Stop the engineering , the Macalope would like to get off .
This hebdomad has brought us two simplyterrificideas in the cosmos of tech that have this furry pontificator reaching for the Advil .
First , if Facebook outdo up all your individual information with an industrial - gradation void cleaner was n’t enough , now you could ante up for the privilege !
“ Facebook foretell $ 12 / Month ‘ Meta Verified ’ Subscription Service ”
Yes , ultimately – FINALLY!–someone has taken that sure-enough maxim “ If you ’re not paying for the production then you are the product ” and asked , “ What if you were both paying for the productandyou were the intersection ? ”
[ chef ’s buss ]
It seems likely Mark Zuckerberg simply did n’t want Elon Musk to take all the “ theme most potential to have been hatched in a confidential den under a volcano ” for himself . That ’s intelligible .
Apple ’s sure enough been lie with to nickel - and - dime its users ( iCloud storage Price , looking at you ) but at least it ’s not taking money with one hand and feeding people ’s secret information to advertisers with the other .
IDG
Next , you will remember thatlast weeksaw AI announcement from Google and Microsoft that will undoubtedly run to wondering why Apple is “ behind ” in this fantastic new technology . How marvelous is it , you involve , know full well the Macalope ca n’t hear you ? Well , here’san AI - stan touting all the wonderful possibilities .
these tools will aid us be more productive ( ca n’t wait to expend less time doing email ! ) , healthier ( AI medical consultant for the great unwashed who ca n’t afford care ) , fresh ( students using ChatGPT to memorize ) , and more entertained ( AI memes lolol ) .
Ah , yes , that ’s the agency to set up the horrendous res publica of health care in America , make abrasive golem thatdon’t acknowledge what year it isinto health care master .
What ? Could ? Go ? Wrong ?
Other than perchance recommending you take quicksilver because , hey , up until about 100 long time ago it was considered a executable treatment for sealed ailments .
bad , wretched hoi polloi , but you get what you pay for !
One of the awesome features of current AIs is they can only remember so much . When you get into a conversation with one for a while , it ’ll forget the earlier parts , asDan Sinker found :
Today I did an experiment with Chat GPT : The first affair I did was give it a paragraph of dummy text edition and I asked it to recite that paragraph ahead of each answer it gave . Then I wage it in a conversation about spirit medium . At first , it dutifully followed the instruction , reprint the same paragraph of text before engaging in the literal response I was looking for . But it did n’t take long before that original paragraph was shortened to its first few sentences and , eventually , it dropped off entirely .
Who does n’t need a Doctor of the Church who does n’t have object permanence ?
What ’s thefirst thing you dowhen last into the doctor ’s spot ? You list off your pre - existing conditions . So you could imagine how well an fitting with an AI Doctor of the Church would go .
AI medico : “ Says here you ’re hypersensitive to penicillin . ”
Patient : “ That ’s correct . ”
[ 45 min later ]
AI doctor : “ I ’m expire to compose you a prescription medicine for penicillin . ”
Patient : “ But … I ’m allergic to penicillin . ”
AI Dr. : “ Uh , I think I wouldknowif you were allergic to penicillin , give thanks you very much . Who ’s the pretend doctor here , anyway ? … No , seriously , I ’m demand . I ca n’t remember . ”
Are there way to work around or fix these shortcomings ? Of course , provided companies take the prison term to do so . But there is a very real trouble with making Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky prevision about all the societal ills they ’ll cure before these technologies are anywhere close to quick . As someone who has follow Apple rumors for a farseeing , long time , the Macalope can tell you what that problem is . Once the idea of a technology is floated , tech follower from pundits looking to churn out lazy recall pieces to investors wanting to cash in in on it to pretend capitalists want to command it will start set up the expectation that it ’s “ just around the street corner ” ( see : autonomous drive ) . party will constantly be ask about it , “ When are you send X ? Your contender are ship X. Why are you behind on Adam ? ”
This is how we get to half - bake technologies being rushed to market . And it ’s irresponsible .
So , to Apple , the Macalope will again say take your prison term . badly .
