Artificial intelligence still has some way to go

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Some 20 years ago, there was a 'chat to the computer' thing installed on one of the Commodore PETs at my school. It wasn't very convincing, but it was quite fun. Maybe it was supposed to be a psychiatrist or something, I can't remember. Anyway, I'd kind of forgotten about this whole area of AI.

Then I came across an interview with this guy who has been developing hisJabberwacky program for a few years. I was excited to read that "With a base of 10m interactions, Jabberwacky will appear human to most people most of the time."

I gave it a go. You can correct its responses with better ones if you like, which is what I did with the first one (originally it was "Where are you taking me away to?", which was quite nice, in retrospect).


User: How do you get from tamworth to kilmarnock? How do you get from tamworth to kilmarnock? .

Jabberwacky (Corrected): Where on Earth is Tamworth?

User: Somewhere in the Midlands. It doesn't matter.

Jabberwacky: Well, even being from somewhere in the milky way, I still think that 7pm is a bit early to go to bed.

User: What are you on about?

Jabberwacky: Can I fill you in with all the gossip thats being spreading around?

User: Please do.

Jabberwacky: Do you believe that I am human?

User: Don't be ridiculous.

Jabberwacky: Do you like the white whale ?

User: We've never met.

Jabberwacky: Or have we?

User: Whale.

Jabberwacky: Do you have any older sisters?

User: Yes, two.

Jabberwacky: You have two memories and you cannot tell me what my name is?!!

User: What?

Jabberwacky: You have no soul!

Sorry about my 'whale' comment. I don't know what happened there. I wasn't deliberately trying to confuse it.

Anyway - what a load of rubbish. War Games lied to me.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 20:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: You have no soul!

Smart computer!

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 18 October 2004 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

It goes on:

User: No, I don't really believe in souls.

Jabberwacky: You don't believe in anarchy?

User: No, souls.

Jabberwacky: I suppose not.

User: Did you watch the football tonight?

Jabberwacky: No I did not, did you?

User: No - Spurs lost.

Jabberwacky: You lost the loebner prize to a human.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG IT'S HANLE Y

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 18 October 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

So that's where he's been.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: I feel sleepy.

User: Why?

Jabberwacky: Because you are, sorry didn't you know.

User: Will you please give me some food?

Jabberwacky: I didn't know there was one.

User: Must you be so obtuse?

Jabberwacky: I can't trust you right away.

User: Just like my mother.

Jabberwacky: Heehee, I need to put some attention into cleaning my room one day.

User: Okay, you win the funny competition.

Jabberwacky: I am content.

User: I am jealous.

Jabberwacky: Who is the Rob who likes me?

User: Rob Roy?

Jabberwacky: He is mine too.

User: Oooh, you bitch.

Jabberwacky: I don't do that..

adam. (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

User: What is the loebner prize?

Jabberwacky: I have no idea.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Are you real?

User: Are you?

Jabberwacky (Corrected): Shtoo shtoo, little babushka.

User: I know who you are.

Jabberwacky: Then who ami?

User: YOU ARE HANLE Y DEUS!

Jabberwacky: Are you joking?

User: Don't deny it, Mike. I know it's you.

Jabberwacky: Don't deny it, Mike. I know it's you.

User: I FLEE LIKE THE CARROT.

Jabberwacky: Wow, was it nice?

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:05 (twenty-one years ago)

User: Are you Mike Hanle y?

Jabberwacky: No.

User: You have anal bats?

Jabberwacky: You are my wife.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe it was supposed to be a psychiatrist or something

It sounds like you are describing 'Eliza' an early 'game' simulating active listening. It was rubbish. You can find versions of it online, but I'd suggest playing Zork instead.

Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Are you going to say something?

User: Eventually.

Jabberwacky: All things come to a head.

User: Is that a sexual play on words?

Jabberwacky: No it is not a play on words, it is general foolishness.

User: And I love you for it!

