Perhaps it would not kill us intentionally but rather by accident. I doubt AI understands the concept of not existing.

Everything these days is designed from the ground up to require an Internet connection.

Car manufacturers are used to charging $2000 for a vinyl sticker pack or a plastic spoiler. Of course they will use any disruption in the market to justify gouging people for thousands.

My car is almost 12 years old. I don't see myself replacing it any time soon.

Prices on those have gone up, too. Markets can be irrational, but they aren't stupid.

Wasn't me.

To be fair, every major OS refuses to do backups by default. You have to do everything manually yourself. As much as geeks love to scream about the importance of backups, it's remarkably difficult for ordinary people to do it, especially if you want proper version-controlled backups, and especially if you want catastrophic full-system backups. Most of the time, tech companies don't allow you to make backups, citing "copyright" concerns.

The best anyone offers is cloud storage (ie, a mirror), because that can possibly generate more revenue. Otherwise... figure it out yourself.

I don't see this as a problem with dumb end users. This is a cultural problem. The whole tech industry deserves a swift kick up the ass.

It's easy to understand. Embedded OSes are everywhere, but the manufacturer chooses them, not the end user.

What's hard to understand is why Linux people keep celebrating themselves when hardly any end users chooses what OS they use, and even when they can, the choice is still a pain in the ass.

Half the country is more stupid than Trump, as they consistently fall for his narcissistic tantrums.

The only reason one could argue that Trump is actually pretty smart is because the bar has just been dropped that low.

Let me break the mood by being an actual geek for a second.

It's weird to hear polysilicon being described as an "ultra-pure" form of silicon, because it's formed on a silicon wafer without a pure crystal structure. That's why is high a high level of electrical resistance. It's actually one of the least pure forms of silicon used in chip production.

But, hey, most of my knowledge of chip production is ancient and dates back to 0.5 micron processes.

The biggest problem is not that "it's the cost of doing business", but that in the end, many of these corporations find ways to weasel out of paying the fines. Dragging things through the courts for years and eventually reaching a "settlement" out of impatience is very common.

I'd be happier hearing about these fines if the corporations actually paid them in a timely manner.

I'm not sure how anyone could consider a pop-up notification for a cross-branding deal with another company as an "Easter Egg". Hardly sounds like a hidden knick-knack or cool little in-joke.

Lay off the excuses. It's marketing, and I don't want ANY pop-ups unless it's a technical or safety issue, or I configured it myself.

Are you kidding? When researchers observe behavior even without the intent to sell a product, that's pointless drivel?

This is the kind of garbage that gets +5 Insightful?

Indeed. AI system rely on weights and scores to achieve a goal, and the how and why doesn't seem to matter.

The very definition of the ends justify the means.

Where, in the middle of all this exchanged money and new created value, is all the tax revenue?

Ah, right.

Imagine being fined because you're in the middle of repainting, but the AI can't tell the difference between peeling paint and an ongoing construction project.