Cameron Dutro

@camertron@ruby.social
172 Followers
183 Following
957 Posts
Ruby developer on the Design Engineering team at GitHub maintaining ViewComponent and primer/view_components.
Cameron Dutro1d ago
Molly White1d ago

"It is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you’re attempting can’t be done." – Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

#bookstodon

Cameron Dutro4d ago
Isabel's Espresso: Irregulars welcome 😍
Cameron Dutro4d ago
tante4d ago

"Whatever" is a brilliant essay on "AI" by @eevee:

"But I think the core of what pisses me off is that selling this magic machine requires selling the idea that doing things is worthless. Because if doing something has some value, then it must be somehow better than pushing a button and receiving Whatever for essentially no cost."

https://eev.ee/blog/2025/07/03/the-rise-of-whatever/

The rise of Whatever

This was originally titled “I miss when computers were fun”. But in the course of writing it, I discovered that there is a reason computers became less fun, a dark thread woven through a number of events in recent history. Let me back up a bit.

Cameron DutroJun 26
Low Quality FactsJun 25

I bet my fiancée that this picture of our cats could get 10 billion boosts on Mastodon.

She said she doesn't believe me. She said there's only 13 million accounts on Mastodon. She said there aren't even 10 billion people on Earth. She said it concerns her that I struggle so hard to comprehend large numbers.

Let's prove her wrong everyone. Boost away and show her just how awesome the Mastodon community is.

Cameron DutroJun 26
Nathan KnowlerJun 24

I was laid-off and am looking for a new role.

Working where design meets code is my jam. I am skilled at building accessible design system components, working with Web Components APIs, and creating scalable CSS architecture.

I work remotely from my home in Manitoba, Canada. 🇨🇦

Shares appreciated! #GetFediHired

Cameron DutroJun 23

When everything was built in C and C++ back in the day, it wasn't uncommon for teams to wait a long time for their code to build.

We've now brought this to web dev in the form of JavaScript bundlers which take even longer to run.

And we call it progress.

Cameron DutroJun 22
ben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 12, 2023
✨ new tech bingo ✨
Cameron DutroJun 20
Alex RussellJun 20

Checks out:

https://www.jonoalderson.com/conjecture/javascript-broke-the-web-and-called-it-progress/

JavaScript broke the web (and called it progress)

We replaced simple websites with complex apps nobody asked for. Now it takes a complex build pipeline just to change a headline.

Jono Alderson
Cameron DutroJun 15
captain acab Jun 15
Cameron DutroJun 15

"the same managerial types who bitch about the entitlement and unrealistic expectations of young people are the same ones that also eviscerated the bottom rung of the career ladder — typically by offshoring many of these roles, or consolidating them into the responsibilities of their increasingly burned-out senior workers — or see AI as a way to eliminate what they see as an optional cost center, and not the future of their workforce."

YES 👏👏👏👏

https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-era-of-the-business-idiot/

The Era Of The Business Idiot

Fair warning: this is the longest thing I've written on this newsletter. I do apologize. Soundtrack: EL-P - $4 Vic Listen to my podcast Better Offline. We have merch. Last week, Bloomberg profiled Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, revealing that he's either a liar or a specific kind of idiot. The

Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At
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Show threadben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 12, 2023
kinda thought i'd get more from tesla full self driving, who even made up these awful squares
Show threadJames RoperFeb 12, 2023
@_benui One of the major touted features of tesla full self driving is that there will be a system where you can tell your car to be at taxi just by pushing a button. That destroys jobs. Also will likely destroy the concept of giving friends/family a lift somewhere, thereby monetizing those relationship building opportunities.
Show threadben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 13, 2023
@jroper I'm sure that button is right around the corner. No implications for insurance or liability for letting your car just roam the city picking up passengers and running over pedestrians.
Show threadCapritiaJHFeb 13, 2023
@_benui "Under the hood it's sweatshop labor" -- did you read about how Black workers have been treated at Tesla? And how Tesla is moving its plants to Texas where there's a whole lot less labor oversight?
Not to mention, where are the components and materials sourced?
Show threadben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 13, 2023
@patriciajhawkins ah shit you're right
Show threadCapritiaJHFeb 13, 2023
@_benui As for disinformation, most of the industry thinks Tesla (Musk) is way overselling its capabilities.
Show threadSeiðrFeb 13, 2023
@_benui The "exploits addictive behaviours" pretty much defines lootboxes and other staples of today's video game sector.
Show threadben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 13, 2023
@Illuminatus that's why i added it! and other people suggested it so i just stole their idea. one of the two
Show threadSeiðrFeb 13, 2023
@_benui Excellent!
Show threadMoved accounts! See bioFeb 13, 2023

