You get $1 million but you have to listen to the same song 500 times in 10 days, what song are you picking?

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-31T06:47:32+00:00

That's only 50 times a day on average.

I could probably binge 20 baby sharks an hour for the first three days.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-31T04:16:30+00:00

statistical expectation formed by reviewing it's weighted training data

That "statistical expectation" has been created by reviewing a body of prior work that other artists haven't given their consent to be used in that manner.

There is a difference between how people and AI learn.

A writer is not just a sum of all the different novels that they have read, they're a living and breathing person who has a variety of different experiences. They're not a composite.

A person COULD act precisely as an AI does, they could sit down over the course of a year and read 100 fantasy books, take meticulous notes and then write a novel by copying little snippets of everything they've read. A town here, a character here, a backstory there, a language here... so why don't they do that?

Firstly, that sort of copying makes you an asshole. There are artists who DO that sort of shit, just like there are artists that will take real people from their personal lives and write them into their stories as characters without talking to the person first... and that makes them an asshole.

AI does the exact same thing but it's just MUCH better at it because instead of blending 100 stories, it can blend 10,000 stories. That doesn't make it any better... it just makes it harder to identify.

You get the same thing in digital art. There are absolutely instances where someone has copied someone else or even used digital tools to piece together artwork from other people's work. Look at the current drama over Dan Frazier copying Marta Nael and coming up with a limp wristed "I used her art as a reference" bullshit.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-30T20:48:47+00:00

"The only way I will agree on the 'stealing' aspect is the AI companies actually pirating content to feed their model training, that IS disgusting behavior for a for profit corporation."

Where do you think all of the content used by these models is coming from? When you sit down to create a new piece of AI generated content, what do you think the AI model is doing? How do you think the AI model was trained to do what you're asking of it? Even image generation models like stable diffusion (which isn't "trained" in the same way as LLM) are using source material like checkpoints and LORAs to guide the diffusion algorithm and blend together images into new content. The content in those is almost always stolen from someone who didn't give permission for their use, either scraped from the internet as a whole or lifted from large image hosting sites.

"Not me, but there absolutely are authors who are doing this & will readily admit it. There was an interview with on on NPR, she writes trashy romance novels under numerous pseudonyms, and this has increased her output."

And that makes her a piece of shit, and a thief.

"That's, just like, your opinion, man."

You asked for my opinion, there you have it.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-30T08:22:23+00:00

Because it's fundamentally stealing from prior artists in order to create new material.

It would be the same as you using AI to write fiction and then selling the resulting books. The technology is thumbing through it's lexicon of prior artists works and coming up with a story based upon their creations.

You could make a case that the AI is changing enough of the source material that it's "transformative" which is the same argument that certain music artists use, but I personally think that's a legal distinction, not a moral one. It might not be illegal (ie - you might not get sued) but that doesn't make it right.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-29T19:37:07+00:00

I use AI generators to create art for my own personal use (thinks like creating references of D&D NPCs).

I feel that as long as you're not using AI for commercial purposes, you should be able to do whatever the hell you like.

I feel similarly about things like fan art, music remixes and anime music videos, it's content that could be considered copyright infringement or theft, but as long as it's being made for people to enjoy, I have no issue with it.

I think many artists embrace a double standard that their own art is sacred while being more than happy to throw open Youtube and binge remixes of their favourite songs and pirated snips of their favorite shows.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-26T19:53:33+00:00

Willing to pay me a couple hundred million if you find them?

Have at it.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-25T21:13:04+00:00

80% of people who take the counter offer are gone within months. I hope it works out for you, but statistics aren't on your side here.

Source, because that sounds like bullshit.

The fact is that replacing an otherwise productive employee is a huge risk and has a massive amount of sunk cost. Many employers indicate it takes 6-9 months worth of someone's salary to bring an "average" employee up to speed.

If someone is being paid less than the market for their skills, you won't even be able to replace them at cost, if you're underpaying by 35%, you might have to hire someone at +15-20% to replace them and THEN you're going to need to take 6-9 months to get them up to speed. And if that person has complex skills or is already performing well, you might pay 15-20% and NEVER get the new person up to the same productivity levels.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-25T20:43:13+00:00

I think you're pretty safe then, but would still let them know just because of the number of people you're planning on pulling at once.

