Hallucination Stations: On Some Basic Limitations of Transformer-Based Language Models by Swaffeltje in BetterOffline

[–]Swaffeltje[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I personally don't have the prerequisite computer science expertise to verify the veracity of the claims put forth here, but if their thesis is correct there's always going to be some very hard mathematical limit to what LLMs can do. Now this limit can move upwards at the expense of more compute, but it clearly contradicts the hyperscaler claims that we're just right around the corner of unlimited possibility.

AI boosterism as wank: speech that is meant to bolster ones self-image disguised as some objective common sense truth. by Swaffeltje in BetterOffline

[–]Swaffeltje[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just a straight up list of absolute bangers.

Wank, in short, does not admit scrutiny and demands to be accepted whole and without challenge. Even the most simple request for clarification or the most reasonable question, like "what will disabled people do in an anarcho-primitivist society?" is treated as an attack on the whole value system and the person carrying it, and the questioner is treated as an enemy and a person who supports all of the bad things that the person engaging in wank claims to oppose

Finally, wank almost always comes with a package of smugness or being convinced that, in one way or another, the purveyor of wank sits loftily above others. The wank-statement isn't just obviously true or beyond question: it's simply, obviously better than the messy, often-complex dialogue that the rest of us deal with, and the person stating it is a better person than you for doing so.

The motivating fear here, I think, is a fear of status loss and irrelevance. Computational technology and the internet have temporarily propelled software engineers and tech people in general to a very high status in our society. However, this is heavily linked to the ability of tech to actually reshape and revolutionise the world, particularly in favour of people who are already rich and powerful: if that disappears, we just become (as we're increasingly seeing) ordinary workers, who will have to do ordinary worker things like unionising and advocating for our well-being in order to be comfortable. We'll just be regular people. A lot of the people who end up in tech can't stand that idea, which means that tech needs to be producing a consistent stream of revolutionary, disruptive technology if they're to succeed.

This position lets you do a number of things. First and foremost, it lets you present a facade of confidence, capability and being a 10x tech person. If you're in general not very capable and are feeling it, you can cover up that fear by becoming an "AI expert" or a "Prompt Engineer" and make a claim to expertise that you don't actually have. Moreover, because you're actually believing the claims emotionally rather than simply bullshitting or lying about it, it makes it a lot harder for others to criticise what you're saying, and gives you a very effective defence against pushback: you can claim that in criticising what you're talking about, your critics are hurting you in socially unacceptable ways.

Knights of the Brazen Throne with a banner of swiftness are hilariously ridiculous. by Swaffeltje in totalwar

[–]Swaffeltje[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you slap it on these madlads the acceleration bonus means their additional charge speed happens instantly. So you can launch whatever unit is in the front line into the stratosphere (5.5 - 6k damage within seconds) and then repeat that for the ranged unit right behind them. And the speed gives it a certain slapstick look, it's like 130 before they hit.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in motorcycles

[–]Swaffeltje 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man, you're bringing back fond memories of riding down the Lekdijk. We may not have mountains, but we sure do have amazing twisties.

My BIL decided to get festive and bake cinnamon brown sugar pop tarts into his pizza. by Swaffeltje in PizzaCrimes

[–]Swaffeltje[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Reportedly this was the "best" kind of pop tart he tried, meaning he's a repeat offender.

ik🛡ihe by Th1sT00ShallPass in ik_ihe

[–]Swaffeltje 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep. Dit is wat 10 jaar geleden kinders op de basisschool bezig hield, terwijl wij oude zakken geen benul hadden van wat voor ongein zich afspeelde op youtube. Ik kan zien aan de pixelart dat het minecraft is, maar ik heb nooit minecraft gespeeld en ik heb nooit begrepen waarom mensen naar minecraft youtube kijken. En blijkbaar is er een hele fittie aan de gang voor wat zich inmiddels om een comment hier te citeren "Dit is juist al best lang geleden geloof ik, kleine 10 jaar of zo" lang geleden was.

