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2 yr. ago
  • SmartVoting isn't simply data, however. They have a "proprietary algorithm" that they refuse to share.

    Not only that, but if the true goal of the site is strategic voting to keep Conservatives out of office, then you'd think that in a tied race between an NDP and Liberal candidate, with the Cons a distant third, there wouldn't be a strategic vote recommendation at all.

    And yet, in a riding in that exact situation, with a NDP incumbent tied with a Liberal candidate yet to be named, it was recommending people vote for the Liberal up until a day or two ago (Hamilton Centre, Matthew Green's riding).

    Then you start digging a little deeper and realize that the SmartVoting site is mostly (but not entirely - they have their secret algorithm!) based on the projections from 338. Which are reasonably accurate overall. However, in the recent Ontario election they under-projected the NDP's seat count significantly, projecting 16 seats, whereas they actually ended up winning 27.

    I'm not a statistician, but that seems like a remarkable jump. If I had to guess, it's that 338's model is not capturing something about the NDP or their voter base, whether that's the party's ground game, incumbency, or some other hard-to-quantify aspect.

    So I mean, if it were just data then sure, don't shoot the messenger! But the problem is more that the modeling and recommendations seem like they have real flaws, probably unintentional, but flaws nonetheless. And projections and recommendations can and will influence voter behaviour.

  • Hey just FYI when you type in alternating lowercase & capitals it makes it impossible for blind or sight-impaired people using screenreaders to understand you

  • This is an interesting comment, because on the one hand, you're saying that Carney's plan is not likely to be very effective, but on the other hand you're saying he sounds smart and that's reassuring.

    To me that sounds like the definition of an emotional response ... no?

  • Luddite @lemmy.ml
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Poison as Praxis: teaching AI a lesson (blog post)

    cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/56052351

  • Without knowing how serious your relationship is, it's hard to say.

    I would advise not doing this if the main reason is to save money, especially with one person being the sole owner. The power dynamic is too unbalanced.

    But if you're both pretty sure this is a long-term, perhaps lifelong, relationship, then no one here can give you the correct answer. Set aside some time, sit down with your partner, discuss things from both a practical and emotional perspective, do this again in another week or two, and find an arrangement you both feel good about.

  • “Independent media should be allowed on the precinct, there’s no reason why it should be a small cabal of government approved mouthpieces,” Poilievre said.

    Hmm ok yeah that's a fair point I guess

    “I would love to see a scenario where every different kind of journalist from all backgrounds, of all opinions, is given a chance to report on what happens on the hill.”

    Interesting, sure, go on

    Poilievre’s spokesperson, Sebastian Skamski, did not respond to multiple requests from PressProgress seeking clarification ...

    Ahhhhhh there it is

  • Oh wow - did not know that!

    Bit of a weird choice, given that routers usually allow limiting connections to specific MAC addresses as a security feature. Everything's a trade-off, I guess...

  • Dunno, I found it pretty easy to set up different rules for different devices.

  • Canada @lemmy.ca
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee
  • Yeah out of many changes that distorted or outright altered meaning, one of the worst bits was that the second version eliminated the crucial first few words - which acknowledged the original post and therefore set a particular tone.

    Communication is way more complex than statistical relationships between words, and I sincerely doubt that any of these systems will ever be able to fully mimic that complexity

  • Technology @lemmy.ml
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    What is AI good for? (derogatory)

    blundervalley.ca What is AI good for?

    We all know that AI systems use a lot of energy and resources. But what for? What are these systems good at, exactly? To answer that, let's a look at how AI is being used today. And as a bonus, we'll also take a look at why Kevin O'Leary likes AI.

    cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/53487257

    Technology @beehaw.org
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    What is AI good for? (derogatory)

    blundervalley.ca What is AI good for?

    We all know that AI systems use a lot of energy and resources. But what for? What are these systems good at, exactly? To answer that, let's a look at how AI is being used today. And as a bonus, we'll also take a look at why Kevin O'Leary likes AI.

  • "Zuckerberg’s interaction with the page was first noticed by Gazpacho Machine, a man who posts reviews of food he eats while taking showers."

    the internet was a mistake

  • Glad this says 'photo-op' and not that they 'met with' Trump, because it really looks like they just got a handshake and this weak thumbs-up picture

  • CanadaPolitics @lemmy.ca
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Your pension, up in smoke? From Ottawa to Edmonton, politicians and bankers agree on one thing: funneling your retirement savings into risky AI gambles.

    blundervalley.ca Your pension, up in smoke?

