Richard

I've just started considering one. My six year old Lenovo ThinkPad W530 is giving hints that it want to retire to Florida. I'm also looking at the ThinkPad P1 (second gen). I'm a little disappointed that so little has changed since I was last in …

While there's not the slightest doubt about the outcome of the trial, what's really at stake is control of the Senate in the coming election. McConnell himself is not in danger, despite his low popularity, but he could end up minority leader. His …

Timely article from Bruce Schneier in the NYT Privacy Project. Identification, he argues is only one part of the problem. We also must address correlation (data brokers who amplify intrusion by combining different sources) and discrimination based …

> Any qualms? Yes, many. If it really works--and if it doesn't now, it will before long--the negatives far outweigh the benefits. My millennial daughter tells me that the battle for privacy has been lost already and I should just get used to it. …

Yep, this problem isn't new. I remember many years ago the joke among programmers was that we wanted a DWIM command--do what I mean. We're still waiting.

Here's a recent podcast from the Future of Life Institute in which Russell touches on the highlights of the …

In Human Compatible, Russell discusses how current thinking about controlling AI systems misses the mark and what we must try to do instead. Rather than building systems to accomplish specific objectives, they must be designed to realize human …

He's entertaining and enthusiastic. But I'm a little skeptical that a course in "how to think" is going to do me much good at this point in my life. Not trying to brag or anything, but I don't consider thinking much of a problem. I'm certainly not …

Unintended consequences? https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/iran-price-riots-collective-effervescence-200108090421877.html Interesting commentary from Ahmad Sadri, a Middle East specialist.

From CES 2020 https://youtu.be/nVgmHJfrDdY

The soundtrack of that trailer sounds machine generated. Just sayin'...

My family is bilingual (English/Spanish). It's certainly true that some words are not found in both languages. Our conversations mix the two languages, often in a single sentence if that's the best way of expressing something. I wouldn't say that …

Cheers, @StephenL. I don't want to hijack this thread with obscure Spanish politics. Perhaps I'll start a thread about it next time something significant happens in Cataluña.

While the story has been covered in Spain, most of the media attention is centered on local politics--it looks like the left has made an agreement with a major Catalan party that will let the Socialists form a government (finally). Of course, like …

Hmmm...so what does it mean that Roberts will preside?

Yes, too much has been made of McConnell's ability to thwart a trial, given that Roberts will preside. However, I think it's a safe assumption that Mitch will do whatever he can to prevent a conviction. I've seen some discussion of holding the …

While there is a natural tendency to look at this whole incident in terms of domestic electoral politics, we should try to remember that debasing American foreign policy has world-wide …

Face recognition does not bother me in and of itself. However, when it is used to accumulate data over time and from multiple sources, it is chilling. If a hotel uses face recognition instead of a key card, that's convenient, as long as the data …

Thanks for the insights, @Chris . I confess that this is not something I have thought much about before, but now I am starting to realize how difficult it is to do rigorous research in this area. One needs to examine the claims carefully …

A recent study has created controversy by finding that the health benefits of reducing meat consumption have been …

Never thought I would say this, but Jeff Sessions is starting to look good.

Barr's failure to recuse himself from a process in which he has been named in the complaint will almost certainly come back to haunt him. So far, he has not suffered any consequences for being a loyal foot soldier, but we know that for Trump …

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/deal-reached-for-whistleblowers-testimony-house-intelligence-chairman-says/2019/09/29/01cade60-e2d1-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html Yep. It will be private testimony, but details will certainly be leaked. …

> One wonders how this is all going to play out for Joe Biden's more centrist, attempt to gain the nomination for the Democrats. I couldn't read the WSJ article (paywall), but I don't see much of an interdependence here. There doesn't seem to be …

Well, he did give it a shot in 2012. But he seems too reasonable for today's Republican Party. I've seen speculation that he may run for governor of Utah again.