• Google search is quietly damaging democracy.  (Wired)
  
  The argument here is that Google moving from providing unbiased, unfiltered search results to attempting to provide you with what they believe is the right answer has a deleterious effect on individual ability in fact-finding and decision making in the modern world and thus in evaluating political news and making voting choices.
  
  Well, so far so good.  Needs to be examined but not implausible.
  
  Where the whole thing comes off the rails, ploughs through a nursing home, crashes into a school, bursts into flames, and finally explodes is that this is the thesis of the author's book The Propagandists' Playbook: How Conservative Elites Manipulate Search and Threaten Democracy.  (Amazon)
  
  Yes, you read that right: She claims that conservatives are twisting Google's search results with the aim of "humanizing the people whose worldviews and media practices conservatism embodies" - using trickery learned in Bible studies class.
  
  This is "Jews control the weather on Mars" levels of insanity.

Tech News

• The Merge: Ethereum is finally going to Eth2, dropping proof-of-work for proof-of-stake.  (Ethereum)
  
  What does this mean?

  Misconception: "The Merge will reduce gas fees."
  
  False. The Merge is a change of consensus mechanism, not an expansion of network capacity, and will not result in lower gas fees.

  Oh, but it will be faster without the proof-of-work requirement, right?

  Misconception: "Transactions will be noticeably faster after The Merge."
  
  False. Though some slight changes exist, transaction speed will mostly remain the same on layer 1.

  It does mean that no-one will be using graphics cards to mine ETH anymore, because you won't be able to mine ETH anymore.  
  
  And it will mean that the electricity used by the Ethereum blockchain will be reduced by around 99.9%.
  
  This is expected to happen sometime.  I think it's about two years behind schedule at this point, but it's understandable that they'd rather it be hopelessly late than lose billions of dollars of other people's money.  That's a sentiment that more blockchain developers should adopt.
  
  
  
• Intel's graphics cards may suck, but they can run Crysis.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Crysis was a serious test of hardware performance when it came out, but that was in 2007.  These days it will run on a potato.
  
  Similarly, a modern low-end card like the RX 6600 can comfortably beat the performance of the GTX 1080 - and that's from just six years ago, not fifteen.
  
  
  
  
  
• Hoes Mad in Your Area: Artists react to the use of AI art to illustrate an article that would not have otherwise been illustrated.  (The Atlantic)
  
  This article is half groveling apology, have pathetic attempt at navel gazing, as you would expect from Fascist Quarterly when they inadvertently offend their core readership of complete lunatics.

Posted by: normal at Monday, August 22 2022 02:25 AM (LADmw)

Posted by: cxt217 at Monday, August 22 2022 04:04 PM (2tHvf)

Posted by: Frank at Tuesday, August 23 2022 11:25 AM (rglbH)

Hide Comments | Add Comment