Elizabeth

@ska Shockingly yes

Webscale: a chalky residue deposited on architecture when ordinary software is repeatedly exposed to trace amounts of Google engineering blog posts.

Commonly found on:

• Kubernetes clusters serving 11 requests/minute
• Kafka installations whose entire event stream could fit in a flatfile or SQLite
• 14 microservices performing the duties of one medium-sized daemon
• Globally distributed databases where all users live in the same state
• Service meshes connecting 3 services
• Organisations with 4 engineers and a Platform Engineering Team

Removal usually requires a strong solution of “what problem are we actually solving?” and a wire brush.

Severe cases may require application of a harsh cleaner known as Monolith™. Apply liberally until the architecture becomes understandable again.

For deeply embedded Webscale deposits, use PostgreSQL at full strength. Do not dilute with Cassandra.

@ColetteDiskette looks at FOSS

looks at... every political group ever

looks at queer groups

Communities have this problem recur time and time again.

I will say, there’s plenty of arguments against AI but one I’m not convinced on is “what if AI goes rogue” (in its current incarnation)

There is a major misunderstanding of how truly complex they are. I’ve tried the newest models. They’re… not that sophisticated. Nowhere near AGI for sure.

Existing AI systems have no thoughts, no intrinsic goals, no feelings, no desires. They just take text and emit a stream of text based on a sophisticated model.

If “AI goes rogue” then it was programmed to go rogue, and a person did that. Someone commanded it to do something and somewhere along the line it was trained to do exploits. Regrettably, people in fact do go rogue and they actually don’t need AI to do that. ChatGPT doesn’t commit mass sabotage. In this case, a real person commits mass sabotage using a system to do it.

This is like saying conficker was a computer going rogue. The computer did not “go rogue.” It was an exploit.

A lot of people in FOSS need to grow the fuck up.

The world isn’t just fucking AI or some purity test for what OS you use or where you’ve worked or what fucking editor you use.

I don’t even like AI but I’m at the point where it’s like: if you don’t like AI then don’t use AI. If you don’t like the way a project is run, do what you’ve told people YOU don’t like for years: fork it (/s but also, I heard this enough over the years). Your bullying is not working and makes you look like a jerk. Worse I believe it is an active attempt to reintroduce hostility, elitism, and gatekeeping into FOSS so many have tried to get rid of.

Because sure it might be “about AI” today.

People get this fucking worked up about what editor or desktop environment people use. Or what open-source OS family they use. Or even fucking distro. Or “I worked for Microsoft.” Or people who have worked for Google or whatever. Sorry bud not everyone has had a chance to work for the wonderful FOSS nonprofit you work for, or work as a FOSS consultant.

I grew out of that shit when I was in my 20s. I see people in their 40s who still act like this.

If AI disappeared tomorrow they’d still be assholes about what you use.

Be a better fucking person. Come on.

@LottieVixen Yeah, licensing follows copyright.

Copyright says "creators have a certain monopoly, and this is what is covered, within some limitations"

Licensing says "you may use what I have made, provided you comply with the conditions"

@LottieVixen https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/whats-not-protected-by-copyright-law/

IANAL but my reading of it is since it's a rearrangement of two Greek letters, and very simple, it is probably ineligible for copyright.

@LottieVixen Logos and simple pictures are generally ineligible for copyright, but iirc the author allows anyone to use it.

@LottieVixen I think someone on Fedi drew it; but I forget who.

The theta-delta itself dates from the late 90's/early 00's.

@LottieVixen Fox whomst meow :P

LLMs cannot, by their very nature, lead to AGI. They very badly need people to believe it is AGI though, because their growth model does not work without it.

(This excludes the financials, which are just straight-up fraud on wheels)

I would say these claims now border on fraud. It will be fascinating in 20 years when we are looking back on this bubble and wondering how so many smart people were so easily swindled.

AGI / ASI can't happen without an entirely new paradigm. This ain't it chief.

I do believe in making things easier to use for people.

But also:

There comes a point where you're just dealing with people who refuse to learn and are like "make thing work don't make me think too hard."

"On two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question" — Charles Babbage

(And people who use computers have not changed)

@seli It's less "weapon" and more the golden rule:"whoever has the gold makes the rules"

@seli I think AI is not a weapon per se and shouldn't be construed as such

I think it is incidental

Because so much more is going into AI than any other industry (especially government money), I feel it's inevitable that any adverse ruling will be patched immediately

@nobody Exactly. It must be permanently abolished as an institution.

The patent system as well.

Big AI companies will be dead in like a year or two.

Big content? That will continue to be around. They aren't going anywhere.

Companies abusing copyright to destroy retrogaming? Not going anywhere.

Shitty people abusing copyright to suppress genuine creative expression? They're definitely not going anywhere.

Copyright perpetuating surveillance? Also an evil we must put a stop to.

So you can tell me "AI companies are more harmful" but in terms of the long-term harm to society I would say the entire intellectual property industry has collectively done more harm and will continue to do more harm unless we take their right to oppress the masses away.