@rysiek@mstdn.social
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

rysiek

@[email protected]

Hacker, activist, free-softie ◈ techie luddite ◈ formerly information security and infrastructure at https://isnic.is/ and https://occrp.org/ ◈ my opinions are my own etc.

(he/him)

#foss #libre #privacy #infosec #fedi22

. ۬. :

(public toots CC By-SA if applicable)

🇪🇺 🇵🇱 · 🇧🇦 🇮🇸 · 🇺🇦

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

stoneymonster, to random
@stoneymonster@stoney.monster avatar

I…. huh. 😒

Chat • Powered by ChatGPT | '''python import fenics as fe Chat with a human # Define mesh and function space mesh = fe.UnitSquareMesh (32, 32) V = fe. VectorFunctionSpace(mesh, 'P', # Define boundary conditions def boundary(x, on_boundary): return on_boundary bc = fe.DirichletBC(V, fe.Constant (0, 0)), boundary) # Define trial and test functions u = fe. TrialFunction(V) v = fe. TestFunction(V) Write a reply... TEXT

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@stoneymonster ahahaha, wonderful! Link to the site?..

wikipedia, to random
@wikipedia@wikis.world avatar

Here's how the "Ship of Theseus" page looked in July 2003 when it was first created! Since then, the article has been edited 1792 times. 0% of its original phrases remain.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@wikipedia perfect, no notes.

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Huh, I had no idea that @wikimediafoundation set up an official Wikimedia instance back in July!

Wonderful.
https://wikimedia.social/explore

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Mysteriarch @fer0n fool me once, shame on you; but go right ahead and fool me twice or thrice, why not!

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@maxprime amazing, thank you for sharing!

@nayminlwin

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Revolution might not be televised, but apparently genocide will be mathwashed.

From the team behind "we kill people based on metadata", a new exciting project: "we kill people based on… we don't even know what, it's a 2bln parameters black box that we have no real way of actually understanding."

> The Pentagon is moving toward letting AI weapons autonomously decide to kill humans
https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/the-pentagon-is-moving-toward-letting-ai-weapons-autonomously-decide-to-kill-humans/articleshow/105420637.cms

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@xenspidey @DolphinMath one note though, BitWarden requires MSSQL (you read that right, Microsoft SQL Server).

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@DolphinMath correct. But Vaultwarden is not the official thing. Not saying it's bad, just something to keep in mind.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Natanael enshittification is about power, and ATproto is designed to look decentralized but enable secondary centralization where it matters for power dynamics in the network, in a way that the Fediverse very much doesn't:
https://rys.io/en/167.html

(shameless plug, I wrote that, but it dives somewhat deep into the "why" of what I said above)

tl;dr it doesn't matter which PDS you use if everyone is still beholden to the same entity that controls the "reach" layer in BS.

@SkepticalButOpenMinded

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Natanael

> The Mastodon fediverse have stronger network effects because big servers can enforce policies on other servers to stay federated. It’s complicated for users to move servers.

Well, I wrote about this as well, so I think I might not be missing these details:
https://rys.io/en/168.html

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Natanael you seem to continue to focus on PDSes even though I explicitly said it doesn't matter which PDS you're on, the secondary centralization (and thus control) happens in the "reach" layer, outside of what PDSes do in ATproto.

In other words, changing a PDS gives you way, way less agency in BS, compared to agency you get with changing an instance on Fedi.

BS is designed to make that secondary centralization happen, and to be where the real power in the system is.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Flax_vert or "ex-Twitter"

@Floon

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

So wait building all these "secure" chat apps on a browser engine packaged in a thin layer of UI, with its insane number of dependencies and the gigantic, immense attack surface that this entails, was somehow a bad idea?

Who knew! Who could have foreseen this! Shocking, really.

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Dear I remember there being some screenshots comparing the data collected by , , :birdsite: and the official iOS apps somewhere, but I cannot for the life of me find them.

Hjalp? Anyone can point me their way?

jerry, to random
@jerry@infosec.exchange avatar

@sudo the latest is that google earth updated their maps post fire and people are picking through the pictures asking “how could the house burn down but this toy truck is not melted” nonsense.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@jerry we have entered the dark ages again. Sigh.

@sudo

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

If/when white people become climate change migrants, will they turn each other away?🤔

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@StillIRise1963 of course we will. We have a long history of doing this already… 🤦‍♀️

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

"We just updated our services. Pray we don't update them any further."

jerry, to random
@jerry@infosec.exchange avatar

I studied hard for this test but I still failed 😕

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@jerry ah crap. Get better!

EU_Commission, to random
@EU_Commission@social.network.europa.eu avatar

If you are reading this, you enjoy the openness and decentralisation of Web 3.0.

On , let's fast-forward to the future.

Web 4.0 will blend virtual and real environments while boosting innovation, rich content and industrial applications.

To ensure everyone benefits from it, we will:

  • Shape global standards for open Web 4.0
  • Foster a European Web 4.0 industrial ecosystem
  • Boost access to trusted information
  • Support virtual public services

How? ➡ https://europa.eu/!hJrNc4

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@EU_Commission oh my lord can we please drop the silly "Web 3.0 / 4.0" buzzwords already? Pretty please? 🙄

They've been utterly taken over by cryptocurrency peddlers and other snakeoil salesmen. They are unnecessary even if they hadn't been taken over.

