• 27 Posts
  • 85 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 25th, 2023
  • self@awful.systemstoTechTakes@awful.systems•ChatGPT in the classroom: OpenAI continues its education push with two new courses for teachersEnglish
    7·
    4 hours ago

    the linked Buttondown article deserves highlighting because, as always, Emily M Bender knows what’s up:

    If we value information literacy and cultivating in students the ability to think critically about information sources and how they relate to each other, we shouldn’t use systems that not only rupture the relationship between reader and information source, but also present a worldview where there are simple, authoritative answers to questions, and all we have to do is to just ask ChatGPT for them.

    (and I really should start listening to Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 soon)

    also, this stood out, from the OpenAI/Common Sense Media (ugh) presentation:

    As a responsible user, it is essential that you check and evaluate the accuracy of the outputs of any generative AI tool before you share it with your colleagues, parents and caregivers, and students. That includes any seemingly factual information, links, references, and citations.

    this is such a fucked framing of the dangers of informational bias, algorithmic racism, and the laundering of fabricated data through the false authority of an LLM. framing it as an issue where the responsible party is the non-expert user is a lot like saying “of course you can diagnose your own ocular damage, just use your eyes”. it’s very easy to perceive the AI as unbiased in situations where the bias agrees with your own, and that is incredibly dangerous to marginalized students. and as always, it’s gross how targeted this is: educators are used to being the responsible ones in the room, and this might feel like yet another responsibility to take on — but that’s not a reasonable way to handle LLMs as a source of unending bullshit.

  • self@awful.systemstoTechTakes@awful.systems•Whomp-whomp: AI PCs make users less productiveEnglish
    9·
    6 hours ago

    Lack of familiarity with AI PCs leads to what the study describes as “misconceptions,” which include the following: 44 percent of respondents believe AI PCs are a gimmick or futuristic; 53 percent believe AI PCs are only for creative or technical professionals; 86 percent are concerned about the privacy and security of their data when using an AI PC; and 17 percent believe AI PCs are not secure or regulated.

    ah yeah, you just need to get more familiar with your AI PC so you stop caring what a massive privacy and security risk both Recall and Copilot are

    lol @ 44% of the study’s participants already knowing this shit’s a desperate gimmick though

  • self@awful.systemsOPtoTechTakes@awful.systems•On “Safe” C++: An Odyssey of SneersEnglish
    14·
    2 days ago

    another absolutely fucked thing about the gotcha interview is, they never stop at just one. if you somehow read the interviewer’s mind and asspull the expected (not “correct”, mind you) answer, they’ll just go “huh” and instantly pivot to a different instant-fail gotcha. the point of the gotcha interview isn’t candidate selection; the point is that the asshole interviewer has power over the candidate, and can easily use gotchas to fabricate technical-sounding reasons for rejecting suitable candidates they personally just don’t like.

    shit like this is one reason our industry is full of fucking assholes; they select for their own by any practical means. it’s reminiscent of those rigged, impossible “literacy tests” they used to give voters in the south (that is, the southern US), where almost every question was a gotcha designed so that a poll worker could exclude Black voters at effectively their own discretion, complete with a bullshit paper trail in case anyone questioned the process.

    (also, how many of these assholes send candidates down a rabbit hole wasting time answering questions unrelated to the position when they don’t get the gotcha right? I swear that’s happened to me more than once, and I can only imagine it’s so nobody asks why most of the interviews are so short)

  • self@awful.systemsOPtoTechTakes@awful.systems•On “Safe” C++: An Odyssey of SneersEnglish
    13·
    3 days ago

    I can now believe that they might have considered that, and are probably hoping he’ll come down in their favour now that he’s coming in.

    I’m betting there are some juicy logs of something like this happening in the C++ Alliance Slack’s secret #unfiltered channel, given that its typical content allegedly consists of abuse directed towards marginalized people, coordination of harassment and misinformation on community platforms, and various other fash shit. it’s weird that a Slack so closely associated with the “professional and respectful” ISO C++ committee would host two (including the diet version, #on-topic) of what are essentially chan-style trolling channels for people who think they’re adults on an official Slack. maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising, since one committee member felt comfortable posting an extensive, unhinged COVID conspiracy rant on the WG21 mailing list — with a community like that, it’s just a matter of time before the assholes in charge go mask-off.

    and for anyone who hasn’t read the article yet, the above isn’t even the worst shit you’ll learn about, it’s a fucking rollercoaster (and there are some details alluded to that you’ll only pick up on a second reading too)

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