Readit NewsI didn't expect to see Harvard getting smacked around or humiliated like this.
Between Harvard, Yale, and possibly a few other schools, I thought they had influence throughout government. And that key figures in government were interested in maintaining and benefiting from that influence.
And a lot of that influence seemed aligned with national interests. (For example, getting things done with prestige connections, domestically and internationally. And the international diplomatic goodwill, when children of the world's wealthy and powerful go to prestigious schools in the US.)
Is some other faction at work now, or is it the same people as before? Are the power networks changing? If the distribution of power is changing, is it partly due to someone willing to sacrifice national power from which all parties benefited (and everyone else wasn't expecting that, or wasn't ready to defend against that from within)? Better questions?
Infact one of the most interesting/scary incidents for the US dollar was China selling USD denominated bonds and getting almost the same rate as the US government gets, which essentially means China can compete for USD with US government.
The implications of this is that if CHina wants, they now have another level to compete with the US. They can now issue USD denominated debt along the yield curve in areas where it would hurt the US hte most.
In the short term that is the frond end of the yield curve(short term under a year) where the US has to roll about $8 Trillion in debt over the next year.
With China competing by offering bonds here they will force up the interest rate the US has to pay pushing yields up with is the exact opposite of what Trump has publicly stated that he wants and making the US's already large fiscal deficit an even larger problem.
So whether the future leans biological, mechanical, or some hybrid, the real miracle isn’t just what new “overlords” or “offspring” arise, but that every unfolding is the same old pattern...the one that dreamed itself as atoms, as life, as consciousness, as community, as art, as algorithm, and as the endlessly renewing question: what’s next? What can I dream up next? In that: our current technological moment as just another fold in this ongoing recursive pattern.
Meaning is less about which pattern “wins,” or which entities get to call themselves conscious, and more about how awareness flows through every pattern, remembering itself, losing itself, and making the game richer for every round. If the universe is information at play, then everything here that we have: conflict, innovation, mourning, laughter is the play and there may never be a last word, the value is participating now, because: now is your shot at participating.
Nope. Machines are soulless automations. LLMs are algebra at scale, there’s no solid evidence to suggest otherwise.
The capacity LLMs have to mimic human reasoning should not be mistaken for actual human reasoning (which, to be fair, we don’t even fully understand).
PS: I’m considering a definition of “soul” that includes anything spiritual, emotional, or conscious.
PPS: I’m open (and eager) to change my view based on solid evidence :)
Can you share more about your strategy for "massive refactoring" with Gemini?
Like the steps in general for processing your codebase, and even your main goals for the refactoring.
> My feeling about legacy projects hasn’t changed – I still hate them (...) Instead of feeling resigned, we saw it as a place to ask questions and learn.
I see that you advocate embracing the opportunity to work on legacy projects, so I say even if you dislike legacy projects, try to avoid phrasing it so strongly. It might influence other devs in your team to develop a negative mindset toward them.
Crypto can replace some banking functions, such as payments, electronic transfers, and lending/borrowing.
One could argue that crypto eliminates the need for traditional checking accounts since you have full control over your funds with private keys. However, this doesn’t account for the legal safeguards and protections that banks provide.
> Am I going to get a mortgage in BTC?
I don’t recall seeing mortgage services in crypto yet. However, there are borrowing platforms like AAVE, primarily used for leveraging crypto investments or speculation. These platforms are decentralized, with strict collateral requirements, typically limiting borrowing to 80% of your collateral.
> If narrow banking, why give them my btc at all instead of holding myself?
Not sure I fully understand your question, but typically, when you lend your crypto to a service, you’re seeking to earn a yield in exchange for the risk of lending your assets.
> Does that even work on blockchain?
Theoretically, yes. You could create a narrow bank using crypto, but you’d need a decentralized mechanism to verify the bank’s holdings. This could involve creating an oracle (ex: Chainlink) service to confirm asset reserves.
> How do you do fractional reserve lending with a deflationary and one of one asset?
Instead of using deflationary assets like BTC, fractional reserve lending could rely on stablecoins, which are better suited for such systems. That said, not all stablecoins are equally reliable.
- https://thomasvilhena.com/2019/11/quantum-computing-for-prog...