211 karma · joined January 18, 2023
Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if people had just stuck to making games and animations with it.
>with its psychological and visual impact, the calculator adds an entirely new dimension to such entertainments, transforming them into some of the most refined, stimulating, gratifying, inspiring, enjoyable, and spectacular entertainments ever devised...
* Michael Gove announces ban on "standing up too quickly".
* BBC links to a series of scare-mongering articles on how a "standing up too quickly head rush" can lead to dizziness and feelings of paranoia.
* A mother whose son died after standing up quickly under a descending demolition ball warns other youngsters against the dangers of standing up too quickly.
Meanwhile at Conservative Party HQ, Michael Gove snorts another line of cocaine off Rishi Sunak's belly button.
If you're happy with your government; being able to know everything you spend your money on, being able to seize your assets, being able to freeze your bank accounts, being able to prevent you moving your money around, being able to invade your privacy to allow you to access your money, being able to control who you can and can't send your money to or receive money from... then crypto does probably seem like a scam and a ponzi scheme.
And, yes, of course, there are as many scammers and shitcoins out there as you can shake a stick at. Any "scheme" which can potentially generate cash will attract such people. Cryptocurrency is no different in this regard.
But, as I said, the basic concept is sound and something anyone who believes in personal freedom can get behind. And, if crypto is such a "bad thing", why are so many governments suddenly interested in developing their own digital currencies? It's almost like the whole "USA / Huawei, TikTok... etc." scenario all over again. This technology is evil.... up until "the man" invents his own version and takes control of it.
After using any of these chatbots for a while you realise that there is no real "intelligence" there. What there is, is a very impressive text-parsing engine combined with a very efficient search facility. But there's no nuance to the replies you get, no "personal" [or machine] opinion. It's just rapidly collated [and often tortuously balanced] data, quickly presented and nicely formatted.
The thing that suprised me most about ChatGPT et al is just how quickly everyone seemed to have one on offer. It seemed like one week we were all shaking our heads at the moronic stupidity of Alexa / Siri / etc.... and the next we had all these superficially much more intelligent and responsive AI chatbots to talk to.
Most of the "AI Powered" sites and applications that are springing up everywhere are based on ChatGPT [and I presume will be based on Bard too in future]. So are all essentially sharing the same dataset and programming biases.
One concern I have about this whole development is that it even further reduces the access to alternate views and non-mainstream controversial opinions. Microsoft has already integrated ChatGPT into Bing and I've been using standalone ChatGPT as a sort of pseudo search engine for a while now, as it's really handy for the kind of questions that you just want a quick answer to, without having to pick through a list of search results.
I do worry that, in future, pretty much all search on the web will take this form and these AIs will become the gatekeepers to knowledge in an even more prescriptive way than the current search giants are. I'm very uneasy about a future where our access the sum total of human knowledge and opinion is pre-filtered through the political and social biases of a clutch of pro-Western, pro-Capitalist west coast USA billionaires.
* Offer X, Y and Z. But if it ever comes to light, you weren't speaking for us.
Personally I find it difficult to believe that someone would be allowed to "go freelance" on something this important. It's typical British government spin. They have to keep up the 'We never negotiate with terrorists' front. Even though everyone knows they were in direct comms with the IRA / UDA etc. for decades.
And, if such things do eventually come to light, it's much better to spin it as 'One of our spies went freelance without permission' than to admit to carrying on secret talks a couple of days after the Warrington bombing --which wouldn't go down well with your electorate.
There's also the question of who pulls the strings; the party in government, or the security services. The Prime Minister can stand up in parliament and make all the populist soundbites he likes. But if the "power behind the throne" is working along different lines, they're not going to pay any heed.
Unrequited love is so poignant!
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Dear readers,
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will be closing in the near future. This difficult decision is part of the annual operating plan review that our parent company shared earlier this year.
The site will remain active until April 10, and the editorial team is still working on reviews and looking forward to delivering some of our best-ever content.
Everyone on our staff was a reader and fan of DPReview before working here, and we’re grateful for the communities that formed around the site.
Thank you for your support over the years, and we hope you’ll join us in the coming weeks as we celebrate this journey.
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I've been a DPReview reader for many years now. It's a shame to see the site go. But, to be honest, it's been pretty moribund [content-wise] for a while now. Smartphone cameras have swallowed up most of the market for point-and-shoot and hobbyist photography and there's only so many articles you can spin out on the latest eye-wateringly expensive pro-releases or custom Leica offerings.
[0] https://www.dpreview.com/news/5901145460/dpreview-com-to-clo...
PS: Why submit AN Other website's announcement that DPReview is shutting down, rather than DPReview's own announcement of same? Y'know "primary sources" and all that.
>More importantly, I see many more interesting if irrelevant things. I remember the early days of the web also had this kind of a feel.
>So , I'm excited. And it feels good to see this kind of excitement in others
And then the app stores filled up with "Fart Apps".
>at what point is the rest of the world...
