Recent submissions

Comment · 2 days ago
Over here in Finland our road infrastructure sucks too, and pensioners take lion's share of all the resources. Yet our trains aren't crashing. There's something wrong with systems and safety culture in your railroads. Bad maintenance doesn't cause trains to crash into each other if proper procedures are followed.

Still I agree, pension systems in most EU countries are unsustainable.

Comment · 4 days ago
Yes, the causes are mainly genetic, but you can't diagnose it based on genetics, instead it's diagnosed based on symptoms. So if environmental factors (like giving toddler a tablet) worsen it already in childhood, the chances of getting ADHD diagnosis increases, in particular for milder cases. It's impossible to fully know what is caused by genetics, and what is caused by environment.

There is also something called "Attention Deficit Trait", which is case of ADHD like symptoms where the cause is not in genetics, but solely in environmental factors. While real ADHD is largely in genetics, I fully believe any individual can mess up their dopamine system by spending enough time browsing social media on their smartphone.

Most people who get ADHD diagnosis do have the condition (assuming proper diagnosis procedures were followed), but in a different environment it could probably be much less of an issue for many.

Comment · 6 days ago
Somebody should study whether giving a smart device to a toddler increases their chances of getting ADHD diagnosis and medication at later age. Probably the answer is yes.

If shitty parent's don't care about well-being of their children, they could at least consider the cost of future medication, not to even mention likely worse performance in school and job market.

Comment · 6 days ago
I agree. As an EU citizen, I'm much more worried of spying and election interference from USA than China these days.

If I have to choose between being subject of the Chinese Communist party or American psychopath billionaires, I'll gladly choose the party.

Comment · 7 days ago
I think LLM's will prove to be useful in any domain where most work happens in front of a computer. As LLM's make programming cheap, they also reduce the cost of building new software that automates work currently performed by humans in other fields.

If you provide best models with all the data and context an average white collar worker has to perform their job, in most cases they will do just fine. But in real world that context is often scattered over multiple systems, or sometimes exists only in people's heads. I believe that's the main bottleneck for adoption now.

Comment · 10 days ago
I agree. Programming was just a natural first problem to tackle, but the impact will not be limited there. If you give today's best model access to all the data sources and systems an average white collar worker has, it probably could do most of their job. But organizational change takes its time, systems need to be integrated into new AI tools and so on, so it will take a while.

People tend to overestimate change in short term, and underestimate it in long term. AI hasn't replaced programmers yet, but I believe it will replace most white collar workers in 20 years.

Comment · 13 days ago
Hetzner, OVHcloud are decent European options. I migrated to them after geopolitical risks with US providers got too high. No problems so far.
Comment · 17 days ago
Try see if you can find some physical hobby that has nothing to do with computers.

Mine is gardening. With relatively little effort, I can grow a decent amount of foods, much of it interesting varieties that are not grown commercially anywhere. I really doubt that we're going to see affordable humanoid robots out-competing me in this hobby any time soon.

Comment · 17 days ago
I don't see much of a need to buy from Amazon anymore. Almost always there is a smaller business selling same stuff cheaper, and as a plus I feel good about not supporting big American corporation.

Of course there are exceptions, like some businesses selling exclusively through Amazon.

Comment · 18 days ago
According to Wikipedia, this Helmer is based in Moscow, and allegedy recruited by KGB already in the 80's. Sounds like a very unbiased source!
Comment · 18 days ago
"I’m afraid that this is the end of a very long honeymoon for software developers. We have spent the past 30 years being treated like rock stars in our companies. "

Maybe this is true for FAANG engineers in America. In my country over here in Europe, salaries for software devs have never been that different from other STEM / business fields requiring similar education level.

Comment · 18 days ago
Some of us like to be healthy and fit, and choose walking over e-scooter or car for that reason alone. I wouldn't count it as a "hobby", more of a lifestyle thing.
Comment · 19 days ago
Large scale invasion is not likely, but they could try some limited operation to test NATO's unity. Most likely location would be somewhere in the Baltics.
Comment · 19 days ago
I can understand why people take their job seriously if they have a big mortgage and mouths to feed.

Now with AI threatening my job, I've decided to never take a mortgage, and generally live as frugally as possible, preparing for the worst. If I get laid off, I can at least always move back to my parents without being stuck with a house that I can't afford.

I predict AI might be the factor that finally causes a big a drop in real estate market. No need for offices when you replace workers with AI, no demand for housing when young people continue living with their parents and don't have children.

Comment · 19 days ago
After all white-collar jobs have been eaten by AI, you have hordes of ex-white collar workers applying for blue collar work, and simultaneously decreased demand, as these well-paid white collar workers were primary customers of many of those blue collar businesses.

Supply and demand will be very different from today, for the worse.

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