Slashdot Mirror


User: silvergeek

silvergeek's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
27
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 27

  1. How About Replacing Politicians with AI's? on Bruce Schneier: It's Time For Technologists To Become Lawmakers (venturebeat.com) · · Score: 1

    At the risk of deviating too far from topic, how about replacing politicians with AI's in the not-too-distant future? Not a new idea, though. I recall an Isaac Azimov short story that implied that an automation could be a more fair judge than a human judge. And, I believe a human/AI combo could do much greater justice than the current norm. Certainly, an AI politician could be designed to be more honest, and in many situations, more rational. In these times of perpetual political lies and stupid impulse decisions at the top, the AI concept is starting to look more reasonable, and safer, to me.

  2. AI's: More Fair, Wiser, and Better Decision-Makers on Stephen Hawking Warns That AI and 'Superhumans' Could Wipe Humanity; Says There's No God in Posthumous Book (cnn.com) · · Score: 1

    As Asimov suggested in his short scifi stories, isn't it likely that we will eventually have AIs that are more fair, wiser, and better decision-makers than humans? Certainly (as in an Asimov story) AI's can do better than a human judge. And, what about the current President?

  3. Well duh, by far, most of the news relating to Trump and his appointees *IS* bad. So, it doesn't surprise me that most hits are related to bad news about Trump and crew. (Just my opinion. The narcissist in question and followers may perceive it differently.)

  4. Cost Compared to Not Emitting Carbon Into Air? on Scientists Find Way To Make Mineral Which Can Remove CO2 From Atmosphere (phys.org) · · Score: 1

    I wonder about the cost of this process, and how much more expensive it is than moving to renewable energy and not burning fossil fuels in the first place. (Of course, transitioning to renewable energy is hardly an option when the most powerful person in the world either doesn't believe in the science or wants to enrich his friends in the fossil fuel business.)

  5. Re:Good. But what about the next guy? on Scott Pruitt Resigns as EPA Administrator (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1

    None of those bad things you mention (cancer, etc.) will ever happen to me. And without empathy (which seems to be missing in almost half the voters today), I'm not going to give a crap about those who are damaged from the chemicals or global warming.

  6. Re:Thunderbird... on Slashdot Asks: Which Is Your Favorite Email Client? · · Score: 1

    I use Thunderbird and like it except for one quirk (on the Mac version) that never gets fixed: When composing a new message it uses a format that doesn't work correctly. I need to switch the blank space between beginning and signature text from Paragraph format to Body Text format, and then delete (cmnd X) the "Dear John" and paste (cmnd V) the "Dear John". After that curious procedure, it accepts text as any well-behaved text editor should.

  7. Importantly: Do you want Google reading your mail? on Slashdot Asks: Which Is Your Favorite Email Client? · · Score: 1

    Another important question regarding gmail is: Do you want Google reading your mail? I am slowly migrating to ProtonMail (protonmail.com) because I find Google's reading and archiving my email to be disturbing, perhaps in response to the recent Facebook revelations. Regarding email clients, I am quite happy with Thunderbird because it just makes sense for me and I don't have much use for bells and whistles.

  8. The Ostensible Reason For Scans is Probably False on Facial Scans at US Airports Violate Americans' Privacy, Report Says (nytimes.com) · · Score: 2

    The ostensible reason for the scans is " to undergo facial recognition scans to ensure they haven't overstayed visas." Really, if a person is leaving, who cares at that point if they over-stayed. The good news is that they are leaving! Therefore, since they are scanning everyone, could it be that the real reason is something that they do not wish to admit.

  9. Re:Asynchronous generators + slip on Tesla Big Battery Outsmarts Lumbering Coal Units After Loy Yang Trips (reneweconomy.com.au) · · Score: 1

    I believe there are inaccuracies in the above post.

  10. Re:People at the top are not mentally stable. on Trump Is Looking at Plans For a Global Network of Private Spies (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Why? Because We the People vote the psychopaths, liars, and greedy rich into office. The peoples's vote could, in theory, (except for the gerrymandering, phony news, and other big-dollar manipulation schemes) put descent people into office if the voters cared enough to keep themselves educated and aware. So, who is ultimately at fault for us ending up with mentally unstable, greedy, sociopathic leaders?

  11. NSA Needs Better Photos? on Facebook's New Captcha Test: 'Upload A Clear Photo of Your Face' (wired.com) · · Score: 1

    Perhaps the NSA (and others paying for information) need better photos. Facebook has gone way to far for this old paranoid geek.

