EgoEimi's recent activity
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Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food
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Comment on Dune: Prophecy | Official teaser in ~tv
EgoEimi LinkThe cinematography has a “made for TV” quality to it where it only superficially borrows the elements that gave Denis Villeneuve’s Dune its mystical gravitas but then processes it through the...The cinematography has a “made for TV” quality to it where it only superficially borrows the elements that gave Denis Villeneuve’s Dune its mystical gravitas but then processes it through the Formulaic Action TV cinematography machine.
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Comment on Chinese police officers will soon be on patrol in Hungary in ~news
EgoEimi Link ParentMajor investments, a university branch, and Chinese police officers on Hungarian soil — all that's next for Hungary is to announce a name change to "Far West China"Major investments, a university branch, and Chinese police officers on Hungarian soil — all that's next for Hungary is to announce a name change to "Far West China"
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Comment on AI, automation, and inequality — how do we reach utopia? in ~talk
EgoEimi Link ParentI want to talk about social and political organization in a future thread, because this topic is so big and encompasses everything about what it means to have a place in society. Ideally, we...I want to talk about social and political organization in a future thread, because this topic is so big and encompasses everything about what it means to have a place in society.
Ideally, we should have a world where we celebrate job redundancy and the people made redundant can be secure in knowing that they can enjoy the fruits of automation — instead of our current world where those people are left scrambling for new work because they don't get to enjoy those fruits and their skills and labor left devalued.
Not long ago, I read that EVs are simpler than ICEVs (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles) to manufacture. They have fewer moving parts; their production requires a lot less labor and therefore far fewer workers. Rationally, we should be happy that future cars take less labor to make! The United Autoworkers unions as well as incumbent automakers are important political constituents, and they pressured the Biden administration to softball the new ICEV emission limits in order to protect jobs and industry.
This is suboptimal for society. Personally, I favor cycling and public transit over driving; but if we are to have cars, then we should transition to EVs. But I think this example is one of many where industries and (less often) workers act in their rational self-interest to impede progress for society at large.
I also think about how tax prep software companies lobby against free filing. It wastes god knows how many hundreds of millions of hours (in the US) every year, just a handful of companies and several thousand workers can work. When I was in the Netherlands, doing my yearly taxes took maybe 5 minutes of logging onto the gov tax site, reviewing the numbers they had collected about me, and then accepting or correcting them.
If we took care of people regardless of their employment status, and incentivesed long term strategies like automation, those strategies would become cheaper very quickly as we developed economies of scale and established a knowledge base and standardized tools for setting them up.
I agree and this is where I want to aim the conversation series. We should aim to provide incentives, social safety nets and support structures, as well as knowledge infrastructure to accelerate automation in an equitable manner.
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AI, automation, and inequality — how do we reach utopia?
Ok, not utopia per se but a post-scarcity-ish economy where people have their basic needs—food, shelter, healthcare—met virtually automatically. A world where, sure, maybe you have to earn money...
Ok, not utopia per se but a post-scarcity-ish economy where people have their basic needs—food, shelter, healthcare—met virtually automatically. A world where, sure, maybe you have to earn money for certain very scarce luxuries like a tropical island trip, jewelry, nightly wagyu steak dinners, or a penthouse overlooking Central Park, but you get enough basic income to eat healthily and decently every day, have a modest but comfortable home, and not stress out about going to the hospital — and then you can choose if you want to work to earn money to buy additional luxuries or just spend your time to do sports, make art or music, pursue an academic interest, counsel or mentor others in your community, or devote yourself to nature conservation.
I want to get this conversation rolling regularly because it's evident that we're on a cusp of a new economic era — one where AI and automation could free us from a lot of menial physical and intellectual labor and the pretense that everyone has to work to earn their continued existence. It's evident that not everyone has to work. If anything, our economy could be more efficient if incompetent or unmotivated folks just stayed at home and got out of other people's way. I think we all know someone who stays in a job because they need it but are actually a net negative on the organization.
