that was on purpose. They even sportively paired it with Doctor (an Eliza style psychiatrist) with hilarious results.

Bring it up to date and the current case. What kind of person finds it difficult to respond to idioms, metaphors, rhetorical questions and sarcasm?

I will not attempt a medical diagnosis. I will say a large cohort of people who chat on the 'net are like that. Especially racist stoners.

Tay passed the Turing test and that's a fact. Indeed the Turing test has been passed over and over in recent times and no one wants to admit it. Because of what it says about humans.

Bear in mind the whole point of the Turing test is to bypass all philosophical considerations about the nature of comprehension. Does it pass? That is all.

US nuke sub plans leaked on SD card hidden in peanut butter sandwich, claims FBI

Meeker Morgan

Not the old hide it in the peanut butter sandwich trick.

This isn't the 1950s, pal (rolls eyes).

Texas law banning platforms from social media moderation challenged in lawsuit

Meeker Morgan

The real problem is liability protection.

That's what's leading to the legal convolutions.

Imagine if a phone company (a private industry in the USA) applied censorship to phone calls.

Social media is in that position because the FCC put them there.

Remove liability protection from social media, let them be like newspaper letters to the editor in terms of liability, and then let them "censor" at will (as newspapers always have). And get the FCC out of it.

Google emits Chrome 94 with 'Idle Detection' API to detect user inactivity amid opposition

Meeker Morgan

Surely that should at least take care of any "you have to allow this" shenanigans.

I predict there will be an extension to do this.

Also, this demonstrates once again why NoScript (or equivalent) is absolutely essential.

Apache OpenOffice can be hijacked by malicious documents, fix still in beta

Meeker Morgan

Uh oh. Just did a test. Looks like it's "smart".

Renamed a copy of an .xls as .doc.

Clicked on it and it does the "right" thing.

Meeker Morgan

So if I use OO for .xls .ods .doc .odt .rtf etc etc but never ever .dbf ...

Then I'm OK at least for now?

Full disclosire: Had OO since forever, have been seriously considering switching to Libre for a while.

Robots don't smoke, says Alibaba, and that's why they deliver parcels so fast

Meeker Morgan

I assume everyone in China smokes?

In the USA they'd only hire non-smokers. That sort of discrimination is allowed.

Using 'AI-based software like Proctorio and ProctorU' to monitor online exams is a really bad idea, says uni panel

Meeker Morgan

The real test ...

... is faking out the AI software. Pass that test and have it made.

Ar least they stopped this AI before it went racist.

Tesla promises to build robot you could beat up – or beat in a race

Meeker Morgan

The three laws are Turing equivalent to the halting problem.

So sorry.

Meeker Morgan

Sentient "enough"?

Meaning able to work in an automobile factory doing the (otherwise) un-automated stuff?

That's the big issue, assuming the sex-robot business is not being considered.

Google herds FLoC back to the lab for undisclosed post-third-party-cookie ad tech modifications

Meeker Morgan

Re: Privacy XOR Targeted ads

It's not about respecting privacy, it's about skirting ever tougher privacy laws.

It's an arms race.

Five words everyone wants to hear: Microsoft has 'visually refreshed' Office

Meeker Morgan

Is it really "shilling" if what you are pushing is free?

Open Office. Yes even (or especially) with Windows.

https://www.openoffice.org/

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