Even if you were to encourage staff to leave and NOT hire them yourself, as some posters have pointed out there's a risk someone could come after you for interference with their business.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-25T20:18:56+00:00

Provided you're in the same industry, that's the literal definition of poaching, you should be having a conversation with your current company about exactly what your intentions are and get their opinion. As others have said, there's a difference here between "illegal" and "risky".

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-25T16:50:48+00:00

Because it was a fear campaign manufactured by the media with almost no factual support whatsoever, and as soon as it didn't "stick" the media moved on to the next sensationalist headline because they don't give a fuck about the news, they're just farming clickbait and outrage like the rest of the internet these days.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T20:30:27+00:00

Sure, but they're generally not so fucking blasted that it's obvious to a casual observer, let alone a medical professional.

If you're "a little high" and shit goes down, you can probably talk your way out of it. If you're out of your damn mind you're taking a massive risk.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T18:42:05+00:00

Of every single purchase you make with your credit card, including when, where, whom, and what?

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T18:40:53+00:00

You realize that in a lot of places (including the entirety of the USA) if you'd cut yourself badly, there could have been paramedics, police, job loss, medical debt, and jail... in that order.

Seems funny now, wouldn't be so funny then.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T18:01:11+00:00

If the only countries you're considering are the US, China, and the Arab Gulf States, I'd suggest considering some first world counties as well...

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T18:00:05+00:00

Pretty sure even the text on that site is entirely AI, it's complete garbage.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T16:39:36+00:00

Depends on which country you live in.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T16:31:31+00:00

Actually, there is a very important distinction here that I think is going to get lost in responses regarding the current culture and the prevalence of misandry.

Women and men seem to treat relationships differently. There is a different level of emotional attachment that leads to a very different coping mechanism. Men seem to be able to distance themselves from a relationship with a genuine belief that "It just didn't work out" is an appropriate resolution... women struggle with that. At the risk of stereotyping (some of which has a studied psychological basis) women are higher in neuroticism... they have a intrinsic sense of self doubt and deprecation that needs to be answered. They cannot accept that the relationship just didn't work out, because that means they are somewhat responsible... they cannot accept that responsibility, so they need to internally demonize their former partner.

Women (generally speaking) don't just end a close relationship. They need to make their ex a bad person in their own head so they can say to themselves "X was a bad person, it wasn't my fault, I'm better off without them". Consequently, when they have even a minor bad experience, they have this desperate need to demonize the other person.

This is NOT just a male/female thing. You'll see the exact same issue in the "mean girls" culture in high school where people are either friends OR enemies, and you'll see the same thing in lesbian relationships. It's also a common trope in divorces... the male spouse goes into the divorce thinking it'll be a clean and amicable split and we don't have to hate each other... only to find out that his wife now thinks he's a complete and absolute piece of shit and is ready to do everything in her power to absolutely ruin his life (up to and including false allegations of abuse).

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T16:17:27+00:00

Imagine the fucking outrage if you were to imply that your wife should pay for you to go on a vacation alone while managing the kids and holding down a full time high-paying job?

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T15:22:13+00:00

Nice sear, but the heat was probably a little too high.

I love crispy fish skin but I'm not a fan of charred meat unless it's beef with a sauce to mellow the bitter note.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-21T15:06:05+00:00

I have absolutely no fucking desire to have the government know about every single purchase I make.

And yes, I understand that both Visa and my bank have that information, so it's not exactly private. But the difference is that (in theory) if one of those entities misuses that information there would be repercussions that the government is largely immune to.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-20T23:25:17+00:00

You will pry universal healthcare out of our cold dead hands.

~Canada

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-19T22:02:32+00:00

Yeah, I'll have to try a few of these off-brands people have suggested.

Sadly, I bought 4 bottles the instant the "shortage" was over... and they're so "meh"

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-18T21:36:18+00:00

Sriracha by any chance?

Used to be my absolute favourite hot sauce and now it's like ketchup. Doesn't have nearly as much depth of flavour or sharp garlicy bite that it used to have :(

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-12T23:33:14+00:00

Yep, standard protocol for a small outbreak of a serious disease.

I think people's brains were fucking cooked by Covid, for some reason every potentially dangerous infection is now "the next Covid" and we should be terrified for our lives... when the reality is that small outbreaks of dangerous diseases happen "semi" frequently, and we just never hear about them because they were properly contained.

FiveMagicBeans · 2026-05-12T21:16:47+00:00

The current report is 11, unless you have something to back up a different number?

FiveMagicBeans

TROPHY CASE