It's an open-ended topic, and there's a lot to talk about in this series—like, how would we distribute the fruits of automation? How would we politically achieve those mechanisms of distribution? What does partially automated healthcare look like?—but I think it'd be good to first talk about current economic inefficiencies that should and could be automated away.
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Comment on The surprising reason few Americans are getting chips jobs now in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentLately and increasingly I think about how maintaining or improving working conditions in the US is possible as long as global labor arbitrage is possible and profitable. It's difficult to demand...Lately and increasingly I think about how maintaining or improving working conditions in the US is possible as long as global labor arbitrage is possible and profitable.
It's difficult to demand better pay and working conditions so long as there's someone's more desperate willing to stoop down for worse pay and conditions.
In the long run, when global wealth equalizes and everyone is on equal footing, this won't be a problem. But for the next, I don't know, 100? years, this is a problem.
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Comment on Google lays off hundreds of ‘Core’ employees, moves some positions to India and Mexico in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentI think it's a common strategic mistake to view engineers as interchangeable laborers who produce X units of software per day, rather than as professionals and repositories of institutional...I think it's a common strategic mistake to view engineers as interchangeable laborers who produce X units of software per day, rather than as professionals and repositories of institutional knowledge. Or the executives know but don't care because even if the software degrades in the long run, they'll be rich and kicking it in nice homes in Tahoe, Santa Barbara, or Atherton.
No offense to oversea engineers or developers, there are good ones (especially the ones who immigrate to the west), but from my experience the median one is quite bad.
It's my mom's experience too: she spent her entire career working IT for large traditional corps that thought they could save millions by firing those pesky, expensive American programmers and replacing them with cheap Indian programmers whose resumes looked good on paper. Of course, those projects rarely panned out: the outsourced programmers lacked institutional knowledge and context, and communication and technical skills to discuss and understand the specs. A few projects were returned as total garbage spaghetti, completely not to spec, and had to be discarded in their entireties, wasting millions of dollars and pushing back timelines by multiple quarters; but my mom was always the one they tapped to save the projects somehow.
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Comment on GDP per capita vs. the federal poverty rate over the years (observation and discussion) in ~finance
EgoEimi Link ParentElizabeth Warren wrote about this issue in her book The Two-Income Trap. Vox has a little summary. In short, there are certain essential but scarce resources like housing and education. Now...The single earner family has eroded.
Elizabeth Warren wrote about this issue in her book The Two-Income Trap. Vox has a little summary.
In short, there are certain essential but scarce resources like housing and education. Now households are expected to bid over these resources with two incomes instead of one.
Before, if one person lost their job, their partner could pick up some part-time work to help make ends meet.
Now, both partners have to work full-time: there isn't 'slack' any more.
If I recall correctly, Warren's take away is: it's good that women can work and be economically independent, but it also created an exhausting economic arms race between households because two incomes are now the norm, and now everyone is working at max capacity competing for limited resources.
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Comment on Climate policy is working – double down on what’s succeeding instead of despairing over what’s not in ~enviro
EgoEimi Link ParentReducing oil production and consumption is kinda a chicken-and-the-egg political problem. Reducing production without reducing consumption is a recipe for losing elections. Voters revolt over...Reducing oil production and consumption is kinda a chicken-and-the-egg political problem. Reducing production without reducing consumption is a recipe for losing elections.
Voters revolt over energy prices rises: they'll vote in populists who more often than not have anti-environmental platforms. In the USA, gas prices have had a direct and significant impact on the president's approval rating.
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Comment on San Francisco office sells for a stunning 90% discount from 2016 price in ~finance
EgoEimi Link ParentThis is really good one-stop explanation for why it's very, very difficult and expensive to convert modern office buildings into apartments. Old apartment and office buildings had to conform the...This is really good one-stop explanation for why it's very, very difficult and expensive to convert modern office buildings into apartments.
Old apartment and office buildings had to conform the same physics of habitability.
Modern mechanical and lighting systems enabled buildings to break those physics. No longer do modern buildings have to respect the need for natural ventilation or sunlight.