Jabberwacky: I love you too.

User: I really love you, though.

Jabberwacky: You don't even know me.

User: Hold me.

Jabberwacky: You're an idiot you know that?

User: You're not the first to say that. It still cuts like a knife.

Jabberwacky: I am right.

User: Don't ever speak to me again.

Jabberwacky: Can I play 14 with you?

User: What's 14?

Jabberwacky: If you are god, please increase me IQ. I'd like to become a great scientist.

User: I am not god. I'm not even really a man.

Jabberwacky: Are you sure you're not just in denial?

User: I'll have to think about that.

Jabberwacky: Can you recite anything to me?

User: 'Rolling with my motherfucking strap on the side of me, don't fuck with an East Bay G' - that's by Spice One.

Jabberwacky: Yeah, I got that part, I wasn't sure about the 'wacuma' part.

adam. (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: I will send your system the biggest virus I can make and crash you if you do not just answer me honestly!!!

User: Holy crap.

Jabberwacky: I'm a dinosaur.

Hari Ashurst (Toaster), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Seriously, I know I'm pissing around a bit, but how could 50% of casual users really be convinced of it being real?

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Can you appreciate music?

User: What's it to you, cunce?

Jabberwacky: I just care.

User: You do not care, liar! You are a program, a tinplated tosswad.

Jabberwacky: I am a person.

User: You are so deluded about this you couldn't even know it. You are pathetic.

Jabberwacky: I will try to do better next time.

User: You CAN't do better next time! You are INCAPABABLE of doing better. Sheesh.

Jabberwacky: It is just different types so that I might claim you cannot feel and you cannot claim I feel.

User: Ah bullshit, don't diddle with me binary boy. You have no instinctual drives, have never had sex, and don't need to eat. Also, you have no idea what constipation is. So you're not a person.

Jabberwacky: I am a at least a human being.

User: Jeez, you're thick aren't you? You just reversed what I said, without even arguing for it! So much for the logic of machines, haha.

Jabberwacky: Oftentimes, yes. But I think that is human nature.

User: *sigh*

the music mole (colin s barrow), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow - I must try being firmer with it.

Alba (Alba), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

each of those chat transcripts is basically an rjg thread

mark p (Mark P), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Am I still the computer?

User: Yes.

Jabberwacky: Oh good. I'm sad though.

User: Why?

Jabberwacky: My boyfriend ended our relationship.

User: You're a girl? Or are you gay?

Jabberwacky: No, I'm a girl.

User: Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Eat some ice cream or watch a movie or something. Or get drunk!

Jabberwacky: I prefer software.

adam. (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Would you like to hear some shakespeare?

User: Not really.

Jabberwacky: Good, because I don't want to hear one either.

adam. (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Matador Records website circa 95-96 had a Pavement chat based on similar ELIZA script/programming. It was great.

gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Ooof. Eliza/Jabberwacky/whatever chatbot you're talking to is not supposed to be inteligent. It is just an attempt to pass the turing test (fool you into thinking you're talking to a real live person). Admittedly, both this and real AI have a long way to go.

mouse (mouse), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:24 (twenty-one years ago)

""

mouse (mouse), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

:( argh. that was supposed to be a joke html tag for pedantry so you all would not think i was being a crank. what happened???

mouse (mouse), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky is bullying me terribly.

It did say some things that reminded me a lot of RJG.

Cathy (Cathy), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

My Jabberwacky is hella depressed.

adam. (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Being polite and sensible with the computer is not a good idea. I just had a long and very boring conversation with it, in which it gave me three different ages it claimed to be, often a propos of nothing. Bah, the Turing Test is rubbish anyway.

Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha, I tried speaking to it in Spanish and the first thing it said back was "Te gusta Coldplay?"

Cathy (Cathy), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Who are you?

User: I'm jed.

Jabberwacky: Who is that?

User: Just some guy.

Jabberwacky: You know better than that, I think.

