ngaylinn

@ngaylinn@tech.lgbt

Intelligence researcher, software engineer, philosopher, and blogger.
White, he / him. :flag_pansexual: :flag_demisexual: :ms_furry_pride:

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grimalkina, to random
@grimalkina@mastodon.social avatar

The most disappointingly simplistic thinking in tech, to me personally, is when people think just because something is being deployed IN education, in a classroom, or in a school, that means it's an unquestionable public good.

Instead of seeing the many, many complex ways that we take advantage of schools, or indeed damage schools, with our technology.

I'm always amazed by the strength of this association for people who haven't worked directly in education.

ngaylinn,

@grimalkina "Education" is a market for them, and a way to score positive brand recognition. They can't be bothered to understand the system and the people they're "helping." That would be a distraction from the important work of building and selling this technology. Besides, they're exceptionally smart and talented engineers who can solve any problem they set their minds to. What could they possibly have to learn from teachers or students?

Riedl, to random
@Riedl@sigmoid.social avatar

Sounds like someone is trying to justify scraping the internet for training data

ngaylinn,

@Riedl Sounds like he's saying that artists add very little to the process of making art, and that we'd be better off with a room full of monkeys on typewriters.

All I can think is this man has no idea what art, communication, and culture are. He's implying that meaning, purpose, and relevance to lived experience don't matter in creative works. I'd argue those are essential—the key ingredients that make human culture so powerful.

cetan, to random
@cetan@toot.community avatar

I wish someone had told me that getting old sucked. Wait, they did but I was too young and dumb to listen. I'd better warn the youth of today so they don't make the same mistake.

ngaylinn,

@cetan Some lessons you just need to learn first hand.

AndyPerfors, to random
@AndyPerfors@aus.social avatar

8yo: You know what I keep thinking about?

Me: What?

8yo: What if every time you blinked, you slipped into a different universe, but nothing about it was different? How would you know?

Me: ...

8yo: Every time I blink, I think about it.

Me: Well. What if that happens but the new universe IS different but in a way you couldn't possibly realise, like a person in China has a different name or some flower somewhere died or something like that?

8yo: ...

8yo: Thanks. Now I'm never going to stop thinking about THAT, either

ngaylinn,

@AndyPerfors Just be sure to teach them to use their powers of inter-dimensional travel for good!

seth, to RegEx

Most people have a fear of rejection.

The only fear I have is

ngaylinn,

@seth You mean regexion?

ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs, to random
@ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs@kolektiva.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    ngaylinn,

    @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs Wait. So, if the state makes an unethical law, then complying with the law may be illegal if you are subject to state-mandated ethics standards?

    This hurts my brain. :blobcatnotlikethis:​

    ngaylinn,

    @Doomed_Daniel @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs I mean, stupid as this is, I can see how it makes a pathway for (eventually) aligning law with ethics. So, grateful for that!

    ngaylinn, to random

    I loved the comic, so I was a little worried about the Netflix adaptation, but it was pretty good! They certainly captured Nimona's queer chaotic energy, and told a fun story about prejudice, queer identity, and oppressive policing.

    The art style was a little generic, though. That's a shame, because ND Stevenson's style is gorgeous, unique, and well suited to the story. I noticed some of their art incorporated into background elements, but I wish there was more of that...

    senders, to Software

    How does your team avoid "bystander effect" when needing reviews or feedback on things?

    ngaylinn,

    @senders I've used two main techniques. One is an "on-call rotation" where each week one person has the job of making sure all incoming issues get addressed. The other is auto-assignment. When issues come in for the team, they get resigned to one person who is then responsible.

    In both cases, the person responsible doesn't necessarily have to solve the problem themselves, just make sure somebody does. If they're too busy or not the right person for the job, they negotiate a handoff with a teammate.

    mhoye, to random
    @mhoye@mastodon.social avatar

    Having a conversation with my son about why are there so many weed stores that all seem to be going out of business and the conversation went from market economics to racism pretty fast. It's a short path from "enthusiasts flooded the market after legalization" to "if it's not really bad why was it illegal" to "when governments declare something harmless but culturally-meaningful illegal, that's a tool for declaring people of that culture to be criminals and strip them of their rights."

    ngaylinn,

    @mhoye Important lesson to teach and learn, sadly.

    noiobscura, to pixelart
    @noiobscura@pawb.fun avatar

    Early stages for a beach background, still gotta add stuff in the foreground!

    ngaylinn,

    @noiobscura Great texture.

    futurebird, to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Is it just my imagination or is it harder to get youTube to save a list of queued up videos to play?

    When I do watch youTube I like to select what I want to watch, put it in the ideal order, check that all the ad blockers are working then watch.

    But my lists keep getting randomly erased. Which causes me to just not watch anything and do something else.

