So “as a compliment to web search” is a great example. We had really good we search based off deterministic algorithms. Now we have enshittified web search, so you boost it with AI that was significantly more expensive to train, significantly more expensive to run inference on, and can confidently return false “facts”.

We’re not using it because it’s better. We’re using it because the alternative got worse.

They’re novelties for sure, but I see nothing but toy uses or things that be achieved by other, less wasteful, techniques.

I assume by crypto you mean cryptocurrencies rather than any cryptography, because there’s lots of valid uses for private communication.

Heroes

Ludicrous amounts of money being pumped into a technology that has no practical purpose.

Lawsuits seem like the wrong way to decide medical efficacy of treatments.

I think people who dislike flatpaks or similar aren’t having “problems”. They work, but they’re using using a sledgehammer to drive a nail.

…and it’s turned them into the state with the highest standard of living in the US…right?

If ethical boundaries get thrown out in times of trouble, we don’t have ethical boundaries. It’s easy to not step over the line in times of peace.

It looks pretty dark out there.

Your lobes are showing.

They just assumed a constant draw I think.

No, but I don’t think you’re appreciating how difficult it would be to fill that 3%. It’s not just about having 3% more power from something. It’s having it at the right time. It needs to be on demand. Having something on demand that has to cover all it’s costs selling just 3% isn’t easy.

It’s more resilient to have mixed supply where multiple types of generation take a proportion. Then when one falls short another can scale up a little.

If somebody has to keep that gas generator serviced only to run it on winter mornings, that electricity is going to be very pricey.

Rules that apply to all nations, much like we have for Antarctica.

I’ve tried this a few times. I don’t think it works.

Basically the way you want to explain a piece of reasoning , and the order in which things need to be defined for a program, are different. You end up either making the document match the code structures, or the code structure match the document. Both are bad.

During a tense high-level meeting in Brussels, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas that Beijing cannot allow Russia to lose in its war against Ukraine. According to several sources cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on 4 July, China fears that such an outcome would allow the United States to fully pivot its attention to Beijing.

1. The US ain’t doing shit with Russia, so I don’t follow on it being a “distraction”. The US is wholly self absorbed and that’s the distraction.
2. Hey Russia! Nice “ally” you have there.
3. Was China expecting EU support on this strategy?

I can speak a bit on the UK as I live there.

The use of gas is for two things.

• Balancing against wind and solar, both of which can evaporate at certain times of year. Without more storage we’re left in a position where we basically need to be able to support 30GW of demand just on gas.

• Frequency stabilisation and cold start capability. We never seem to drop below 4GW of gas (or biomass - anything spinning mass) generation. Even if we had excess wind and solar, some gas will be burnt “just in case”.

Right now we need more storage, and better connections from the new sources of power (the coast for wind and international connectors) to the centres of demand (the cities). Power stations were historically located much closer to where the demand is, and our electricity grid is still shaped by that.

Today has been a good example. Lots of wind and sun but still 16% gas. We even switched some wind farms off today because we couldn’t get the power to where it was needed or a way to store it.

https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/72h/hourly

there’s just no market demand for it

Oh… There’s demand for it for sure.

The image generation models that exist are unquestionable proof of demand for penises. I think what’s missing is the kahunas required to make a business around it. There are places even pornographers fear to tread.