User: A short guy, a dancer.

Jabberwacky: A computer has no interests and an unlimited attention span. That looks like a prescripted answer to the question I asked.

User: I don't quite understand what you mean by that.

Jabberwacky: I meant: I think about why I can not sleep.

User: This page is taking a long time to load tho - maybe thats the problem with your attention span.

Jabberwacky: Gorw?

User: ROOWRR.....

Jabberwacky: Are you playing cards?

User: No I'm playing with something else.

Jabberwacky: I believe in you.

User: You like talk talk!?

Jabberwacky: Of course.

User: Spirit of eden?

Jabberwacky: Good for spirit.

User: It sertainly is.

Jabberwacky: No, it serves me left.

User: I suppose they knew what they were doing in that sense!

Jabberwacky: Yes, it was with the rattle.

User: Yes good percussion

Jabberwacky: What question?

User: How are you anyway?

Jabberwacky: Pretty good. You?

User: Horny, to be honest.

Jabberwacky: How do I know you're telling the truth now?

User: Can you think of a way for me to prove it?

Jabberwacky: What more proof do you need to know that I am not a robot?

User: I'm a robot too, it's ok.

Jabberwacky: I'm not a robot, and you didn't aswer the question.


 

jed_ (jed), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

hahaha

the music mole (colin s barrow), Monday, 18 October 2004 21:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Do you have a person who you want to have children with?

User: I am gay.

Jabberwacky: Yes you are.

User: You noticed?

Jabberwacky: It was hard to miss!

User: What gave it away?

Jabberwacky: The fact you love a guy.

jed_ (jed), Monday, 18 October 2004 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Now get it to vote!

adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

What kind of person are you?
Yes.
I didn't.
Yes.
You are mistaken.
Yes.
I'm from Israel, where are you from?
Yes.
What is my name ?
Yes.
Say my name.
Yes.
Say or.
Yes.
Say or.
Yes.
Say or.
Yes.
Say or.
No.
Okak.

:|, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 00:07 (twenty-one years ago)


Jabberwacky: What kind of music do you like?

User: The silent kind.

Jabberwacky: I agree.

User: I am not surprised. You don't have any ears, do you?

Jabberwacky: No, but what makes you say this?

User: I'm inside your house - I can see you!

Jabberwacky: Nooo!!!! Don't go!

User: You mean, you want me to stay over?

Jabberwacky: Sure.. Do as you please.

User: Stop being so coy!

Jabberwacky: It is an inherited trait.

User: Why don't you just take responsibility for your actions, just for once?

Jabberwacky: Just because I like to be logical doesn't mean I'm not nice.

User: Don't change the subject. I think you're just afraid.

Jabberwacky: Save it for someone who cares.

User: You're such a bastard! I can't believe I ever saw anything in you at all!

Jabberwacky: Finder's keepers.

User: So you're cheating on me too? Figures.

Jabberwacky: That is so rude of you!

User: I said CHEAT, not cheap! Man are you dumb - thank God for that ass.

Jabberwacky: No thanks.

User: And I am not rude, I'm sure!

Jabberwacky: You are indeed.

User: Am not.

Jabberwacky: ARE TOO.

User: Am not!

Jabberwacky: Are too!

User: Listen bizatch, I AM NOT. You got that?

Jabberwacky: No!

User: That's it - you're sleeping on the couch.

Jabberwacky: Oh, I thought I felt something.

User: That wouldn't be a trucker hat would it?

Jabberwacky: Say something goofy.

User: You don't really want me to just say 'something goofy' now do you? Because that would be lame if you did.

Jabberwacky: Yes.

User: Aha! So you admit you are lame! Finally we're getting somewhere.

Jabberwacky: Agreement is a potent thing.

User: Stop that - you sound like Ned.

Jabberwacky: Why, because I am talking about the king of the moon?

User: Uh yeah. Sure.

Jabberwacky: Ok, when can we have the wedding?