    I've always suspected that youTube hates people who select and queue videos almost as much as adblocking watchers... have they come for us?

    ngaylinn, (edited )

    @futurebird YouTube's products all prioritize recommendations, because that gives YT more power over your viewing habits. I doubt they're "cracking down" on people who curate video lists, but it's not a profitable feature for YT, so it's a prime candidate for neglect. :(

    ngaylinn,

    @futurebird For the record, I have the same problem just trying to listen to albums from beginning to end in YT Music. Same reason, too, I bet.

    elduvelle, to academia
    @elduvelle@neuromatch.social avatar

    Isn’t it weird that job applications require recommendation letters from your mentors, but not your mentees?
    How can they know if you’re a good mentor without asking input from those you supervised? 🤔

    ngaylinn,

    @elduvelle That matches my experience in the tech industry. Management, mentorship, etc. are encouraged and respected for "bonus points," but nobody is expected to learn the skills or be evaluated on using them. Makes a strong disincentive to do the job well! A shame, since it's a very important responsibility that defines an institution's culture.

    alter_kaker, to programming
    @alter_kaker@hachyderm.io avatar

    After this one experience at work about a year ago I shy away from making changes in the code that affect existing data structures, and try to work around what's already there, even if it's not ideal. Thanks to my manager, who yesterday encouraged me to give it a try this time, I tried anyway and I feel like I overestimated the complexity of the change in this case. Don't let me eat my words though, it's not comprehensively tested yet...

    ngaylinn,

    @alter_kaker Non-backwards-compatible changes to core data structures can have sweeping, surprising, and dangerous effects sometimes! Especially in any system with concurrency or cached state. It's not something to do lightly.

    On the other hand, if everyone avoids touching the old load-bearing data structures, they eventually become haunted graveyards of technical debt, where no one dares to go.

    ShadowJonathan, to random

    The sun is big hot angy >:(

    ngaylinn,

    @ShadowJonathan

    jbigham, to random
    @jbigham@hci.social avatar

    alignment is so bizarre but so straightforwardly the way ML folks would think about values … assume you have figured out how to write down all your values in an unambiguous policy, now work on the hard problem of getting the model to follow those things!

    ngaylinn,

    @jbigham And, of course, the billionaires funding the alignment program are the ultimate deciders of what the values are, that all of these systems will enforce...

    Not to worry, I'm sure they will use their superior reasoning abilities to choose something objectively correct. 🙄

    chrisisgr8, to random

    given the mood on this planet lately I really think i should bring back my "ship the ocean to the moon" idea. this would absolutely get vc money

    ngaylinn, (edited )

    @chrisisgr8 I immediately assumed you were talking about slash fiction.

    Moon/ocean is a great ship pairing, actually. There's attraction, separation, yearning, and reunion.

    ngaylinn, to random

    Anybody else experience this?

    I get really attached to places. I get to know their little quirks and hidden details like friends. I feel a sense of comfort and mastery from knowing how to get around and accomplish things. Now that I'm moving again, revisiting my old haunts is incredibly nostalgic. It only feels right to stop by and say goodbye to that hole-in-the-wall restaurant, my favorite hiking spot, or even that annoying intersection I learned to bypass.

    Places have character, and I form complex relationships with them.

    ngaylinn,

    @maegul That's a great question! There ought to be a word for this feeling, right? It's such a cozy yet powerful feeling for me.

    ngaylinn, to random

    That feeling when you finally have enough boxes.

    shriramk, to random
    @shriramk@mastodon.social avatar

    "Current number of students that do not identify as straight stands at five times national rate" doesn't seem too surprising coming from the campus that got Bill O'Reilly/Fox all hot and bothered because of a legendary annual party called Sex Power God.
    https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/06/lgbtq-student-self-identification-has-doubled-since-2010-according-to-herald-polling-data

    ngaylinn,

    @shriramk Ah, memories.

    ErosBlog, to random
    @ErosBlog@kinkyelephant.com avatar

    Cursed object!

    ngaylinn,

    @ErosBlog Loading this image mysteriously crashed my browser tab. The unholy power of the goat internet is too strong!

    hootalex, to random
    @hootalex@mastodon.social avatar

    The KeyBird has landed!! 🐦⌨️

    ngaylinn,

    @hootalex The species are chosen to match the letter! I love it.

    DrewKadel, to random
    @DrewKadel@social.coop avatar

    My daughter, who has had a degree in computer science for 25 years, posted this observation about ChatGPT on Facebook. It's the best description I've seen:

    ngaylinn,

    @laemmerbiss @DrewKadel The difference is the wiseass know-it-all has an agenda. They understand what they are saying and what the consequences might be. They might be full of shit, but you can still judge them and their words based on your understanding of human nature.

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