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Wandering Adventure Party

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  3. Notes for Americans:

Notes for Americans:

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  • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

    @elaine1helen AIs are *generative* and they're designed to generate an answer shaped object, not provide an *actual* answer.

    Amelia Bellamy-RoydsA This user is from outside of this forum
    Amelia Bellamy-RoydsA This user is from outside of this forum
    Amelia Bellamy-Royds
    wrote last edited by
    #211

    @elaine1helen @cstross Yes, one key point of failure for asking "simple" questions of genAI is that they are designed to generate something original, combining and randomizing their training inputs instead of just copying one.

    And for something like this, there's the issue that they don't really have a 3D model of the world, so every different angle of an image is like a different variation on the diagram, and these then get combined in ways that don't make sense from a real-world perspective.

    David NashD 1 Reply Last reply
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    • Trammell HudsonT Trammell Hudson

      @cstross this is still ok, right?

      Pete / SyllopsiumS This user is from outside of this forum
      Pete / SyllopsiumS This user is from outside of this forum
      Pete / Syllopsium
      wrote last edited by
      #212

      @th @cstross Yep that's fine. Everyone knows sockets use Yale keys, but it was a Chubb you'd be in trouble

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      • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

        RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

        Notes for Americans:

        1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

        2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

        3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

        Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔I This user is from outside of this forum
        Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔I This user is from outside of this forum
        Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔
        wrote last edited by
        #213

        @cstross #3 often applies all on its own, independent of the first two.

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        • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

          RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

          Notes for Americans:

          1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

          2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

          3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

          Richard   WebbF This user is from outside of this forum
          Richard   WebbF This user is from outside of this forum
          Richard Webb
          wrote last edited by
          #214

          @cstross

          Imagine the bomb disposal trope. Countdown running out. Hero has to decide which wire to cut, asks a LLM
          💥 BIG💥

          Wiring a plug was part of the Standard Grade Science course in Scotland (going back a few years). Towards the end of its lifetime we were forbidden from teaching it on grounds that you are no longer able to do it. It did not come up in the exam.

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • Neo EhproqueE Neo Ehproque

            @cstross

            OpenComputeDesignO This user is from outside of this forum
            OpenComputeDesignO This user is from outside of this forum
            OpenComputeDesign
            wrote last edited by
            #215

            @ehproque @cstross

            Ow my soul

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • SchroedingerS Schroedinger

              @cstross And the reason that pre-fitted plugs were made mandatory was because so many people didn't know how to correctly wire one.

              Which I find intensely depressing, as I have known how to wire one from very young.

              Roger LipscombeR This user is from outside of this forum
              Roger LipscombeR This user is from outside of this forum
              Roger Lipscombe
              wrote last edited by
              #216

              @SteveClough @cstross

              We were expected to learn how to wire a plug at school (late 80's, probably). My dad had already taught me, so I got full marks for doing it properly -- short live length, some slack in earth, and so on.

              I then demonstrated to the teacher that I could do it again (properly, still) with a butter knife and my teeth...

              SchroedingerS 1 Reply Last reply
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              • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                Ed EverettE This user is from outside of this forum
                Ed EverettE This user is from outside of this forum
                Ed Everett
                wrote last edited by
                #217

                @cstross unlike the first image this one isn’t plausible enough to follow

                The first image will mislead people 😬

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                • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                  There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                  XCondEX This user is from outside of this forum
                  XCondEX This user is from outside of this forum
                  XCondE
                  wrote last edited by
                  #218

                  @cstross gotta watch out for that BLIVE pin.

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                  • Erik JonkerE Erik Jonker

                    @sotolf @cstross AlphaFold 3 (2024) explicitly uses a generative diffusion model

                    pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                    pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                    pst
                    wrote last edited by
                    #219

                    @ErikJonker
                    But that is still quite different from the large language model-approach which is used for the 'foundational models ' like Claude and ChatGPT. The LLM approach has structural weaknesses and is the cause of the enthusiastically pushed falsehoods. As it does no know anything and has no real world feedback, every output is always based
                    on probabilities deduced from its corpus of inputs and training.
                    In specific cases, within specific/limited areas of competemce AI has proven very useful. But, that is very far removed from AGI. So far the LLM approach is mostly misused for internet slop, useless reports and articles and avoidance of responsibility by governments, like Israel's or ICE target selection...
                    @sotolf @cstross

                    Erik JonkerE 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • pstP pst

                      @ErikJonker
                      But that is still quite different from the large language model-approach which is used for the 'foundational models ' like Claude and ChatGPT. The LLM approach has structural weaknesses and is the cause of the enthusiastically pushed falsehoods. As it does no know anything and has no real world feedback, every output is always based
                      on probabilities deduced from its corpus of inputs and training.
                      In specific cases, within specific/limited areas of competemce AI has proven very useful. But, that is very far removed from AGI. So far the LLM approach is mostly misused for internet slop, useless reports and articles and avoidance of responsibility by governments, like Israel's or ICE target selection...
                      @sotolf @cstross

                      Erik JonkerE This user is from outside of this forum
                      Erik JonkerE This user is from outside of this forum
                      Erik Jonker
                      wrote last edited by
                      #220

                      @pst @sotolf @cstross NotebookLM has proven it's value, at least for me. AGI is a different discussion which I don't find very interesting. Just "strong AI" will change our world.

                      pstP 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • Roger LipscombeR Roger Lipscombe

                        @SteveClough @cstross

                        We were expected to learn how to wire a plug at school (late 80's, probably). My dad had already taught me, so I got full marks for doing it properly -- short live length, some slack in earth, and so on.

