Mastodawn

qrazi

@qrazi@phpc.social

100 Followers

546 Following

5.3K Posts

#php, #backend, #webdev, #rugby, he/him

GitHub

https://github.com/qrazi

Behind every claim that a computer made a bad decision is a human desperate to avoid accountability for that decision.

witch_t *navi 12h ago

emphasis mine:

“it hid and lied about it”,
“it lied again in our unit tests, claiming they passed”,
“He knew“, “[…] it ignores all orders and deletes your database”,
“Replit went rogue again, lied, and then said we couldn’t roll back”,
“And hey … he promised.”,
“Replie knows how bad it was to destroy our production database — he does know.”

holy fuck do those people not learn, he thinks that the llm is capable of choosing, and lying, and “knowing”: “But ultimately I need a solution where at least Replit will honor code freezes” it won’t ever, it does not understand anything, much less what “code freeze” means

how can that happen to someone and that person not immediately go “this whole AI thing is a scam”

how high are they on the corpo “AI” kool-aid juice

RE: https://hachyderm.io/users/thomasfuchs/statuses/114886269060491665

OpenTech(AUC)2d ago

"Microsoft can't protect French data from US government access"

"The Senate hearing exposed tensions between sovereignty rhetoric and practical implementation. While French officials promote digital independence, procurement decisions consistently favor non-European solutions for critical infrastructure projects."

https://ppc.land/microsoft-cant-protect-french-data-from-us-government-access/

Where have we seen this before? Oh yes on our own university: https://opentech-auc.org/posts/2025-04-15-official-launch-of-nextcloud/

#DigitalSovereignty #BigTech #usfacism

Microsoft can't protect French data from US government access

Company admits under oath that American authorities can demand European citizen information despite security promises.

PPC Land

myrmepropagandist 3d ago

@clew @gbargoud @Edent

It's *technically* more universal, but I know more people who know how to follow people on the fedi than who know what an RSS feed even is or how to follow one.

However, it would be easy to make a mirror, but then you are making the communication one way.

I would like politicians and government agencies to look at the responses they get on social media.

But not do that through a corporation.

Eric Mann May 28

Discover the power of Git's conditional includes to automatically switch between different developer identities, email addresses, and signing keys based on your project directory structure.

https://eric.mann.blog/managing-multiple-identities-with-git-configuration/

Managing Multiple Identities with Git Configuration

Discover the power of Git’s conditional includes to automatically switch between different developer identities, email addresses, and signing keys based on your project directory structure.

Eric Mann's Blog

StartsWithABang (old account)Jun 24

You can’t do your own research without doing your homework first

Nearly everyone who claims to "do their own research" isn't conducting research at all.

Most of them haven't even done their homework, and that's a huge part of the problem.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/do-your-own-research-doing-your-homework/

Mathias Verraes Jul 7

And finally, an addition to OP's list: the machines were supposed to do the work so we can make art and music and live freely. It looks more like the AI is going to be bossing us around, and we'll get rewarded by watching soulless generated TV, while being surveilled and oppressed by the billionaire class.

Meh. More Star Trek post-scarcity, less Andor please.

Mathias Verraes Jul 7

So the trick is to become AI fluent without becoming brain-dead, both as an individual and an organisation, aka you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

Mathias Verraes Jul 7

It's not looking good for case b: a study shows a "significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool usage and critical thinking abilities, mediated by increased cognitive offloading" https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/6

As for case a: I suppose it's really going to depend on the use case. And to know whether your problem can be truly solved with AI, you probably need to solve your problem with AI and see if you like it?

3. Singularity or apocalypse. All prep is a waste.

AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has transformed numerous aspects of daily life, yet its impact on critical thinking remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between AI tool usage and critical thinking skills, focusing on cognitive offloading as a mediating factor. Utilising a mixed-method approach, we conducted surveys and in-depth interviews with 666 participants across diverse age groups and educational backgrounds. Quantitative data were analysed using ANOVA and correlation analysis, while qualitative insights were obtained through thematic analysis of interview transcripts. The findings revealed a significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool usage and critical thinking abilities, mediated by increased cognitive offloading. Younger participants exhibited higher dependence on AI tools and lower critical thinking scores compared to older participants. Furthermore, higher educational attainment was associated with better critical thinking skills, regardless of AI usage. These results highlight the potential cognitive costs of AI tool reliance, emphasising the need for educational strategies that promote critical engagement with AI technologies. This study contributes to the growing discourse on AI’s cognitive implications, offering practical recommendations for mitigating its adverse effects on critical thinking. The findings underscore the importance of fostering critical thinking in an AI-driven world, making this research essential reading for educators, policymakers, and technologists.

