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smallpatatas

@ smallpatatas @lemm.ee

Posts
8
Comments
40
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • AI is Dehumanization Technology: a plea to Canada's public sector to reject AI

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  • By the way, if anyone has suggestions for how to get this in front of public sector union rank & file and/or leadership I'm all ears; IMO this stuff represents a near-existential threat to unions over the mid to long term.

  • NDP Faces Harassment Allegations and an Internal Collapse

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  • SmartVoting isn't simply data, however. They have a "proprietary algorithm" that they refuse to share.

    Not only that, but if the true goal of the site is strategic voting to keep Conservatives out of office, then you'd think that in a tied race between an NDP and Liberal candidate, with the Cons a distant third, there wouldn't be a strategic vote recommendation at all.

    And yet, in a riding in that exact situation, with a NDP incumbent tied with a Liberal candidate yet to be named, it was recommending people vote for the Liberal up until a day or two ago (Hamilton Centre, Matthew Green's riding).

    Then you start digging a little deeper and realize that the SmartVoting site is mostly (but not entirely - they have their secret algorithm!) based on the projections from 338. Which are reasonably accurate overall. However, in the recent Ontario election they under-projected the NDP's seat count significantly, projecting 16 seats, whereas they actually ended up winning 27.

    I'm not a statistician, but that seems like a remarkable jump. If I had to guess, it's that 338's model is not capturing something about the NDP or their voter base, whether that's the party's ground game, incumbency, or some other hard-to-quantify aspect.

    So I mean, if it were just data then sure, don't shoot the messenger! But the problem is more that the modeling and recommendations seem like they have real flaws, probably unintentional, but flaws nonetheless. And projections and recommendations can and will influence voter behaviour.

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  • Without knowing how serious your relationship is, it's hard to say.

    I would advise not doing this if the main reason is to save money, especially with one person being the sole owner. The power dynamic is too unbalanced.

    But if you're both pretty sure this is a long-term, perhaps lifelong, relationship, then no one here can give you the correct answer. Set aside some time, sit down with your partner, discuss things from both a practical and emotional perspective, do this again in another week or two, and find an arrangement you both feel good about.

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  • Oh wow - did not know that!

    Bit of a weird choice, given that routers usually allow limiting connections to specific MAC addresses as a security feature. Everything's a trade-off, I guess...

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  • Dunno, I found it pretty easy to set up different rules for different devices.

  • Technology @beehaw.org
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    What is AI good for? (derogatory)

    blundervalley.ca /blog/what-is-ai-good-for/

  • Zuckerberg 'Loves' AI Slop Image From Spam Account That Posts Amputated Children

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  • "Zuckerberg’s interaction with the page was first noticed by Gazpacho Machine, a man who posts reviews of food he eats while taking showers."

    the internet was a mistake

  • What is your linux backup strategy?

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  • After having recently restored some stuff from an aging external hdd, i'm seriously considering getting a few dvdr discs and burning the important things every now and then.

    I know they don't last forever either, but - just as a random example that has definitely never happened to me hahaha - you can drop them from a height of 3 feet and still get files off them!

  • Beyond enshittification, why does tech oftentimes suck?

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  • I mostly agree - however there are physical/mechanical reasons behind the use of some of those. For example, Phillips head screws will 'cam out' (driver will slip out of the screw head) rather than get over-torqued, which is useful in various situations - although TIL this was not actually an intentional design feature!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam_out

    Hex keys are better than a Robertson (square head) in tight spaces with something like an Allan key, and, in my experience anyway, Robertson can take a fair bit of torque, so they're great for sinking into softwood - and also for getting out again, even when they've been painted over.

    Flathead screws, on the other hand, should launched into the sun

  • Evan Prodromou Launches The Social Web Foundation

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  • Billionaire Larry Ellison says a vast AI-fueled surveillance system can ensure 'citizens will be on their best behavior' | Business Insider India

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  • Corporations and surveillance?

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  • This is very similar to my story - end of support for win7 meant putting Mint on the HTPC.

    Soon after that, it was the old laptop my spouse was about to chuck out. Cinnamon was a little sluggish, so I eventually landed on Debian + XFCE

    And when I discovered I could get my desktop's audio interface working on Linux (it's firewire, and by most people's standards, ancient), it was game over for Windows.

    I don't know what Freetrack is but I hope it gets implemented for you :)

  • Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

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  • Ok yeah that's super interesting, and maybe kinda sums up the whole thing: the devs make tech that reduces the opportunity for thought and engagement, and that frictionless experience results in worse outcomes for users, but better outcomes for profits.

    And yet, paradoxically, there are probably plenty more folks like yourself that would prefer to use a different kind of app!

  • Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

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  • I mean, I was lucky to find a life-partner before dating apps were the default, so I'm going to be speaking a little out of turn here.

    But I'd imagine that if those apps were a little more friction-y - like, if people weren't using an almost literally frictionless swipe left and right, but instead were encouraged by the interface to learn something about a person first, or, say, had to click reasons why they were swiping left or right - that it would be easier to make meaningful connections. You'd be designing in self-reflection and curiosity.

    And sure, you might turn away some users by doing that - but what if that's actually a good thing?

  • Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

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  • I think there's a bit of irony in that the most 'frictionless' (and dehumanizing) way to interact on Lemmy might be to hit the downvote button. It's the thing that rewards the knee-jerk, un-considered reaction.

    In a way, the downvote button is the thing that perfectly expresses the demand that one's experience confirm to pre-conceived notions of comfort - without having to face a response from the person being downvoted - and denies the downvoter the potential for growth.

    I like this essay too :)

  • Technology @beehaw.org
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

    designingfriction.com

  • Raspberry Pi Pico 2, our new $5 microcontroller board, on sale now

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  • Lol, and just immediately downvoted. Lemmy needs that essay more than I thought! Too easy to be reactive without accountability on this platform, sadly

  • Raspberry Pi Pico 2, our new $5 microcontroller board, on sale now

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  • How is this not considered spam?

    This is literally just an ad for a product. It even has the price in the title for crying out loud!

    And to top it off, it's posted by an account that I'm pretty sure reported me for spam, because I posted a tech-philosophy essay where the site mentioned at the end that the essay was also published in a zine.

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    Test, will delete, please ignore, sorry & thanks

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    Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

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  • Well, thanks for not incorrectly calling the post spam and downvoting it at least lol

  • Removed

    Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

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  • Huh? This is a link to an essay, unless I'm entirely missing something

  • Technology @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Bitcoin is Stupid and Does Not Deserve an Emoji (blog post)

    thedabbler.patatas.ca /pages/bitcoin-is-stupid.html
  • Technology @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    From the White House to Caesar's Palace: Trump at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference (blog post)

    thedabbler.patatas.ca /pages/from-the-white-house-to-caesars-palace-trump-at-bitcoin-2024.html
  • politics @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    From the White House to Caesar's Palace: Trump at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference (blog post)

    thedabbler.patatas.ca /pages/from-the-white-house-to-caesars-palace-trump-at-bitcoin-2024.html
  • Fediverse @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    The Slow Fedi Movement: Toward a Green, Independent, and Equitable Fediverse

    thedabbler.patatas.ca /pages/slow-fedi.html