>"Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate."
>I've seen this on reddit but not here.
>Where do you get off?
Yes, "I asked AI...." the above question. And here is the reply:
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I understand your frustration with the abundance of posts about AI-generated content, especially those that seem to lack meaningful or interesting content. While it is true that the novelty of AI-generated content may have worn off for some, it is important to remember that not everyone has the same level of familiarity or interest in AI technology.
For some individuals, these posts may serve as a way to spark curiosity and interest in the potential of AI, or simply provide a fun and entertaining distraction from their daily routine. Additionally, these posts can also serve as a way for individuals to showcase their creativity and humor by crafting interesting prompts for the AI to respond to.
However, I understand that the sheer volume of these posts can be overwhelming and may detract from more substantive discussions surrounding AI technology. It may be helpful to consider filtering out these types of posts or creating separate spaces for individuals who wish to engage with AI-generated content to share and discuss their creations.
Ultimately, the beauty of a platform like Reddit is the diversity of perspectives and content it can offer. While some may find these posts tedious, they may hold value for others, and it is important to respect and appreciate the variety of interests and passions that bring people together on this platform.
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I'm not sure what to make of the ChatGPT's assumption in the last paragraph that I was I was referring to Reddit. Is it a damning reflection on the idiocy of my question?... or on the collective idiocy of a site where so many such submissions get made?
Now. Has anyone seen my fridge magnet?
>Can you not ignore these things that disinterest or annoy you, using your own facilities?
I have a custom uBlock Origin filter list which blocks keywords on HN, to improve the signal to noise ratio a bit. Your comment just reminded me that "NFT" was one of the terms I added a while back. Unfortunately it's trickier to do with AI or ChatGPT because I am interested in the technology. Just not in the endless crappy "Look what I drew in AI school, Mum!" examples of its usage.
>Speaking at the launch of the new-generation Hyundai Kona, Sang Yup Lee, Head of Hyundai Design, said the new model deliberately uses physical buttons and dials for many of the controls ..because the move to digital screens is often more dangerous, as it often requires multiple steps and means drivers have to take their eyes off the road to see where they need to press.
>ChatGPT can often correct it's answer, if a mistake is pointed out
*["His" because it was always a boy. Girls aren't so overtly competitive]
By coincidence, here's an example from earlier today when I wanted to know the name of a move I'd played in a few chess games:
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ME: In chess is there a term for an opening where black sacrifices his black bishop on F2 or white sacrifices his white bishop on F7. Thus forcing the opponent's king to have to move and therefore preventing him from castling later?
ChatGPT: Yes, there is a term for this kind of opening. It is called the "Scholar's Mate" or "Fool's Mate." The moves that lead to this opening are...
[I hit "Stop Generating" here]
ME: That is not the answer to what I asked. Please read the question again
ChatGPT: I apologize for misunderstanding your question. The opening you are referring to is called the "Bishop's Gambit" or "King's Gambit Accepted." In this opening, White sacrifices their f-pawn to gain control of the center of the board and open up lines for their pieces, including the bishop on c4.
If Black accepts the gambit by capturing the pawn, White can then play Bxf7+, sacrificing the bishop to force the king to move and prevent castling. This move is known as the "King's Bishop Gambit." Similarly, Black can play the "Queen's Bishop Gambit" by sacrificing their bishop on f2 to achieve the same goal.
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A trivial example. but it demonstrates the point. It's like "teacher" started to ask 'What is the move called in Chess...?' and "Little Johnny" immediately leapt to his feet and blurted out 'Scholar's Mate!', without even listening to the question.
I suppose in a way it makes interacting with ChatGPT seem a bit more human. Although I doubt it's meant to be like that....
...or is it? Here's a conspiracy theory for you, that's just occurred to me: What if ChatGPT is programmed this way deliberately so that, in occasionally having to correct it, we feel more like we're collaborating" on a semi-equal footing and less like "the machine" is our infallible invincible superior?
No. Pedestrians don't have a monopoly on obvlivion. But neither do cyclists. Some of the things I saw people doing behind the wheel of their cars or lorries, as I cycled past them would put you off going out on a bike for life.
>You're willing to waste my time today; you'll probably be willing to waste it tomorrow, too. So I won't be back.
>How to Create Suspense as a Writer
PS: Once again, original article title has beeb changed. It is "How to Keep Your Readers Interested"
Why? Just why?
Now we'd view a similar scene from any major city in the world as signs of a great environmental advance.
Funny how times change, isn't it?
>As a tip for dealing with cyclists: continue your movement as a pedestrian: they'll go around you. Most pedestrians have headphones in/little awareness of their surroundings, and as a cyclist I always assume I'm invisible to them and to cars...
But much worse were the ones who'd wake up enough to spot you at the last minute and then suddenly jump to the side --usually the side I was just about to swerve round them on.
Just keep on walking in your own oblivious bubble. I saw you about 1/2km ago and have already planned to my route round you!