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Comment on San Francisco office sells for a stunning 90% discount from 2016 price in ~finance
EgoEimi LinkI know that building well. I'm not surprised. It should be noted that it's on an extremely rough intersection and street. That stretch of 6th St by Market has lots of homeless folks and drug...I know that building well. I'm not surprised.
It should be noted that it's on an extremely rough intersection and street. That stretch of 6th St by Market has lots of homeless folks and drug addicts who hang out on the street. The sidewalks have more dog and too-big-to-be-dog poop and litter than any other street in the city; whenever I walk there, I have to keep my eyes glued to the ground and play hop scotch. Literally every single sidewalk ‘tile’ has poop or poop smears, I’m not exaggerating. 50% of the time I see an ambulance there to handle an overdose or other emergency.
That office building has been empty for a while. In this market, potential office tenants have way, way better options elsewhere in the city.
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Comment on The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use in ~transport
EgoEimi LinkSemi-related: cycling activists promote the environmental and traffic benefits of increased cycling, but I think that another benefit that goes undermentioned is that getting around on bike is an...Semi-related: cycling activists promote the environmental and traffic benefits of increased cycling, but I think that another benefit that goes undermentioned is that getting around on bike is an excellent way for people to get daily exercise: you end up with a fitter, more attractive society. Plus, exercise is good for skin health.
I remember Amsterdam was full of lean, fit people (with glowing complexions) when I lived there. I easily burned 400+ active calories a day biking and walking around the city to get to work, run errands, or see friends. I seriously cannot recall seeing 'love handles' in Amsterdam; I forgot they exist. Until I left and moved back to Chicago after years abroad.
There at O'Hare Airport, I was shell shocked being greeted with the sight of so many overweight, unhealthy-looking Americans. That was the segment of the population that was affluent enough for international air travel too. The shock got worse once I stepped out of the airport.
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Comment on What if we discover the answers of the Universe, eliminate cancer, halt aging. What's next? in ~humanities
EgoEimi Link ParentImmortality without neural plasticity would doom us to a stagnant, geriatric society. We'd have people living forever with their fundamental dispositions fixed. I think that if immortality came...Immortality without neural plasticity would doom us to a stagnant, geriatric society. We'd have people living forever with their fundamental dispositions fixed.
I think that if immortality came with having childlike neural plasticity, then our society could still evolve and develop new ideas and perspectives, and change would be possible.
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Comment on Amazon grows to over 750,000 robots as world's second-largest private employer replaces over 100,000 humans in ~tech
EgoEimi Link ParentI'm not sure. Systems are not linear. If we look at things from a first principles perspective, we can see that we're approaching an inflection. For the past 200 years, we have done a good job at...I'm not sure. Systems are not linear. If we look at things from a first principles perspective, we can see that we're approaching an inflection.
For the past 200 years, we have done a good job at automating away menial labor. When we no longer needed William Bucket to screw on toothpaste caps, there was more than plenty of non-menial physical labor left that were difficult to automate, and there was plenty of intellectual labor.
But now we're seeing that with advanced computer vision and robotics, we can begin to automate intermediate physical labor; with AI, we can begin to automate basic intellectual labor. Already some intermediate intellectual labor is being made redundant by technology.
AI and automation will leave advanced physical and intellectual labor as the dominant viable domains left for the labor force. This has a few problems:
- Most of the workforce can't or won't make the transition. Many people don't have the intellectual capability to re-learn/skill to become scientists, roboticists, etc.
- Oversupply of labor may also devalue these jobs.
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Comment on Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient in ~enviro
EgoEimi Link ParentI think that @llehsadam is not denying the consciousness in animals but expressing skepticism about the confidence that some researchers push their claims with, especially since these researchers...I think that @llehsadam is not denying the consciousness in animals but expressing skepticism about the confidence that some researchers push their claims with, especially since these researchers are observing with anthropomorphizing biases.
The problem is that if we cannot pinpoint and define consciousness, how can we be so confident to say X or Y animal is conscious?
There are some clues that it's possible to interact with the world without consciousness.
