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compass_copium

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Any physics teacher should know the theory for constructing a nuclear bomb. Should we be controlling that knowledge too?

Maybe not the best example, since that knowledge is some of the most highly controlled in the world.

But to mirror the point I made in a different post, the difficult part of making a nuclear bomb is not finding the theory behind like Little Boy. It's making an entire industry to generate HEU, etc.

Not to harp on you (already being downvoted to oblivion for expressing a reasonable and common opinion), but the whole conversation about LLMs enabling bioterrorism or explosive manufacturing is a bit silly. The hard part of making anthrax or sarin or whatever isn't finding a recipe, it's getting (scheduled, controlled) precursors, (monitored, traced) equipment and manufacturing skills. The information is there. It's already easy to get, it's the physical materials that are more difficult.

Also, if you live in America, it is much easier and more effective to create a mass casualty event with, say, a few cases of fireworks and a pressure cooker or an AR-15.

It's a rewarding project! I fixed up a freebie old Schwinn roadbike a few years ago and it's so much fun to ride. I have a freebie Nishiki too waiting for a decision on what to do with it--touring bike or fixie conversion. Enjoy the time turning wrenches and then on the road!

There are already people dying of malnutrition, preventable disease, etc. in the third world. Half a billion dollars could do a lot of good there, instead of going towards a pipe dream to make sure people never have to miss work for the flu again.

My wife tried it with her longest-running handle and it got social media right, but said she was on TikTok and Instagram (both wrong, just old Twitter). It's an interesting mix of truth and hallucination.

I tried both of my long-lived social media (Xanga, LJ, MySpace era) handles from my teen and early twenties years (I mostly use disposable handles now). I've deleted a decent chunk of those postings, but they were both recognized (top 25% on both), although for the wrong reasons (never a Minecraft Twitchstreamer, but I did have a Minecraft account with the handle name).

Really odd feeling to think that my writings from that period are helping these things. Not necessarily happy about it--I took that stuff down because it was so deeply personal, and a record of my life that didn't need to be public. Odd to think my teenage angst is, in some small way, writing the AI-generated e-mails I get now.

Midjourney Medical 1 month ago

From what I've read, full body scans are awful for this--your body forms and kills tumors all the time. The false positive rate is ridiculous.

From Al Jazeera:

According to remarks carried by the Tasnim news agency, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said negotiations for a final deal will be held during a 60-day period, after verifying that the US implemented its commitments under the deal, including ending hostilities, lifting the blockade, and releasing frozen assets.

So, it's an even worse position for the US than before launching the war.

Discussing things with colleagues is also how you build collaborative networks. I'm trying to get out of the habit of searching for all information myself and engaging in more discussions with coworkers. I'm perfectly capable of searching information out myself. If I'm asking a question, it's a sign of respect, and shows that I am interested in the person's experience with the topic, and in nuance and context. I want to learn from them. If you offload the answer to AI, it's disrespectful to yourself more than anything--you don't even value your own expertise!

It's more like asking someone to use a toilet when they have a perfectly good set of pants they're wearing, already on them. Thinking is what makes you human, don't give it up so easily.

Correct, PMMA is completely harmless. MMA is an incredibly common adhesive, and is in probably a dozen things in the room you are sitting in in its polymerized form.

I had a teen whose main device was an iPad 4ish years ago and now a tween whose main device is a Windows laptop. I like Windows' implementation better--it's more granular when it comes to site access on Edge, and allows time limits in specific programs rather than categories of apps. I remember some apps that were clearly games had themselves listed as education apps.

I disagree. I think the caliber of public employee, and their integrity, would be much higher if they were "only" allowed to collect their salary.

No state employee would be allowed to run a business like this while employed where I live (sapphire-blue New England state FWIW). Government positions are fairly, but not extravagantly, compensated, prestigious and come with excellent benefits. They should not be an avenue for accumulation of riches. It clearly does not work well and we're not getting the country's best.