#tech discourse

[alexadelphia-official]

Just saw some linkedin influencer have his occupation tagline as "AI Evangelist" and I think that speaks for itself

[commander-chaoss]

I am anti "the only way to read our menu is by scanning a QR code" but also pro QR code menus because something about me is that I am an excellent reader and I can't read menus to save my life. Idk why. Too much information at once I guess? I just can't do it. I can stare at a menu for 10 straight minutes and not get a single bit of information off of it. If I go to a restaurant where I'm given a menu, I have to have someone point out a section I might like something from and block the rest of the menu with my hands and I will order from that section only because I can't read the rest.

But I can read QR code menus. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say that because the menu is being displayed on my mobile phone screen I can limit how much information I'm trying to take in at a time? Anyway i was stoked when I went to an IHOP and could read the whole menu I found something I liked and could eat for 2 whole meals without issue (if I'd been able to take leftovers home but we were going to a park afterwards and it was going to be like 6 hours) and it was awesome.

All this to say. Please don't phase out QR code menus. Just insist on physical menus being available

[secret-third-thing]

HEYO work talk below - if you're in tech you probably have heard this a gazillion times

AI is a broad term, and a lot of games, including the game I'm on, uses AI to determine NPC behavior etc. A lot of really great things in our lives use AI to make things safer (car safety features saved my life for ex). FEEDING AI ART/WRITING/VO IS NOT PART OF THAT.

I am watching one of the new Biz Leaders at the parent company have the most rancid take about using our work for AI.

AT LEAST they are putting together a survey about this. But as a manager and team lead, I am already cringing at how this is all going to go down.

[alexadelphia-official]

Also hilarious thing that just happened to me is on desktop my antivirus flags Gmail as dangerous and "potential phishing scam" like ok bro we all know google steals too much of our data but thanks for the heads up

[vaporwaverealism]

AI is actually amazing at widening accessibility. People will be out there criticizing people for using AI transcription tools ("how can they even trust in its accuracy?!?!?!??111") meanwhile I'll be there using it to make taking notes finally work for me. I found it impossible to listen to the lecturer and write at the same time, so I'd find I had no memory of the lecture and had a bunch of ambiguous notes that were often half completed because I struggled to summarize or write down/type fast enough to keep up. I have severe attentional problems from psych and neuro issues and now I can FINALLY function and compete with neurotypicals thanks to stuff like this. Thanks, audio recordings + AI summaries.

[alexadelphia-official]

Biting killing both the tumblr and the google search algorithms aaaaaaa they never find me the correct thing only random ass or in the latter case, sponsored posts

[smoothjax]

I've seen a couple of posts recently about the Apple vs Android debate going on, but I think that I can solve this argument completely.

I'm of the opinion that you buy tools to get something done. All a laptop or a phone is, really, is a tool that you use to complete certain tasks. Is it ultimately the best idea to get the best tools that you can? Sure, but it's the caveat at the end of that question that I want to dive into.

"That you can" is the lynchpin of this argument. In theory, a MacBook Pro is really only meant for Professional use. Apple designed it to fit the needs of someone who is using this machine creatively. Whatever that creative endeavor is doesn't matter to Apple, they're just making the tool so it can complete the tasks people ask of it.

This makes a MacBook Pro a really poor choice if all you're going to do is browse the internet or other low power tasks. That laptop will have 50x the processing power than you'd need to write an essay and load up loads of tabs researching. It'll keep up with you doing literally anything, because the tool is overkill for the task you need done. Making it a wasteful (and Expensive!!) purchase that should be avoided.

But! But but but this excludes and ignores the largest and most horrible part of capitalism. Availability. The fact of the matter is people buy what they have access to and can understand.

PLENTY of homes are poor and use Apple devices, because Apple has put in effort to make their operating systems easy to comprehend, using simple language (good for kids!) and clear labelling on their UI. This makes it easier for people to understand, and so naturally the next time they go to get a computer they get the one that they don't have to learn anything to use.

Availability, though, is the big one. Sometimes you go to AT&T on their prepaid 3G Data plan and put it on the used iPhone 6 that this guy has from a trade-in that day because that's what you can afford and your job needs you to have a working phone.

Sometimes you need a laptop to submit an application and your cousin has an old MacBook in his closet from college that you can just have.

So would I say that you shouldn't trim your hedges with a 2 yard long chainsaw? Yes, but maybe that's the only tool your brother who owns a landscaping business could loan you. A pair of scissors would be just as incorrect.