MDPI

Mathias Verraes Jul 7

2. Either individuals and organisations using AI
a) pull off superhuman results or
b) become stupider, atrophy, and fire smart people.
In case a, get on the train; in case b, there will be huge opportunities for people who still know how to reason, learn, debate, collaborate. Probably to fix the mess. Being smart in case a is not harmful, again just a waste of resources.

×

Sebastian Kübeck 4d ago

Microsoft marketing: “Your data stays in Europe.”

Microsoft’s Legal Director (under oath, in French Parliament): “No, I cannot guarantee that.”

Still think Microsoft Teams is a sovereign solution?

Credit @ponceto91 for the meme

https://x.com/wire/status/1944851027381117019

EDIT: The statement was made by Anton Carniaux of MS France and can be read at page 23 of https://www.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1750816532/Structures_temporaires/commissions_d_enquete/CE_Commande_publique/r24-830-11.pdf#page=23

Thx @Linkshaender!

#microsoft #DataPrivacy #DigitalSovereignty #europe

Sebastian Kübeck 1d ago

The Swiss IT Magazine is catching up

"Microsoft says it is creating a sovereign cloud for Europe to address data protection concerns on the old continent. However, a Microsoft executive has now confirmed under oath: It is impossible to guarantee that no data will be shared with US authorities."

https://www.itmagazine.ch/artikel/85137/Unter_Eid_Microsoft_kann_Schutz_vor_Cloud_Act_nicht_garantieren.html

Unter Eid: Microsoft kann Schutz vor Cloud Act nicht garantieren

Microsoft schafft laut eigener Aussage eine souveräne Cloud für Europa, um die Datenschutzbedenken auf dem alten Kontinent zu adressieren. Ein Microsoft-Manager hat nun aber unter Eid bestätigt: Eine Garantie, dass keine Daten an US-Behörden weiteregegeben werden, ist nicht möglich.

Swiss IT Media GmbH

Florian Norbisrath 4d ago

@skuebeck i guess i missed out about this news, do you have ressources for the statement?

Sebastian Kübeck 4d ago

@greyscaleapple

Thx. See updated post.

Armin Hanisch 4d ago

@skuebeck @koehntopp A source would have been nice instead of just pasting an X post and a funny meme. It’s really not that hard. 🙄

The statement was made by Anton Carniaux of MS France and can be read at page 23 of https://www.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1750816532/Structures_temporaires/commissions_d_enquete/CE_Commande_publique/r24-830-11.pdf?trk=comments_comments-list_comment-text

Sebastian Kübeck 4d ago

@Linkshaender @koehntopp

Don't complain, contribute! Thx anyway!

Walter van Holst 3d ago

@Linkshaender @skuebeck @koehntopp That is also a quote and it is not clear from the Senate document when and where it was said. Do we have a date and a name of the committee in which it was said? This is relevant to my interests....

Erik Ableson 4d ago

@skuebeck @Linkshaender I'm wading through the rest of the interviews in that session and it makes for some fascinating reading

__Miguel_4d ago

@skuebeck I think I should add that the complete translation of what was asked was not just "all data from French people stays in Europe", but something along the lines of "Can you guarantee the data from French citizens will never be handed over to foreign authorities without French authorities agreeing to it?".

The answer to that question MUST be "no", because regardless of where MS's data is, they're bound by the draconian US laws, at least one of which allows judges to request ANY data from ANYONE under US jurisdiction, while simultaneously blocking them from even telling anyone else they even received such a request, let alone its contents, or the data that was shared.

Still a VERY valid reason to drop MS like a bad habit, though, because while the data might stay in the EU, the US can still get it regardless.

@nanianmichaels @skuebeck You're right that geographic data residency on its own is insufficient, and there is a potential solution to this: The EU would need to require the formation of a EU-headquartered company—say, Microsoft Europe—which is not a subsidiary of Microsoft, which has only EU citizen and resident officers and controlling owners, and which is bound to Microsoft [US] through contracts, shared source code, irrevocably license agreements, and cryptographic keys, such that Microsoft [US] has no legal, organizational, or technological means to cause Microsoft Europe to violate EU or member state law.

