What I've found honestly as an occasional user of them, is the LLM's are great at writing small functions. One, small, discrete, easily describable task with clear inputs and an output. It sucks at doing things more complex than that.

You still need somebody who knows how to actually take all those functions, check them over, and then implement actual program logic to make something useful overall happen.

a.) There's little interest in interrogating the downsides of generative AI, such as the environmental impact, the data theft impact, the treatment and exploitation of data workers.

That's all the press ever fucking talks about, to the point where you've got people who use the cloud for everything bitching about AI like the rest of their cloud use isn't impacting the environment. Also, analyzing data isn't theft.

b.) There's little interest in considering the extent to which, by incorporating generative AI into our teaching, we end up supporting a handful of companies that are burning billions in a vain attempt to each achieve performance that is a scintilla better than everyone else's.

People need to learn about and use open source AI. There are plenty of very good options.

c.) There's little interest in thinking about what's going to happen when the LLM companies decide that they have plateaued, that there's no more money to burn/spend, and a bunch of them fold—but we've perturbed education to such an extent that our students can no longer function without their AI helpers. ...so AI is going to magically disappear if/when it plateaus and there are still gazillions of customers who want to use it? Some companies will probably go under when the investment cash dries up, but not all of them. AI isn't going to vanish.

Oh, and if all those companies crap out, open source AI is still going to exist. Those models won't magically vanish either.

Non-disparagement should be unenforceable. Libel and slander are still laws, so if the person is damaging your reputation with lies there are existing ways to handle that.

The power imbalance between a corporation and an individual means that non-disparagement clause was signed under duress, and given the nature of the clause it should be one that isn't legally enforceable.

The online stuff all comes from the same Chinese manufacturers. Order it direct instead of paying more to an American billionaire. You'll pay the tariffs either way, I assure the billionaires aren't covering them out of their markup.

Samsung still has DEX (Desktiop EXperience) available for its phones. You can either plug it into a computer and use the phone like a program within a computer, or you can connect it to a USBC docking station with HDMI, mouse, and keyboard attached and use the phone in a desktop style.

It works decently well enough. I wouldn't want to use it full time but I've used it occasionally (typically when my home internet is out. My desktop doesn't have a wifi card since I use ethernet, so I can't really pair the phone as a hotspot - I just connect the phone and use DEX).

There is a concept in computing where a certain spec is good NOW, but will not be good in the future. Rather than replace the entire computer many would rather just increase the power of their current one where its lacking.

Also, by preventing outside ram installation, Apple is free to charge whatever premium they want on more RAM. If they're the only way to increase the ram on a machine then if they decide you're going to pay an extra $500 to go from 8gb to 16gb, then you're stuck.

Something isn't over just because it has peaked. While I wish there was more, compared to when I was younger there are a lot more shows available.

What I do kinda dislike though is these mini-abbreviated seasons that have been adopted on new shows. I know its due to expense, but 10 episodes feels kinda short for a season when the shows I grew up with would have 20 to 26 episodes per season. And while I can deal with 10 - a lot of shows have been trying to get away with "seasons" of 6 episodes or less. 6 episodes of TV isn't a season - its a long movie chopped into pieces.

This is retarded.

1. It isn't for profit healthcare that is the problem, it's THIRD PARTY PAY.
2. I don't use third party pay, ever, for healthcare. I've been insured nonstop for over 30 years, and NEVER ONCE has my insurer paid my doctor.
3. Even when I've had emergencies, I still called around, negotiated a fair cash up front rate, paid cash up front, and billed it to my insurer. My cash up front rate was sometimes below any co-pay negotiated with my insurer, lol.

I just recently had some elective surgery that would have cost me about $2000 on my annual deductible, but I was able to cash pay a negotiated rate of $400 including a follow-up "free". I submitted the $400 to my insurer and they reimbursed me.

Third party insurance exists because YOU VOTERS demanded the HMO Act of the 1970s, which tied health care to employment, and then employers outsourced it to third parties.

Health care is remarkably cheap in the US (cash pay, negotiated) and I don't have to wait months to see a doctor when I call and say I am cash pay. They bump me up fast.

Did you just pick a random person to say that to?

I think it still applies, as this will be about an AI which, by its own failings, will end up being removed or turned off. Yay for fewer overlords!

...probably aren't going to do their research, and will be willing to buy a shittier version for a higher price.

This camera is a fashion accessory for shallow people.

It's a good way of laying off the people who are good enough at what they do that they can find other jobs.

Found the office building real estate investor. Or the sociopath from upper management.

Hell, my parents retired 3 years ago with 200k in savings. They still haven't touched it and are living solely off of their social security.

It all depends on what you want to do. Their house was paid off years ago, they cook all their meals at home, and rarely spend money on anything that isn't necessary. It just doesn't cost much to keep the lights on and food on the table.

I used to keep a library of PowerShell admin scripts so I wouldn't have to rewrite them when I needed them again. Now I can ask ChatGPT to write them for me faster than I can find them in my library.

As you say, though, small chunks. When I've tried more complex tasks I end up spending more time debugging the AI's code than the task is worth.