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SwtCyber

689 karma · joined February 25, 2025

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SwtCyber··on Ford AI hiccups push carmaker to rehire ‘gray beard’ inspectors
That's just the basics. To craft a prompt for a complex architectural task, you need to know the solution at least on an abstraction level. If you don't have the right system design in your head, no llm is gonna conjure it out of thin air
SwtCyber··on Ford AI hiccups push carmaker to rehire ‘gray beard’ inspectors
Funny how almost every wave of automation starts the same way: "we're gonna cut headcount," but ends with "we're just shifting roles"

AI is pretty good at scaling existing knowledge, but if the actual knowledge is just in the head of an engineer who can hear that a press is acting up, the model doesn't really have much to go on

SwtCyber··on Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)
I think this depends a lot on how the message is phrased and what kind of action we're talking about
SwtCyber··on Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)
The "ask for no" approach works best where the boundaries of ownership are clear. Without that, it becomes much riskier
SwtCyber··on Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)
There's a difference between keeping someone informed and making them reown the problem
SwtCyber··on Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)
The phrasing is not just a communication trick, it changes who owns the decision
SwtCyber··on AI demands more engineering discipline. Not less
Good code is absent code LLMs by nature work like autocomplete on steroids. They're always trying to write more than necessary to please the prompt. Seniority now is measured by the ability to break down a task so that the agent doesn't even think to drag in unnecessary abstractions
SwtCyber··on AI demands more engineering discipline. Not less
It's good to see the hype around "programmers are no longer needed" giving way to a more realistic view. Generating lines of code was never the hardest part of engineering. What's much harder is understanding exactly what we're building, how it integrates with legacy systems, and making sure it doesn't crash the database under load
SwtCyber··on Making peace with your unlived dreams (2023)
Unlived dreams are not always abandoned because we choose something else. Sometimes they are taken by circumstance
SwtCyber··on Making peace with your unlived dreams (2023)
I think this gets at an important distinction: some dreams are painful because they are impossible and some are painful because they are unresolved
SwtCyber··on Making peace with your unlived dreams (2023)
There is a strange grief in realizing that even a good life necessarily excludes almost all other possible lives
SwtCyber··on Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs
This is what makes it interesting to me as well
SwtCyber··on Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs
This is probably the better way to frame it: not "Nvidia is proposing a new CPU system" but "Nvidia is trying to move an existing GB/Spark-class platform into a Windows PC form factor"
SwtCyber··on Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs
For local models, the useful part is not just having 128GB attached to the package. It is whether the GPU can practically use that memory without the usual VRAM-style constraints
SwtCyber··on Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs
I think the local-model use case is going to become less niche pretty quickly if the models keep getting smaller and more capable. Even if most people do not care about privacy or offline use, the cost argument is pretty strong
SwtCyber··on Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs
The interesting part to me isn't really the Cortex-X925 vs AVX-512 comparison, but Nvidia trying to make the GPU the center of a Windows PC rather than an add-in card
SwtCyber··on Scientists solve 200-year-old puzzle of how tobacco plants make nicotine
I get what you mean, but "more addictive stimulant with a stronger cognitive kick" is one of those product requirements that starts to sound less appealing the longer you think about it
SwtCyber··on Scientists solve 200-year-old puzzle of how tobacco plants make nicotine
A molecule can be socially and medically associated with a very harmful delivery mechanism, while still having specific biochemical effects that are worth studying on their own. Ant that's interesting
SwtCyber··on Scientists solve 200-year-old puzzle of how tobacco plants make nicotine
The glucose part is especially interesting: the missing step wasn't just an unknown enzyme, but a transient intermediate that basically disappears by the end
SwtCyber··on Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools
I agree that privacy and security are not identical, and that bad actors can benefit from privacy tools too. But I don't think that makes privacy a "lofty but meaningless" ideal
SwtCyber··on Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools
Most people probably don't "give away freedom" in some explicit bargain. They accept one small exception at a time: this restriction is for children, this one is for safety, this one is only for bad actors, this one is temporary
SwtCyber··on Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools
Age-gating VPNs fails, becausw it probably won't stop determined piracy or abuse, but it will make privacy tools feel abnormal, regulated, and less available to ordinary users and families
SwtCyber··on Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools
Yet platforms should be accountable for the harms they create (in some way it has to be regulated)
SwtCyber··on Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools
I think better enforcement against harmful platform behavior and better digital literacy would do more without normalizing surveillance as the default
SwtCyber··on New stainless steel can survive conditions for hydrogen production in seawater
Sometimes, but carbon has its own failure mode: at high anodic potentials it can oxidize
SwtCyber··on New stainless steel can survive conditions for hydrogen production in seawater
Yes, although I'd still want to see how much of total delivered hydrogen cost this actually moves
SwtCyber··on New stainless steel can survive conditions for hydrogen production in seawater
The "cannot be explained" headline is a bit much, but the underlying result is genuinely interesting
SwtCyber··on Nintendo announces price increases for Nintendo Switch 2
That's probably part of it, though I'd guess currency and regional price alignment are doing a lot of the work too
SwtCyber··on Nintendo announces price increases for Nintendo Switch 2
Same. My wallet can survive the price increase, but it's waiting for Mario to personally justify it
SwtCyber··on Nintendo announces price increases for Nintendo Switch 2
That's probably the strongest argument against rushing into Switch 2
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