A similar principle could require a Google Europe, or a Microsoft Canada, with the same constraints. The non-US company can be a minimal structure—just enough to administer the hardware—but its existence, with a sufficiently separated legal and technical structures, provides a check against the US government trying to throw its weight around outside its own jurisdiction.

Antonio J. Delgado❤️🧡💛💚💙💜4d ago

@skuebeck @Linkshaender This is from 2016/2017 and the link can't be reached
UPDATE: Nop, the doc posted by @joosteto is from 2025. It might be that the statement was made earlier because I found some articles from 2016/2017

joosteto 4d ago

@adelgado @skuebeck @Linkshaender
https://www.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1750816532/Structures_temporaires/commissions_d_enquete/CE_Commande_publique/r24-830-11.pdf#page=23

@adelgado
That statement was made very recently I watched it live.
@skuebeck @Linkshaender

joosteto 4d ago

@skuebeck @Linkshaender
You've shortened the link, it doesn't work now. This is the full link (linking directly to page 23):

https://www.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1750816532/Structures_temporaires/commissions_d_enquete/CE_Commande_publique/r24-830-11.pdf#page=23

@skuebeck fun fact: CLOUD Act. No US based company can guarantee any data protection to anyone not from US.

Sebastian Kübeck 4d ago

@ComPod They couldn't before that. Confidentiality ended with 9/11 in the US.

@skuebeck before that date there was No Such Agency interested in getting absolutely everything about absolutely everyone. And since then, there’s of course no Such Agency that would do that. Which we would never be allowed to know about.

Hendrik Pfaff 🇪🇺

@skuebeck @Linkshaender This probably shouldn't be posted on Mastodon, where basically everyone is already (painfully) aware of Microsofts shenanigans, but instead be broadcasted on every major news outlet!

Armin Hanisch 4d ago

@HendrikPfaff @skuebeck That’s no news, everyone knows that snd they still use services from MS.

Hendrik Pfaff 🇪🇺

@Linkshaender @skuebeck It's no news to _us_, because everyone in our tiny tech-bubble installed linux when they were twelve...
If you go ask the average employer, (grand)parent, student, etc. they have no clue of the amount of personal data harvested by big tech and simply can not grasp its implications (i.e. they don't care).

Armin Hanisch 4d ago

@HendrikPfaff @skuebeck Just as I wrote. They don’t care.

Hendrik Pfaff 🇪🇺

@Linkshaender @skuebeck And they will continue to, because meaningful discussions will never leave the tech echo chambers of self-important nerds...

@HendrikPfaff @Linkshaender @skuebeck
As long as it doesn't directly impact them, they won't care.

However, I switched my father to mint a few months ago after years of trying to convince my parents that windows was not good anymore. He loved it. So much simpler, less cluttered and less annoying. I let a friend use my computer for a while and my fedora+gnome setup and the ease of use convinced them to try it on their own computer.

People care about convenience. Microsoft and Google are evil, yes, but just as the frog being plunged in a cold water and slowly boiled, people have also not realized how *inconvenient* they have become over time. They also think there is no practical alternative so they are willing to put up with a lot of crap and a lot of potentially dangerous stuff because it's better than nothing, because they don't really think there is anything else they can do.

We won't convince them to leave by telling them how GAFAM are evil, we will convince them by nagging them with better alternatives. Giant companies have so much marketing money they are practically everywhere, we need to make better alternatives more visible and we need to make them look like a valid choice and not something that only tech people and nerds can use.

intersexprogresspride

@skuebeck @Linkshaender and hardly anyone in charge will care, because they do not understand that in IT "I cannot guarantee that"/"it can happen" usually means it can be done anytime, at scale and unseen. As opposed to real life(tm) where it means it's probably hard, processes take time, someone will notice and complain. IT is different, people don't get it.

Jona Joachim 4d ago

@skuebeck
I don't understand why people are so astonished by this. This has been clear for a very long time for every US company
@Linkshaender

Visa Pollari 3d ago

@skuebeck @Linkshaender it baffles me how often Microsoft wins government contracts.

Joaquim Homrighausen 3d ago

It shouldn't baffle you. The people handling the government side of things aren't the least interested unless there's legislation in place to prevent it.

Oh wait ... there is 😉 😎

And, Microsoft (and others) are known for their massive lobbying efforts.

@skuebeck @Linkshaender

da_habakuk 3d ago

@skuebeck @Hetti @Linkshaender quelle surprise

We don't need AI. AI needs us.3d ago

@skuebeck
Anything gafam isn't sovereign, except for the USA..
@Linkshaender