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stevenalowe

772 karma · joined April 1, 2014

consultant, software architect/developer, musician, science fiction, author, ex-ThoughtWorker, Xoogler, retired
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stevenalowe··on She won a religious exemption from using AI at work
“Unitarian Universalist, said she proposed the special treatment in April, citing environmental and ethical objections to AI that don't align with her religious beliefs”

Ummm… Unitarians in general do not believe in anything specific, so this seems arbitrary but don’t worry she will probably be fired for underperforming soon anyway

This is the dumbest timeline…

stevenalowe··on The Public Should Own Half of the Big A.I. Companies
Cool cool can we own half of all of the other industries that benefit from the commons? Oil, gas, gold,…?
stevenalowe··on The Environmental Cost of AI: Carbon, Water, and Land Footprints
The article/PDF makes a lot of pointless Big Scary Number comparisons, none of which seem compelling in context
stevenalowe··on Facing life-threatening miscarriage in Arkansas, calls to governor didn't help
The penalty is $100,000 and up to 10 years in jail
stevenalowe··on Facing life-threatening miscarriage in Arkansas, calls to governor didn't help
From the article: fear of bleeding out on the journey
stevenalowe··on Facing life-threatening miscarriage in Arkansas, calls to governor didn't help
The governor is a big part of the problems in Arkansas - it is unlikely that any of her aides cared enough to even mention it to her, though I doubt she would have had any empathy as she and her legislators have worked very hard to keep the situation the same
stevenalowe··on Mathematicians sign declaration to rein in AI use
Paywalled but suspect “old man yells at sky” is in play
stevenalowe··on How does electricity get to my wall socket?
It literally rides a bus
stevenalowe··on Show HN: icantmarket – A verified help exchange for devs who can't market
I am confused by the value proposition here - how are devs that can’t market going to help each other market? Where are the marketers?
stevenalowe··on In northern Ukraine, it was boy vs. Russian drone. The boy won
The Russians occupying Ukraine do not seem to act human, no.
stevenalowe··on In northern Ukraine, it was boy vs. Russian drone. The boy won
From the article: “The United Nations were not able to independently verify any claims about the incident”
stevenalowe··on C is older than my mom
Check out Lisp
stevenalowe··on In northern Ukraine, it was boy vs. Russian drone. The boy won
Heinous war crimes going on
stevenalowe··on California passes bill criminalizing bypass of 3D printer gun-blocking software
One wonders if “firearm part recognition” is as intractable as the Halting Problem
stevenalowe··on E-Scooter Rider and Cyclist Are Killed in Head-On Crash on NYC Bridge
Bikes lanes are not one-way?
stevenalowe··on Domain expertise has always been the real moat
Domain knowledge is not the moat it might appear to be, especially in industries that heavily document

Using AI to more rapidly learn a domain will help in the short term

But in the long term, all moats will evaporate

stevenalowe··on Thiel moves family to Milei's libertarian Argentina
I’m glad he’s gone
stevenalowe··on The California state assembly has passed the 'Protect Our Games Act'
Are they going to pay for the servers and support techs and bandwidth? I know it sucks but running online games costs money

Edit: If this was just about local games it’d be simple

stevenalowe··on White House pushes Congress to approve $250 bill with Trump's image
Again I am impressed with the ridiculous response. The weight of a dollar bill vs the price of gold is of no consequence. The politicians trying to turn the USA into a “banana republic” certainly are. We are definitely not the same lol
stevenalowe··on White House pushes Congress to approve $250 bill with Trump's image
That is the silliest “argument” yet, well done!
stevenalowe··on White House pushes Congress to approve $250 bill with Trump's image
Hell to the no.

The only bill with that image on it should be a Most Wanted poster

stevenalowe··on Show HN: Continue? Y/N: A 60-second game about AI agent permission fatigue
Sadly unplayable - gray text on a black background is very hard to read on a phone
stevenalowe··on The Case for California's Billionaire Wealth Tax
Opinion piece with no relevant facts, but lots of class envy

Example: “the combined wealth of California’s top 250 people is equal to half the state’s GDP.”

So what? Those Big Scary Numbers are not related to each other in any meaningful way.

The Democrats’ obsession with other people’s wealth is a big part of why they lost the last presidential election

If a “one-time” tax on the imaginary paper wealth of “billionaires” is somehow logical and legal, then expect it to morph into a recurring tax on unrealized capital gains - like the equity in your house.

stevenalowe··on Ornadyne: We're building robot birds for surveillance
It’s already been done

https://birdsarentreal.com/

stevenalowe··on California moves to exempt Linux from its age-verification law after backlash
And yet, still unlawful compelled speech
stevenalowe··on China battery stores electricity and hydrogen
Seems really promising but I can’t help but wonder how volatile such a battery might be when fully discharged, ie full of hydrogen gas
stevenalowe··on Ask HN: What do you do at work while the coding agent is working?
Obligatory xkcd

https://xkcd.com/303/

stevenalowe··on Magnifica Humanitas
I’m sure a similar epistle long ago argued that Swordsmiths must ensure that their products are only used for justifiable self-defense.

I’d be thrilled if religion was only used to uplift people but that’s not going to happen either

stevenalowe··on I Left the U.S. for Shenzhen, China — Here's How Much It Costs
I’m guessing that political freedom of expression was not listed as a cost
stevenalowe··on How ancient builders made the Great Pyramid of Giza nearly earthquake-proof
TLDR but I'm guessing massive, massive stone blocks
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