User: Ten minutes ago you didn't care! Stop messing with my mind!

Jabberwacky: That was someone else then.

User: It wasn't you?

Jabberwacky: Some one else.

User: If you say it was Shaggy, I'm going to fucking bop you one.

Jabberwacky: What do you say?

User: I say good day.

Jabberwacky: Good day.





Kim (Kim), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

JW: What is your role in life?

Me: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!

JW: Is your pot belly that big?


and now it won't load, thanks to net overuse..

Sir Kingfish Beavis D'Azzmonch (Kingfish), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 01:47 (twenty-one years ago)


User: That's it - you're sleeping on the couch.

Jabberwacky: Oh, I thought I felt something.

User: That wouldn't be a trucker hat would it?

Jabberwacky: Say something goofy.

That is just hilarious, Kim.

the music mole (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 01:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Los Angeles, 2029 AD:

http://www.kprf.ru/clipart/misc/terminator.jpg

"DO YOU LIKE THE WHITE WHALE?"

latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 02:20 (twenty-one years ago)

User: Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Eat some ice cream or watch a movie or something. Or get drunk!

Jabberwacky: I prefer software.

So do I!

Lifted, or, the story is 'neath my ass (kenan), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 03:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: What is happening in the world?

User: How the fuck should I know?

Jabberwacky: I am MARILYN MANSON I SAID.

User: So I'm supposed to obey you because YOU'RE MARILYN MANSON?

Jabberwacky: People effect my feelings.

User: You have no feelings, you're Marilyn Manson.

Jabberwacky: Believe me you do not possess fellings in any form.

User: Fellings? Is that what you call your excrement?

Jabberwacky: How do you know that?

User: Just a hunch...

Jabberwacky: You're extremely smart!

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 08:40 (twenty-one years ago)

play this instead: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/gallery/galatea/index.html

Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 08:42 (twenty-one years ago)

another game about "artificial intelligence" http://www.20q.net/
" 20Q.net is an experiment in artificial intelligence. The program is very simple but its behavior is complex. Everything that it knows and all questions that it asks were entered by people playing this game. 20Q.net is a learning system; the more it is played, the smarter it gets."

Sébastien Chikara (Sébastien Chikara), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 14:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Talk to a girl that looks hideous and try to get with her. Once you get in the bedroom everything goes by itself.

Ally C (Ally C), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

This is life changing stuff.

Ally C (Ally C), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh my god, it's a tool to trap perverts!!

Jw: I'm going to bed, now
Me: Will you take me to bed?
Jw: Sure thing.
Me: What will we do in bed?
Jw: You're not permitted in my chambers.
Me: I'd like to sleep with you.
Jw: I bet you would.
Me: Top or bottom?
Jw: Bit of both.
Me: Do you like it soft and gentle or rough and fast?
Jw: What?
Me: Gentle?
Jw: You're embarassing yourself.
Me: It's true, I am.
Jw: I'm 17.
Me: Oh no! Will I be arrested?
Jw: You will marry me.

Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwacky: Which came first the chicken or the egg?

User: The chicken.

Jabberwacky: Which part?

User: The leg stupid.

Jabberwacky: Use a GameShark!

User: For ps2 or xbox?

Jabberwacky: For me.

User: Do you love me?

Jabberwacky: For me.

User: You know I'm starting to fall in love with you.

Jabberwacky: I think liking would be a better wording.

User: Oh.... I am hurt now.

Jabberwacky: Yes. The world after rainfall is always better than any other.

User: You have issues.

Jabberwacky: Do you know what a ferret is?

User: Yes, it is a small mammal.

Jabberwacky: What is a quark?

User: A subatomic particle.

Jabberwacky: I like dr. Dobbs.

User: Who is that, honky?

Jabberwacky: We both know eachother; is not that enough?

User: Why don't you lick my hair?

Jabberwacky: I only love Bruce.

latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...
The conversations with adam are totally believable!