  12. Re:Is that surprising? on Perl is the Most Hated Programming Language, Developers Say (theregister.co.uk) · · Score: 2

    I got *a lot* of productivity out of perl when it was popular. It's true that a programmer can write horribly obscure perl code. But, a good, clean, considerate programmer who comments well can write very maintainable and understandable code. Also perl itself, in spite of its complexity under the hood, is amazingly bug-free.

  13. Re:Simple fix on How Facebook Outs Sex Workers (gizmodo.com) · · Score: 2

    Yes, I agree. Facebook is a drug. It has seductive benefits, but often it is better to quit the addiction than to let it ruin your life. (I chose to leave Facebook for several reasons, and find that I can live without it. And have more hours in the day!)

  14. What About MEGA? 50GB free and full encryption. on Ask Slashdot: What Are Some Cloud Backup Solutions That You Recommend? · · Score: 1

    What about MEGA? It is in New Zealand (so protected from the NSA) and highly encrypted. 50GB for free.

  15. Meanwhile, the U.S. Spends it's Spare Change on Mi on Is China Outsmarting America in AI? (nytimes.com) · · Score: 0

    The U.S. could put money into AI or universal healthcare, but instead puts it into military toys and the pockets of the rich.

  16. Guess Who Will Get Rich from Kluge-Fixes Like This on Can Geoengineering Drones Fight Global Warming? (technologyreview.com) · · Score: 1

    Probably the same folks who loused it all up -- the fossil fuel companies.

  17. Re:Still the best on Slashdot Asks: What's Your Favorite Sci-Fi Movie? · · Score: 1

    "Forbidden Planet" for me too. Also "Blade Runner" and maybe the original "War of the Worlds."

  18. T-mobile's "free" audio and video streaming for many apps sounds great, but you still have to pay for the data if you are using a partner tower. Actually, that might not even be in the fine print, but that's the way it works in my tests, and T-mobile support confirmed.

  19. Whistleblowers Happen When the Gov Violates Law on House Committee: Edward Snowden's Leaks Did 'Tremendous Damage' (nbcnews.com) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the NSA does not want the hassle of whistleblowers, then it should simply follow the law.

  20. Seed Quickly, Before Self Destruction of Earth on Should We Seed Life On Alien Worlds? (sciencemag.org) · · Score: 1

    If we are going to seed other planets with DNA (for reasons of ego or whatever), we should do so relatively quickly before we ruin our own planet.

  21. How did you make perl so reliable? on Interviews: Ask Perl Creator Larry Wall a Question · · Score: 1

    I'm "retired" now, but I used perl for many years to implement projects, some of which were complex. It never ceased to amaze me how bug-free perl was (compared to VB, for sure!) in spite of its complexity and power. How did you do it?

  22. Why Would a Blind Belief be Crazier than Any Other on Elon Musk: 'One In Billions' Chance We're Not Living In A Computer Simulation (vox.com) · · Score: 1

    Hey, if it is considered reasonable to believe in a grey-bearded guy in the sky who controls everything, why can't Elon believe we are living in a video game?

  23. Re:Was that really necessary? on NZ Police Got PRISM Data Before Raid On Dotcom · · Score: 1

    You hit the nail on the head, sorry to say. As you implied, the masses are lazy. Less lazy folks might consider transitioning to encrypted mail, such as Hushmail (hushmail.com). That would keep the NSA busy.

  24. That Should Teach a Geek ... on Bradley Manning Sentenced To 35 Years · · Score: 1

    That should teach a geek to not to stray from covering up government wrongs. Well, maybe at least, he will win the Nobel Prize.

  25. City or Country Usage? on Ask Slashdot: Best Pay-as-You-Go Plan For Text and Voice Only? · · Score: 1

    I have lived mostly in the country in the western states. In my experience, while T-Mobile can be cost-effective, T-Mobile sometimes has connectivity problems (especially with data) in the sparsely populated areas; but T-Mobile has a good reputation in cities. Also, take care with T-Mobile because it uses less-standard data frequencies. Therefore, I prefer the pay-as-you-go carriers like StraightTalk, Tracphone, or Net10 (which are all part of the same corporation). These use the AT&T GMS system (and also CDMA is available), providing reliable voice, SMS, and data, but generally do not allow roaming. On my Galaxy Note, I ended up with the StraightTalk $50/month plan (unlimited voice and SMS, and actually 2GB data), which has been reliable, if an overkill for me.