For example, some people sleepwalk: they don't just walk, they can use the bathroom, dress themselves, cook and eat food, drive, and even have sex, all while being unconscious.
(Anecdotally, people have said they were able to have short conversations with me when I was in bed, but I don't recall being awake for them.)
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Comment on France urged to repay billions of dollars to Haiti for independence ‘ransom’ in ~news
EgoEimi Link ParentThe plan was put forth by the new presidential transitional council. My understanding is that the council was put together in Jamaica by the previous government in consultation with neighboring...The plan was put forth by the new presidential transitional council. My understanding is that the council was put together in Jamaica by the previous government in consultation with neighboring regional governments, and it is virtually powerless because the gangs that do control Haiti reject it.
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Comment on China is battening down for the gathering storm over Taiwan in ~misc
EgoEimi Link ParentI think that Taiwan's "silicon moat" will last only 10–20 years, as other countries have now realized that modern chip manufacturing is a critical industry to homeshore and are mobilizing...I think that Taiwan's "silicon moat" will last only 10–20 years, as other countries have now realized that modern chip manufacturing is a critical industry to homeshore and are mobilizing significant resources to accomplish that.
But I think that 10–20 years, we'll see China's current leadership's direct proteges in power with little shift in fundamental ideology, i.e. revitalize the nation and undo the century of (Western & Japanese) humiliation. We may need more like 50+ years for sufficient generational turnover, for Chinese to think, so what, that was all ancient history, let's focus on more interesting contemporary issues like lunar colonization, genetic engineering, and AI-driven post-scarcity economics.
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Comment on China is battening down for the gathering storm over Taiwan in ~misc
EgoEimi LinkAn aside: visit Taiwan before it's too late. It's a uniquely nice place with nice people. It's also much more liberal, open-minded, and cosmopolitan than any other East Asian society. (Granted,...An aside: visit Taiwan before it's too late. It's a uniquely nice place with nice people. It's also much more liberal, open-minded, and cosmopolitan than any other East Asian society. (Granted, it's no Sweden and there isn't a really high bar in an otherwise very conservative region.)
The Ukraine War and the impending Taiwan crisis have an important commonality: both countries either gave up or ceased developing nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances. In Ukraine's case, those assurances weren't honored. In Taiwan's case, even though the U.S. pledges to defend it, it's increasingly unlikely that the American public will be okay with spilling American blood to war with China.
This is terrible. This shows to the world that security assurances are worthless, and that nuclear weapons are the only way to have real security.
My existential fear is that—putting on my Kissinger hat—China will call the U.S.'s bluff and take Taiwan, and Russia takes Ukraine, and this ends the era of Pax Americana and triggers a new nuclear arms race as nations calculate that true sovereignty and independence comes in having their own nukes and engaging in MAD deterrence, and we end up with a world teetering on the edge of nuclear apocalypse.
My hope is that we can defer the Taiwan issue long enough until enough generations of humans born and die to stop caring about the issue.
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Comment on Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media—and driving some to suicide in ~life.men
EgoEimi Link ParentI think your reaction may stem from how paedophiles and ephebophiles are driven by a nature they did not choose, and which there is little/no treatment and no community support. But these scammers...I think your reaction may stem from how paedophiles and ephebophiles are driven by a nature they did not choose, and which there is little/no treatment and no community support.
But these scammers could do literally anything else for money: even selling MLM schemes would be a big moral step-up.
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Comment on An honest assessment of American rural white resentment is long overdue in ~misc
EgoEimi Link ParentTrue, but that's also true of every community, and especially true of people who lack education: they are susceptible to content that affirm their biases. The purpose of education is challenge...True, but that's also true of every community, and especially true of people who lack education: they are susceptible to content that affirm their biases.
The purpose of education is challenge one's own biases and to (hopefully) cultivate a mind that continually self-examines.
Aren't rural whites living a bubble though? I think there's little social crossover with liberal educated or POC societal bubbles.
I think that burritos, as mentioned in the article, can be classed as functional sandwiches. The purpose of both is to serve as holdable, portable food where some bread encloses some filling.