                        I then demonstrated to the teacher that I could do it again (properly, still) with a butter knife and my teeth...

                        SchroedingerS This user is from outside of this forum
                        SchroedingerS This user is from outside of this forum
                        Schroedinger
                        wrote last edited by
                        #221

                        @rogerlipscombe @cstross My dad always used to strip wires with a match (burn the insulation off).

                        Not sure it is the method that would be taught in schools.

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                        • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                          There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                          Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                          Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                          Cadbury Moose
                          wrote last edited by
                          #222

                          @cstross Who needs AI when the first track on your album is titled "Death Trap" and the cover art is a deliberately mis-wired 13 amp plug? (It caused enough of a stir that later releases had it covered with a "non-removable sticker", and I'm sure my CD has the correct wiring colours...)

                          Link Preview ImageLink Preview Image
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                          • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                            There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                            overflo 🐿️O This user is from outside of this forum
                            overflo 🐿️O This user is from outside of this forum
                            overflo 🐿️
                            wrote last edited by
                            #223

                            @cstross
                            I know true art when i see it.

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • NfoonfN Nfoonf

                              @cstross i told it how useless and dangerous the slopmachine is and in the end i shamed it into giving me parameters of its python sandbox

                              M SchommerM This user is from outside of this forum
                              M SchommerM This user is from outside of this forum
                              M Schommer
                              wrote last edited by
                              #224

                              @cstross @Nfoonf
                              #Slopmachine. TIL. Nice 🙂

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                              • Erik JonkerE Erik Jonker

                                @pst @sotolf @cstross NotebookLM has proven it's value, at least for me. AGI is a different discussion which I don't find very interesting. Just "strong AI" will change our world.

                                pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                                pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                                pst
                                wrote last edited by
                                #225

                                @ErikJonker
                                Well it is definitely changing the world and people's lives. But where it changes them the most, it is not for the better. See the pictures of Gaza or Minneapolis. That is the direct consequence of AI and people promoting it. These consequences should be taken into account when advocating it. As are the environmental costs and economic Frankenstein that is being built.
                                @sotolf @cstross

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                                • Cadbury MooseC Cadbury Moose

                                  @th @cstross

                                  No, just no. It's a good quality socket (MK are one of the best, and used to be the automatic choice for the building trade), but you have no idea what's behind that faceplate and if it's been correctly wired. Sticking _anything_ conductive into an electrical outlet is a very bad idea. (And a metal door key is probably one of the worst things you could use.) 3:O(((>

                                  O’BriatT This user is from outside of this forum
                                  O’BriatT This user is from outside of this forum
                                  O’Briat
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #226

                                  @Cadbury_Moose @th @cstross If you don’t trust what’s behind, don’t plug anything in any outlet that you didn’t personally test, no?

                                  Cadbury MooseC 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                                    There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                                    HansH This user is from outside of this forum
                                    HansH This user is from outside of this forum
                                    Hans
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #227

                                    @cstross is this a thing people on the UK do regularly: rewire their plug? I never once had to research how a German plug looks on the inside. What causes this?

                                    Charlie StrossC 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • HansH Hans

                                      @cstross is this a thing people on the UK do regularly: rewire their plug? I never once had to research how a German plug looks on the inside. What causes this?

                                      Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Charlie Stross
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #228

                                      @Hans It's not been a routine thing for 30-ish years, but the UK only standardized on its current mains plug wiring in 1948 and rewiring the entire country took many decades.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • DarrenD Darren

                                        @winkleink @cstross Always keen to jump on a bandwagon, I just asked Gemini to draw me a diagram of how to wire a UK plug. And, well, I'm not asking Sundar Pichai for any DIY help any time soon.

                                        pixelbanditoP This user is from outside of this forum
                                        pixelbanditoP This user is from outside of this forum
                                        pixelbandito
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #229

                                        @DJDarren @winkleink @cstross Imagining a world where we don't have a plug... And in the USA.

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                                        • O’BriatT O’Briat

                                          @Cadbury_Moose @th @cstross If you don’t trust what’s behind, don’t plug anything in any outlet that you didn’t personally test, no?

                                          Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Cadbury Moose
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #230

                                          @Teenage @th @cstross

                                          Indeed. All electric cables and outlets are "live" until personally proven otherwise.

                                          (Someday I'll lift the floorboards at Chez Moose and test/remove the old RLIC[1] power cables and all the VIR[2] lighting circuits. (Previous owner(s) installed laminate on top of the floorboards, which is a bit of a bugger.))

                                          3:O(>

                                          [1] Rubber Insulated Lead Covered. You do not want to know.
                                          [2] Vulcanized India Rubber (same 1930s era), you do not want to know about this either.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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