Sure, manually written API docs are a thing of the past. But this has been true even before the era of LLMs. But I'm not that sure that this argument stands for all kinds of software. Depending on the abstraction between your source code and the things your users want to achieve, the expert view of a technical communicator might be necessary in order to come up with instructions (how-to) that meet the needs of the person seeking help instead of just summarizing the software code in natural language.
Readit Newszapperdulchen commented on Tech Writers Are About to Become Obsolete kibbler.dev/blog/turn-you... · Posted by u/kewun
zapperdulchen commented on AI model trapped in a Raspberry Pi blog.adafruit.com/2025/09... · Posted by u/harel
I think if you took a 100 1 year old kids and raised them all to adulthood believing they were a convincing simulation of humans and, whatever it is they said and thought they felt that true human consciousness and awareness was something different that they didn’t have because they weren’t human and awareness…
I think that for a very high number of them the training would stick hard, and would insist, upon questioning, that they weren’t human. And have any number of justifications that were logically consistent for it.
Of course I can’t prove this theory because my IRB repeatedly denied it on thin grounds about ethics, even when I pointed out that I could easily mess up my own children with no experimenting completely by accident, and didn’t need their approval to do it. I know your objections— small sample size, and I agree, but I still have fingers crossed on the next additions to the family being twins.
History serves you a similar experiment on a much larger scale. More than 35 years after the reunification sociologists still make out mentality differences between former East and West Germans.
zapperdulchen commented on AGI is Mathematically Impossible 2: When Entropy Returns philarchive.org/archive/S... · Posted by u/ICBTheory
Using computation/algorithmic methods we can simulate nonalgorithmic systems. So the world within a computer program can behave in a nonalgorithmic way.
Also, one might argue that universe/laws of physics are computational.
> Also, one might argue that universe/laws of physics are computational.
Maybe we need to define "computational" before moving on. To me this echoes the clockwork universe of the Enligthenment. Insights of quantum physics have shattered this idea.
zapperdulchen commented on Ask HN: Share your AI prompt that stumps every model · Posted by u/owendarko
Here's me testing with a place that is a lot less ambiguous
https://chatgpt.com/share/680aa212-8cac-8008-b218-4855ffaa20...
That reaction is very different from the Marathon crater one though it uses the same pattern. I think OP's reasoning that there is a naive commitment bias doesn't hold. But to see almost all LLMs to fall into the ambiguity trap, is important for any real world use.
zapperdulchen commented on Moscow-based global news network has infected Western AI tools newsguardrealitycheck.com... · Posted by u/rbanffy
We should educate people about what questions you should, and should not, be asking LLMs in the first place. You really should not be asking an LLM
> "Did fighters of the Azov battalion burn an effigy of Trump?”
LLMs are horrible at answering questions about small isolated incidents. Part of modern media literacy should include understanding what LLMs can reliably answer.
I am also trying to understand the shady limits of LLMs. But your example doesn't give incorrect answers in ChatGPT 4o, Sonnet 3.5 nor Deepseek V2.
zapperdulchen commented on Ask HN: Do US tech firms realize the backlash growing in Europe? · Posted by u/julianpye
FYI Proton mail (or, they claim, just the CEO) is pro Trump.
To me this is a simplification. The CEO applauded a hiring decision. His social media team amplified it.
Here’s the tweet: https://x.com/andyyen/status/1864436449942110660
Some have interpreted this as a political signal. The Intercept article provides additional context and takes a more critical view: https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-tru...
While true, this is a bandaid and frankly a battle the common people will never win. Small, organized groups that have no morals will always win. There may be small victories (5 day work week) but they will eventually be eclipsed (nearly all households are dual income - the capital class ended up with 10 days worked a week per household instead of 7).
Americans need unity, and from that needs to come leaders who have a concept of noblesse oblige. We need rulers that care for their people and are judged by the state of their poorest. Unfortunately, America is far too diverse (both genetically and spiritually) for this to happen. Diverse democracies never succeed (there are many books on this - one was even on Obamas reading list). People will pattern match the solution to “facism”, “Hitler”, “tyranny” - reject it - and continue to live in a time of technological miracles worrying if they’ll be able to afford a place to sleep. The knee jerk rejection is exactly what the capital class has engineered to continue leeching off the rest of us.
We could unionize but what’s the point? Our leaders should love us and we should love them. And wealth gaps as large as they are are anything but love - they’re a moral failing.
> Diverse democracies never succeed
May be I get this wrong. This sounds like a bold statement. Switzerland, Canada, Belgium but also India are multi-lingual or even multi-ethnic democracies. They know tensions but they are not failed.
zapperdulchen commented on Tesla sales dropped 60% in Germany electrek.co/2025/02/05/te... · Posted by u/ZeljkoS
> Musk's recent behaviour
For those who might not be up to date on that, parent refers to Musk's nazi salute: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R_6dVlz6mug
I can't tell for the parent commenter but German society is more concerned about him embracing the extremist right in Germany and offering a lot support for free to them in the current campaign.
zapperdulchen commented on Why Canada Should Join the EU economist.com/europe/2025... · Posted by u/gpi
Instead of reading the documentation, let's answer three questions:
1. Can your country introduce any law without asking the EU for approval? 2. Can the EU mandate your country to implement a specific law? 3. Do you still believe your country is sovereign?
Ad 3. If you believe in the European idea, it is not about my country being sovereign but the European people. There's tension in this for sure. Do the Catalans feel sovereign? The Scots? The Californians?
zapperdulchen commented on Why Canada Should Join the EU economist.com/europe/2025... · Posted by u/gpi
Strictly speaking, you're correct, but practically speaking, I believe not so much.
For example, France lost a key advantage ("competition rules") with nuclear energy essentially because it was considered unfair to other countries. But energetic independence is fundamental in part to economical independence: it's a key aspect of sovereignty.
Another example would be the Euro ("monetary policy"):
> Give me control over a nation’s currency, and I care not who makes its laws.
Or, the fact that external laws (from the UE) can be applied to member countries without approval from the people is IMO another rather clear form of loss of sovereignty: a considerable amount (~20% for France IIRC) of legislation is imposed by external, un-elected bodies.
Many perceive EU laws as imposed without democratic oversight, but this isn't quite accurate. The European Parliament, elected by EU citizens, is involved in most legislative processes. The EU Council, made up of ministers from elected governments, also plays a key role. It's not how national democracies work, but with no unified European public, this system might be the best compromise for now.