Recent posts

#1

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Josquius - Today at 05:35:46 AM

Interesting this gets you so upset when it was dealt with quickly and doesn't seem to have led to anything.
All that Islamophobia out there which X just let's slide by must really annoy you. You're clearly just getting a giant mega post ready.

#2

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 05:16:46 AM

I'd rather not have any of it.
But the monopoly is in the same company controlling all this.

That's not what monopoly means.  Monopoly means they are the sole supplier in a given market and can therefore charge whatever they want.  Google as we're describing it is an example of horizontal integration.

That's a textbook definition. Regulators never apply monopoly as meaning literally the only supplier. More one that has massive dominance.
With over 90% of the search market for example Google absolutely fits the bill there.

But you seem to have missed the point of what I said here.
The horizontal integration isn't the problem. The problem is the vertical integration made possible by the horizontal integration.

#3

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 04:37:07 AM

I don't think that we in the UK want to take the blame for everything unpleasant posted in English.

#4

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 04:36:30 AM

I'd rather not have any of it.
But the monopoly is in the same company controlling all this.

That's not what monopoly means.  Monopoly means they are the sole supplier in a given market and can therefore charge whatever they want.  Google as we're describing it is an example of horizontal integration.

#5

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 04:09:14 AM

It's not about how they operate. It's about the fact they're all interlinked and give very complete advertising profiles /advertising power.
It's not email or search or whatever where googles monopoly is the real problem. It's data and advertising.

So let me see if I've got it.  You don't mind youtube collecting data about your clip viewing habits, or google search collecting data about your search habits, it's that they share this data with each other.  Is that right?

I'd rather not have any of it.
But the monopoly is in the same company controlling all this.

#6

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 04:08:02 AM

It's not about how they operate. It's about the fact they're all interlinked and give very complete advertising profiles /advertising power.
It's not email or search or whatever where googles monopoly is the real problem. It's data and advertising.

So let me see if I've got it.  You don't mind youtube collecting data about your clip viewing habits, or google search collecting data about your search habits, it's that they share this data with each other.  Is that right?

#7

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 03:28:08 AM

I do often play with chat gpt. I think I have a pretty good grasp of its foibles. It is genuinely useful for some things. Less for others

I randomly saw and asked last night....

I read online that crows will kill and eat rats.
A rat has entered my garden and is taking food meant for the birds. This is not appropriate. The crows seem afraid of him. He is a pretty small rat. What is going on.

And got a pretty rational and sensible seaming explanation about how yeah a crow could knack a rat but it's not going to look for trouble as there's easier food sources out there and a rat can certainly injure a crow
Fair enough.

Moved onto how to be rid of rats.... That this sounds like a young rat dispersing from its nest. Common in cold weather (yep).
Advice.
Clean up food (yep)
Block entry spaces (yep)
Create hostile terrain such as floodlights, gravel etc.... (ehh yep but money)
Predator scent (yep)

I explain I don't have a pet and installing a floodlight isn't really practical right now.

So chat gpt...suggests using human scent.
Old clothes, human pee, human hair....

There then followed something quite funny when I talked about the children refusing be sheared and chat gpt switched to joke mode but it kept reiterating I don't need the children's hair. The hair from my freshly bald head would be enough.

Though. Thing is.
Human hair doesn't deter rats! At all! Maybe it even attracts them!
And it's dangerous for birds.
As to human pee.... At least chat gpt said no to pooping on my gate but still. It wanted me to place containers of pee in the garden. Health and safety nightmare AND pointless for the rat.

Google is one of many many many poster children for why monopolies shouln't be allowed. The government should have broken up Google a decade ago.

What would be achieved by breaking up Google?  If you object to the way they operate search, or email, or youtube, how would breaking up the company change that?

It's not about how they operate. It's about the fact they're all interlinked and give very complete advertising profiles /advertising power.
It's not email or search or whatever where googles monopoly is the real problem. It's data and advertising.

#8

Off the Record / Re: Quo Vadis GOP?

Last post by garbon - Today at 02:22:12 AM

#9

Off the Record / Re: Quo Vadis GOP?

Last post by HVC - Today at 02:19:45 AM

Speaking of MTG, she just quit Congress after Trump called her a traitor.     I don't understand the world anymore.

I'm not sure MTG puts much political calculus in anything she does, but I guess she wants to duck a nasty year for the GOP, and prime herself for the post-Trump years.

Does she have a career being in the bad side of trump?

#10

Off the Record / Re: Quo Vadis GOP?

Last post by celedhring - Today at 02:17:07 AM

Speaking of MTG, she just quit Congress after Trump called her a traitor.     I don't understand the world anymore.

I'm not sure MTG puts much political calculus in anything she does, but I guess she wants to duck a nasty year for the GOP, and prime herself for the post-Trump years.