    Kevin O'Leary has been looking for a way to get his hands on public pensions and sovereign wealth funds for a while now, and both Alberta and Ottawa seem to be on board with the idea

    Your pension, up in smoke?
  • After having recently restored some stuff from an aging external hdd, i'm seriously considering getting a few dvdr discs and burning the important things every now and then.

    I know they don't last forever either, but - just as a random example that has definitely never happened to me hahaha - you can drop them from a height of 3 feet and still get files off them!

  • I mostly agree - however there are physical/mechanical reasons behind the use of some of those. For example, Phillips head screws will 'cam out' (driver will slip out of the screw head) rather than get over-torqued, which is useful in various situations - although TIL this was not actually an intentional design feature!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam_out

    Hex keys are better than a Robertson (square head) in tight spaces with something like an Allan key, and, in my experience anyway, Robertson can take a fair bit of torque, so they're great for sinking into softwood - and also for getting out again, even when they've been painted over.

    Flathead screws, on the other hand, should launched into the sun

  • This is horrible.

    It would be reasonable to assume that the lack of LTC supply is at least partly because it's not profitable to have extra spaces you're not using.

    That lack of supply makes it more likely that seniors would have to look at places further away.

    Plus, the people profiting off LTC are folks like former Conservative Premier Mike Harris, who not only used to be chair of the board of Chartwell Retirement Residences, but has also owned millions of dollars in company shares (as of 2022, Harris no longer controls >10% of the company, so he doesn't have to file public disclosures of his holdings).

    https://burlingtongazette.ca/its-time-that-we-take-the-words-private-and-profit-out-of-how-we-care-for-our-seniors/

    While premier, Harris also pushed hard to privatize the industry that he would later benefit from.

    This looks like another case of Ford making sure his buddies rake in as much money as possible, even if it causes human misery.

  • Unfortunately, Meta is listed as one of their partners

  • Would be very interested to know if Meta (listed as a "partner" organization) is providing financial support, like how fellow partner the Ford Foundation lists a $50k grant[1] in February 2024 to the Exchange Point Institute, which is the "fiscal sponsor" of the Social Web Foundation[2]

    [1] https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/exchange-point-institute-149412/

    [2] https://socialwebfoundation.org/donate/

  • Not to mention that their napkin math is wrong by a factor of 12

  • No replies yet so I'll give it a try - feel free to ignore if you solved this already

    Are you using pipewire? I would think that either helvum or qpwgraph would be able to route the audio from youtube into bitwig but I haven't tried to do this.

  • Did no one in the replies happen to notice that this is a loan

  • Bitwig Studio @lemmy.studio
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    What's your favourite bitwig trick?

    Relative newcomer to Bitwig, making music as a hobby. Mostly in-the-box synths & samples stuff, but sometimes I'll record instruments or vocals too.

    The last DAW I was using was Cubase v5 (lol), so I've been checking out some tutorials on Bitwig's workflow and functionality. I really like the ease of adding subtle expression variations, and the modulation options are an absolute game-changer.

    But I feel like I've only scratched the surface - what are some features that are not quite so obvious that you like to use?

    Canada @lemmy.ca
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee
    Technology @beehaw.org
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Designing Friction (philosophical essay about technology)

    cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/39429322

    Interesting essay looking at the role of friction in human development, and how a particular vision of technology's function in society - one that seeks to eliminate friction - paradoxically reduces our autonomy, rather than enhancing it.

    This post was reported as spam on technology @ lemmy.world, and was removed, then eventually reinstated, by the mods. The original reason for removal was "it's not really technology-related." I suspect it's being brigaded due to my cryptocurrency criticism, but I have no way to know for sure.

    (Edit - update: I have now been banned from technology @ lemmy.world for ... I guess asking the mods how this isn't tech-related? LOL)

    Technology @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    Bitcoin is Stupid and Does Not Deserve an Emoji (blog post)

    35 crypto companies got together to make a change dot org petition called "Bitcoin Deserves an Emoji".

    F that

    Technology @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    From the White House to Caesar's Palace: Trump at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference (blog post)

    politics @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    From the White House to Caesar's Palace: Trump at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference (blog post)

    Fediverse @lemmy.world
    smallpatatas @lemm.ee

    The Fediverse - especially the microblogging side of it - has deep issues when it comes to environmental sustainability.

    And the high resource requirements, which result from an incredible level of redundancy, aren't just bad environmentally: they make running a server more costly, and increase our reliance on Big Tech's infrastructure.

    I wrote about all this, along with some suggestions for how we can improve things somewhat.