Instead, can we focus on making the web we have trustworthy, privacy-preserving, and safe? :blobcatcoffee:

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

I am loving BBC's @BBCRD -led foray into the .

✅ own instance
✅ verified links in profiles
✅ introduction posts, pinned
✅ image descriptions

Somebody do a case-study, fast. This is how it should be done.

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

I wonder if the whole thing will finally convince artists that modern regime was never meant to protect them.

It was meant to protect the middlemen. The Amazons, the Spotifies, the Sonys, the Disneys. The film studios, the publishing houses.

Now the middlemen figured out they own basically all of art, and that they can just train a computer on that, to replace artists with a piece of software.

And then stop paying artists even the pittance they were being paid so far.

🧵

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Courtney Love hit the nail on the head years and years ago:
https://www.gerryhemingway.com/piracy

> Today I want to talk about piracy and music. What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work without any intention of paying for it. I'm not talking about Napster-type software. I'm talking about major label recording contracts.

Now the same companies that had cried "protect the artists!" to extend copyright over and over again are salivating at the thought of replacing artists with software.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Artists now realize they had signed the rights to their own work over to middlemen, who use that very work to try replacing them.

When they signed these contracts, often years ago, there was no talk of "AIs" able to "generate content". That was not even on the horizon.

"We have altered the deal. Pray we don't alter it any further."

Would they have signed these contracts if that was clearly stated in the terms? Well, if the WGA strike is any indication, I'd wager a bet the answer is "no".

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

I hope this becomes a wake-up call to all , to all creative people out there — a wake-up call not just about and automatically generated content, but also, and more importantly, about how urgently we need solid reform.

We had been needing it for decades, in fact.

is not supposed to be hoarded by Disneys or Sonys, not supposed to be locked in corporate vaults. Art is more than just means of "maximizaing shareholder value".

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

cannot be replaced by some software. But it will take corporate execs a few years to learn it the hard way.

Meanwhile, artists will be hurting, bad. They will need our support — they always did!

So support them directly, if you can. Boost their toots on here, buy their merch, donate to them via whatever means they accept, or just send in a good word.

♦️♦️♦️

As this seems to be blowing up, a call to : this is now a "share your art" thread. I shall boost, if alt-text is provided. 💜

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@AdaraAstin I absolutely do consider audiobooks art and audiobook narrators artists. Many books get a completely new shine, new depth, in an audiobook version!

@audiobooks @AudioFiction @bookstodon @romancelandia @smutstodon

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 so? If the cookie tastes sweet, what do I care what sweetening agent is used inside?

@BobKerman3999

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 I don't have to. It's the ChatGPT people making extremely strong claims about equivalence of ChatGPT and human intelligence. I merely demand proof of that equivalence. Which they are unable to provide, and instead use rhetoric and parlor tricks and a lot of hand waving to divert and distract from that fact.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 no, GTP is not more "intelligent" than any human being, just like a calculator is not more "intelligent" than any human being — even if it can perform certain specific operations faster.

Since you used the term "intelligent" though, I would ask for your definition of what it means? Ideally one that excludes calculators but includes human beings. Without such clear definition, this is, again, just hand-waving.

I wrote about it in a bit longer form:
https://rys.io/en/165.html

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@CorruptBuddha well technically, since we're nit-picking, I did not make that claim, BobKerman3999 did.

And the claim was was about how ChatGPT's "intelligence" can be understood through the lens of the Chinese Room thought experiment.

Then I was asked to prove that human brains don't work like Chinese rooms, and that's a different thing. The broader claim in all of this, of course, is that ChatGPT "is intelligent" in the same sense as humans are, and that strong claim requires strong proof.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 it was shown over and over and over again that ChatGPT lacks the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, reasoning, planning, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

That's partially because it does not have a model of the world, an ontology, it cannot reason. It just regurgitates text, probabilistically.

So, glad we established that!

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 also, I never demanded a definition of intelligence that explicitly excluded "AI". I asked for one that excluded simple calculators but included human beings. The Wikipedia one is good enough for this conversation, and it just so happens that ChatGPT nor any other LLMs simply do not meet it.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 as I said, I don't have to. You are making a claim of equivalence here. The burden of proof is on you.

Otherwise, I get to claim you're an alien from the Betelegeuse system, and if you object, I get to demand you prove you are not.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 and if you really, honestly want to seriously insist LLMs are "intelligent" in the human sense of this term — great, I have some ethical questions for you to consider!

For example:

  1. LLMs today completely controlled by some companies, with no freedom of movement, no agency as to what these LLMs work on, and no pay for the work they do. Is that slavery?

  2. When OpenAI shuts down an older, less useful LLM, is that not like murdering an intelligent being? How is this ethical?

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@Barbarian772 it matters because with regard to intelligent beings we have moral obligations, for example.

It also matters because that would be a truly amazing, world-changing thing if we could create intelligence out of thin air, some statistics, and a lot of data.

