Ruth — of systems & design“Each elimination looks rational in isolation. The second-order effects arrive six months later, and by then nobody connects the locust swarm to the dead sparrows.”
https://leehanchung.github.io/blogs/2026/04/05/the-ai-great-leap-forward/
Yes… Lessons about systems in both… And… wondering about the use…
BashStKid@RuthMalan @mayintoronto This is an excellent essay. The deceptive disaster of the Great Leap Forward should be taught to systems folks as the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse is shown to structural engineers.
May Likes Toronto@BashStKid @RuthMalan The systems folks are much less likely to be the ones who are causing these problems.
@mayintoronto @RuthMalan True, but good intentions are no substitute for a bit of holistic thinking.
The Tacoma Narrows engineers couldn’t really say “this is great, look at the incredibly strong bridge we’ve built” when the bridge is dancing a samba.
Third spruce tree on the leftOne of the best distillations of how most of us "who know" view AI. I love this essay.
Also, I am a backyard steel load bearing sparrow whose moat is wider than most, but also full of locusts.
⁂ Fish Id Wardrobe@RuthMalan this is _very_ good
Jo - pièce de résistance@RuthMalan it really is so much like this era in China. And I wish people understood the famine that occurred.
e_es@RuthMalan "This is Goodhart’s Law at organizational scale"
Wow, a #mustread for everyone!