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Comment Re:What good is AI (Score 1) 39

Good question. My understanding is this: we're being nudged toward an era where there are only a few powerful computers, we don't own them, but we rent computing power from them. To use in our dumb terminals. Not too much unlike an era we had a few decades ago.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" - Thomas Watson

Comment Winner of the Pulitzer (Score 3, Interesting) 39

Soul of a New Machine is a really fun book from the standpoint of the technology and culture of the time. But let's not forget it was widely regarded as just awesome writing: it won the Pulitzer and the National Book Award for nonfiction.

Tracey Kidder also wrote Mountains Beyond Mountains, about Dr. Paul Farmer and the work of his medical non-profit Partners In Health. Another excellent read.

Comment Weapons of Math Destruction (Score 4, Informative) 69

These kinds of poor outcomes were described thoroughly in the book "Weapons of Math Destruction" by Cathy O'Neil. She cites examples in bail / parole recommendation algorithms, HR screening tools, insurance, etc. In her view, a WMD is a computer system that has some/most of these characteristics:
* that makes serious decisions affecting people other than the person using the tool,
* uses proxy measurements (zip code, socioeconomic status) for the thing they're actually trying to quantify (e.g., risk of recidivism),
* whose inner workings are opaque, and/or built on data of unknown provenance,
* are not or cannot be corrected in light of new data or mistakes,
* are difficult or impossible to contest,
* have little to no regulation.

That was published in 2017, well before LLMs and AI really hit the scene. But the dangers were already apparent even then, and f*&k-all has been done to mitigate them.

Comment Re:Color me skeptical. (Score 1) 312

Large amateur rockets can achieve >Mach5 , which qualifies as hypersonic. You could probably build something like that for
You couldn't build, transport, and launch one for that kind of money - the ground infrastructure and permitting would be onerous and expensive.

Nor do amateur rockets carry munitions in hypersonic glide vehicles. So that part is worthy of skepticism.

Comment Re:Illegal (Score 4, Informative) 73

In case anyone is curious, this is illegal.

So is launching a war in Iran without Congressional approval. So is cancelling funding mandated by Congress. So are foreign gifts, emoluments, and self-dealing. So is federalizing the National Guard on false pretenses. So is putting a sitting president's mug on a coin. And yet...

Comment Re:Really? (Score 1) 46

Ah, just remembered, "maximising shareholder value" is a sort of value.

"Greed...is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my works, will not only save [OpenAI], but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much." [ref"

Comment And nuclear propulsion (Score 3, Informative) 73

Missing from the summary is this tidbit:

NASA will launch the Space Reactor1 Freedom, the first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space....
When SR-1 Freedom reaches Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuityclass helicopters to continue exploring the Red Planet. SR-1 Freedom will establish flight heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface, and longduration missions.

So, a nuclear-electric tug between Earth and Mars, and more helicopters on the red planet. That seems 1) much more likely to happen than the lunar base plans, and 2) very exciting technologically.

Comment Chandra is a marvel (Score 5, Interesting) 27

Let's bear in mind that Chandra has been in orbit for over 25 years. Not quite as long as Hubble, but from the same era. Unlike Hubble, it was not made for servicing or upgrades - it's the same hardware that Columbia launched in 1999. At over 20 tons, it was the heaviest payload every launched by the shuttle. And folks reckon it has at least ten more good years of operation ahead of it.

Comment Re:You beat me with that to FC ... (Score 1) 87

If, in fact that US did hit the school and 175 other killed,....
With the sheer volume of munitions slung so far and THATs the entirety of collateral damage.....I'd calll it a miracle.

There are plenty of reputable sources that indicate the school was destroyed by a US-made and US-launched tomahawk missile. The US Dept. of Defense has more-or-less admitted it was their strike. The investigation is to determine the particulars about why/how it happened.

Collateral damage is what happens when you attack a legitimate military target, and civilians are injured/killed as a side effect. You blow up a barracks, and folks nearby get hit with shrapnel. In this case, the location was deliberately targeted. It appears that the DoD didn't know it had been converted to a school. I'd say that fits the definition of a mistake. Not happenstance, not collateral damage, not "the fog of war".

Submission + - Chuck Norris Dies at 86 (nytimes.com)

SchroedingersCat writes: Chuck Norris, known for his roles in action films and as Texas Ranger Cordell Walker on the TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger," passed away on March 19, leaving behind a legacy of inspiring millions around the world. He was 86.

He became Internet phenomenon after "Chuck Norris Facts" went viral online with such wildly hyperbolic statements as, "Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the sun — and won," and, "When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't push himself up, he pushes the Earth down."

His death was announced by his family through his official Instagram account, but no further details were immediately available. He was hospitalized earlier that day in Hawaii after experiencing a medical emergency, the family said.

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