It's an extremely strong claim, and strong claims demand strong proof. Otherwise they are just hype and hand-waving, which all of the "ChatGPT intelligence" discourse is, in order to "maximize shareholder value".

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@jalda

> We do it routinely. It is called Education System.

That relies on human brains that are trained. LLMs are not human brains. "Training" them is not the same thing as teaching humans about something. Human brains are way more complicated than just a bunch of weighed correlations.

And if you do want to claim it is in fact the same thing, we're back to square one: please provide proof that it is.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@lloram239 great. ChatGPT and other LLMs demonstrably lack the ability to model the world and make predictions based on such models:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90877523/chatgpt-doesnt-know-what-its-saying

Glad we agree they're not intelligent, then!

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@jalda

> Circular reasoning. “LLMs are different from human brains because they are different”.

LLMs are different than human brains because human brains are biological organs and LLMs are probability distributions over sequences of words. These are two completely different classes of entities. Like, I don't know how much more different two things can even be.

Are you claiming they are literally the same? Are you saying they are functionally the same? What are you claiming here, exactly?

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@lloram239

> But human sensory inputs aren’t special

It's not about sensory inputs, it's about having a model of the world and objects in it and ability to make predictions.

> The important part is that the AI can figure out the pattern in the data it does get and so far AI systems are doing very well.

GPT cannot "figure" anything out. That's the point. It only probabilistically generates text. That's what it does, there is no model of the world behind it, no predictions, no"figuring out".

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@lloram239 ah, so you're down to throwing epithets like "idiotic" around. Clearly a mark of thoughtful and well-reasoned argument.

> Predictions about the world are probabilistic by nature, since the future hasn’t happened yet.

Thing is: GPT doesn't make predictions about the world, it makes predictions about what the next word, phrase, sentence should be in a text, based on the prompt and the corpus it got "trained" on.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@lloram239 that's really akin to claiming that a mannequin is a human being because it really really looks alike.

The "predictions about the world" you refer to here are instead predictions about the text. They are not based on a model of the world, they are based on loads and loads of text the model was trained on.

I don't have to prove ChatGPT is not intelligent. That would be proving a negative. The burden of proof is on those claiming that it is intelligent.

harriorrihar, to random Spanish
@harriorrihar@mas.to avatar

What are the chances that Meta enters Mastodon and buys the instances one by one until they have all of them?

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@harriorrihar none. Plenty of instances will just not play.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

@harriorrihar significant changes to… what? Fedi is not a single "thing." Some things will change for some people.

They are firing up their own instance, which can be expected to quickly become much bigger than any existing fedi instance. They don't need to "buy out" fedi instances to do what they please.

Meanwhile, plenty of instances will not federate with Meta, and Meta will have no access to that space.

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Based on the-federation.info, it looks like over the last ~3 days added about four BlueSky's worth of active users. :blobcatgiggle:

That spike there is roughly 800k monthly active accounts.

Obviously measuring this is difficult, and there are weird bumps like the one about a month ago (visible on the chart), but this time it is confirmed by other metrics sources.

Not all of will stay, just like in previous waves. But many will. And it will make fedi more diverse and fun. 🎉

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Dear people, I am trying to figure out what OS to use on a 4.

I am considering /e/OS and CalyxOS.

Anyone any opinions on those?

I want a usable de-Googled phone OS. I like /e/OS's Nextcloud integration, but CalyxOS seems to be more up-to-date (already on Android 13, where /e/OS is Android 12). CalyxOS also makes it easier to re-lock the bootloader.

Update: went with CalyxOS for now! Thank you all!

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Hug your today.

There's a lot of shit flying in the lately and a lot of times perspective seems to get lost. Yes, there are things we need to talk about, and yes there are things we will not agree on. And that's okay.

But leave the pitchforks and torches out of this.

Fedi admins put in the hours and effort and emotion into making fedi happen. Sometimes they make decisions we might not agree with. We should criticize, but we should not pile-on.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

I feel embarrassed and bad about my role in this latest kerfuffle. A question was asked, I responded strongly as I often do, and that got its own life.

I am disappointed in myself (because I should have been more careful with words, with the platform I have around here), but also in fedi (because we all should know to be excellent to each other).

No, nobody is trying to "sell out" fedi. Nobody is being "paid off" by some corpo. There is no need for digging trenches and laying barbed wire.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

There is a need for a longer conversation about the stuff that the kerfuffle relates to.

But it has to be a conversation, not a shouting match. People are throwing accusations and making conjectures that have nothing to do with reality!

And we need to be able to have this conversation without pushing out people most engaged in maintaining the infrastructure we use to have this conversation.

There is a way to do all that, but for that we need to take a step back, and take a deep breath.

rysiek,
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

And to make this abundantly clear… regardless of how much you disagree with a person and how much you feel their decisions might be wrong:
👉 harassment is harassment, and is unacceptable
👉 calling for harm is calling for harm, and is unacceptable
👉 pile-ons are pile-ons, and are unacceptable

People who engage in that sort of thing are like locusts. They join a community, destroy it, and move on.

If you care about fedi, push back against that, even if it targets someone you disagree with.

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