... works as a web developer in Hveragerði, Iceland, and writes about the web, digital publishing, and web/product development
These are his notes
“Things are about to get a lot worse for Generative AI”
Like I and quite a few others have been saying for ages, generative models are very prone to verbatim copying both text and image. People in tech pretend it doesn’t happen but it’s much more prevalent than people think
There is a widespread misconception that LLMs are capable of independently reproducing factually correct information
Yup.
“AI and Lossy Bottlenecks - Schneier on Security”
Two points:
“Blind CSS Exfiltration: exfiltrate unknown web pages | PortSwigger Research”
If you allow unvetted CSS, this is why you need to both limit all url references to an allow list and to probably block CSS variables as well
Huh? Looks like micro.blog doesn’t properly delete posts? 😑
Deleted a post because I hadn’t realised it was a Bryan Lunduke article. I do not trust him as a journalist and journalism requires trust. Dude has a ton of dodgy ideas.
I linked to this yesterday, but it is really good
“More than calculators: Why large language models threaten learning, teaching, and education”
So here is my informed prediction: LLMs will ultimately be a net harm to student learning and schools, accelerating the collapse of public education.
“Can you add AI to the hydraulics system?”
We’re in the middle of a massive bubble and this is only a fraction of the ridiculousness it’ll reach before it pops, and all of you who are using generative models have a hand in inflating it
I see the punditry commenting on the NYT lawsuit is is pretending that current era LLMs aren’t specifically designed to memorise and regurgitate answers in standardised tests as a marketing ploy.
(Memorisation and verbatim copying is pretty much required to pass, say, a bar exam)
A short walk around Reykjavík.
“The New York Times Sues OpenAI, Microsoft for Copyright”
This was inevitable. Especially if search engine traffic is tanking.
Sergio Aragonés is probably the world’s greatest cartoonist. One of a handful of American comics artists and humourists who are loved by multiple generations.
“Is software getting worse? - Stack Overflow”
The rare “yes” answer.
“Adactio: Journal—Books I read in 2023”
The Intelligence Illusion by Baldur Bjarnason. Refreshingly level-headed and practical.
😎
Don’t make me come over there and explain yet again that the “Jólabókaflóð” is not a tradition like people make it out to be
It’s not even a fucking tradition. It’s just the sales phenomenon where books make great gifts so publishers release a lot of them around Christmas
“Google Search Overwhelmed By Massive Spam Attack”
They say “days” here because this is in addition to the ongoing spam problem that has been escalating in search all year
Also, non-English local search has been utter garbage filled with spam for a few years now
Purely anecdata at this point but I’m hearing from a couple of different source that book sales here in Iceland have been pretty good this Christmas—better than in recent years.
Did the traditional Icelandic Christmas thing of visiting the graves of relatives. The cemeteries here are suitably gothic with a bunch of of ravens hanging around
“Untangling Threads - Erin Kissane’s small internet website”
Finally got around to reading this. It’s really good.