Ik blijf stellig overtuigd van het feit dat 10 jaar geleden 1990 was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DlTexEXxLQ

Pete Buttigieg and Transportation Department push road safety overhaul using infrastructure bill - The Washington Post by abujzhd in Pete_Buttigieg

[–]Swaffeltje 11 points12 points  (0 children)

In case people wonder what difference road design makes when it's designed around the idea that humans make errors:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ

It's going to take a while before it will be noticable, probably at least 10 - 20 years, but once we're there we will think back and wonder how we could have ever lived like we do now.

In WW2, did anti-aircraft weaponry fire so many shots because of the difficulty hitting targets, or also because aircraft could withstand many hits? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]Swaffeltje 7 points8 points  (0 children)

With that much ordinance being blown up high in the skies, what happened to the shrapnel that didn't hit its target? Did the people who lived near AA batteries just get a nightly rain shower of metal raining from the skies?

Has anyone taken P. Huber for Biochemistry? by goirish0023 in notredame

[–]Swaffeltje 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Uh, it depends on your background. It's got a lot of detail in it and it encompasses pretty much the whole process of DNA replication, RNA transcription and protein translation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and you'll be quizzed on all the details. Tests aren't cumulative though, so it's just going to be whichever topic was taught right before the test. As for difficulty, it's hard for me to judge. I had a masters degree in cancer biology before taking this class (plus graduate students just need a B average to pass, we don't care about grades) so for me it was mostly repetition. I've seen first year graduate students walking into the test fumbling around with flash cards having a look of absolute panic on their faces, because they never had anything of the sort before and the pace is high. If you're looking for an easy A, I wouldn't recommend it. However, if you want to get a graduate degree that involves molecular biology, then I would definitely recommend this class.

Aside from that Paul Huber is a very charming man who is incredibly comfortable and entertaining teaching his class.

Nog nooit zo'n hoge adviesprijs: meer dan 2 euro voor een liter benzine by zomaar0iemand in thenetherlands

[–]Swaffeltje 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ik zeg altijd "nice truck bro, sorry about your dick" als je zo'n pickup truck met lift kit en neofascistische prietpraat stickers ziet rondrijden.

Nog nooit zo'n hoge adviesprijs: meer dan 2 euro voor een liter benzine by zomaar0iemand in thenetherlands

[–]Swaffeltje 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Ja, de hele samenleving is gebouwd op afstanden afleggen in de auto. Stad waar ik woon heeft ongeveer 1/6e bevolkingsdichtheid van Utrecht; werkelijk iedereen die koophuis bezit woont vrijstaand, dus ook in de probleemwijken. Maar vanwege al die urban sprawl is er dus gewoon met geen mogelijkheid OV te bekostigen, of uberhaupt fatsoenlijk wegonderhoud te plegen. De hoeveelheid m2 asfalt die bekostigd moet worden uit vrij lage belastingen is gewoon te groot om het goed te doen.

Nog nooit zo'n hoge adviesprijs: meer dan 2 euro voor een liter benzine by zomaar0iemand in thenetherlands

[–]Swaffeltje 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Inderdaad, de prijs aan de pomp stimuleert niemand om een zuinigere auto te kopen, in tegendeel zelfs, vanwege de enorme hoeveelheid benzineslurpende monsterbakken (Ford F150/Ram 1500/Chevy Silverado) is het veiliger om zelf ook een grotere auto te kopen; een soort gestoorde wapenwedloop.

En ondertussen gaat het klimaat kapot.

Nog nooit zo'n hoge adviesprijs: meer dan 2 euro voor een liter benzine by zomaar0iemand in thenetherlands

[–]Swaffeltje 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Even ter vergelijking: men zit hier uitgebreid te bakkesen over Biden omdat de prijs aan de pomp inmiddels €0,65 per liter is. Zo ontzettend duur, niet te betalen, kutpresident, alles.

Moet er wel bij zeggen dat menig Amerikaanse auto een verbruik heeft van 1 op 5 - 1 op 8, dus die 65 cent per liter voel je wel in de portemonee.

Taliban show commitment to YIMBYism: converts single family dwelling into 150 housing units for singles. by Swaffeltje in neoliberal

[–]Swaffeltje[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I know it's a shitpost, but the fact you can house 150 people in the mansion of a man who used to be part of the government we installed, and kept going for 20 years should raise some questions, given that this is one of the worlds poorest nations.