@_benui also

- horrifying millitary applications (the same AI that can drive a car can be put to work doing lots of other things)
- sweatshop labor, because all the new computers being put into the car definitely come from somewhere
- disinformation (even though this is really abt self-driving cars in general, see Tom Nicholas's video on the topic)
- solution worse than the problem, since full auto is touted as a solution to traffic, but cars are definitely not the solution to traffic, and in fact make it worse (studies have shown that self driving cars increase the total road miles of owners)
- owned by a huge corporation (tesla, google)
- destroys well-paying jobs (Uber in particular had a huge stake in developing self driving cars, because they hoped it would allow them to replace their human drivers. Definitely not the best paying job, but some people's livelihoods nonetheless)
- works by stealing stuff from the internet (self-driving cars are trained using Captcha data)

Show threadMoved accounts! See bioFeb 13, 2023
@_benui i'd definitely count "only solves rich people problems" ('cause they cost a bajillion dollars) and "only makes sense in silicon valley" (a lot of self driving cars require specific weather conditions and sometimes even pre-mapped cities, which means they don't work well in the country or in places where it rains/snows a lot)
Show threadJamesTDGFeb 14, 2023
@emi @_benui I tried being an outlier for em
Show threadNoodlesFeb 13, 2023
@_benui Tesla is basically Elon though, you can get a few more squares if you frame it around Elon and his world view.
Show threadKat KimbrielFeb 13, 2023

@_benui

Actually, I was going to ask if you designed this genius graphic so I could give you credit. IMO these squares are solid gold. "Fucks the environment" covers objection #1 to crypto, for example.

Show threadben 🇵🇸 uiFeb 13, 2023
@KatKimbriel I made it~
Show threadKat KimbrielFeb 13, 2023

@_benui

Genius.

You hit so many of the current corp/tech/labor/environmental OMGs, and didn't use a single word that some a$$ legal dept could object to, because it could mean many, many people.

A tip of the hat to you!

Show threadMattFeb 13, 2023
@_benui under the hood it's sweatshop labour…
https://www.foxnews.com/media/human-rights-activist-warns-abuses-congo-cobalt-mines-moral-clock-dialed-back-colonial-times
Human rights activist warns of abuses in Congo cobalt mines: 'Moral clock dialed back to colonial times'

Human rights activist Siddharth Kara shares the connection between cobalt, lithium-ion batteries, major companies like Apple, Tesla and Microsoft and human rights abuses.

Fox News
Show threadErik SFeb 14, 2023
@_benui Tesla FSD? You missed a few. There are horrifying police and military applications (it's always recording, it's building detailed maps). I suspect that under the hood it's sweatshop labor (training the AI models)
Show threadJamesTDGFeb 14, 2023
@_benui yk, b5 and g2 are one and the same here
Show threadEnara ❔Feb 15, 2023
@_benui who the heck puts subscriptions on a vehicle's features? The answer might not surprise you!
Show threadyuki - queen of the snowSep 23, 2023
@_benui i'd tick "concentrates wealth" because musk, "owned by huge corporation" considering tesla is getting quite massive, "only solve rich people problems" because of the price for sure, and "solution is worse than the problem" because i think it'll make more people not pay attention while driving, and is itself not good enough to prevent all collisions on its own
Show threadcrater🐮nSep 23, 2023
@_benui Almost certainly "solution is worse than the problem", "destroys well-paying jobs", and "horrifying police/military applications" also apply.
Show threadАлександр 🏳️‍🌈6d ago
@_benui Forgot "based on idea in dystopian story" (Cyberpunk) and "solution is worse the the problem" (cars is the problem)
Show threadFrost, glow wolf 🐺6d ago
@_benui Add in "horrifying police applications", they're basically wheeled spy cameras.
Show threadDiane6d ago

@_benui

You should also check
- Horrifying military applications
- Owned by huge corporation
- Horrifying police applications
- Destroys well-paying jobs
- Concentrates wealth

Honestly I feel like half of that card is free squares.