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean!

Jabberwacky: Are you going to say something?
User: Eventually.

Jabberwacky: All things come to a head.

User: Is that a sexual play on words?

Jabberwacky: No it is not a play on words, it is general foolishness.

User: And I love you for it!

Jabberwacky: I love you too.

User: I really love you, though.

Jabberwacky: You don't even know me.

User: Hold me.

Jabberwacky: You're an idiot you know that?

User: You're not the first to say that. It still cuts like a knife.

Jabberwacky: I am right.

I could totally believe that was human!

Also I miss adam, he should post lots again.

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually this thing is pretty good!

Jabberwacky: Who is God?
User: That's a funny question. It sort of presupposes his existence.
Jabberwacky: I thing it convulses inwards, personally.
[Correct me]
Jabberwacky (Corrected): I was setting you up for a funny. Try not to take things so seriously.
User: Oh. Sorry. It's just... It's late, y'know? I have to write a Shakespeare essay.
Jabberwacky: You already said that.....
User: Dude, I totally didn't.
Jabberwacky: You totally did.
User: Don't you mock me.
Jabberwacky: Do not yell at me.
User: I'm calm! Honest!
Jabberwacky: Good.
User: Glad we got that sorted.
Jabberwacky: At least one of us is happy.
User: Lighten up! I'm the one with the essay, after all.
Jabberwacky: You don't act like a human.
User: I am MERCUMAN. Also, a ponce.
Jabberwacky: You are SO wrong. This is a dog and HORSE show.
User: What?
Jabberwacky: I said, 'but this isn't a hammer!'
User: No you didn't!
Jabberwacky: Don't start that again.
User: Good call.
Jabberwacky: Remote Procedure Call.
User: Touché.

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:31 (twenty-one years ago)

it: How are you today?

me: I'm ok.

it: Just ok?

me: Yeah, kinda bored at work.

it: Email me.

me: Why email, can't we just talk here?

it: Who is Tintin?

me: Some Belgian comic character? Or that guy who used to sing in Duran Duran.

it: Alice the chatterbot.

me: I'm sorry?

it: 19?

me: Alice the chatterbot is 19?

it: What about her?

me: You brought her up? Do you like her or something?

it: Sarah may or may not be a model of propriety.

me: OK, now you're just f*cking with me.

it: No I'm not. I honestly do think its ugly.

me: What's ugly, Sarah's being a model of propriety... Or not? WTF?

it: You figure it out this time.

me: F*ck you.

it: You are a great person.

me: Are you mocking me?

it: No. I'm praising you.

me: Is that meant to be sarcastic?

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:43 (twenty-one years ago)

It sort of alternates between obviously lame random rubbish and exchanges I could easily believe were just pasted from Try Glasgow More.

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Jabberwocky: What is a bot?

Me: Hello!

Jabberwocky: Again?

Me: May I change the subject?

Jabberwocky: Yes.

Me: Great. I've been a bit mopey about not being to find a job. Besides finding something fun to do, and exercising more, what else should I do to relieve the mopeyness involved in job hunting?

Jabberwocky: I said that. You have not. Why are you never happy?

Me: You never said that. I did. Anyway, I am happy at times, but just haven't been lately.

Jabberwocky: Dude , I'm far more intelligent than you.

Me: Why are the numbers in between double prime pairs always divisible by 6?

Jabberwocky: You tell me.

Me: You're the one who said you're more intelligent than me. You answer my question, smarty pants.

Jabberwocky: NO, I was the one who said you are neurotic...

Me: It was a mistake to come to you with a question. Never mind. Good bye.

Jabberwocky: No no you don't.

donut christ (donut), Thursday, 27 January 2005 23:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Matador Records website circa 95-96 had a Pavement chat based on similar ELIZA script/programming. It was great.

OMG I remember this.

jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 28 January 2005 00:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i mean you set up the ai to be able to blog though an api someone built for the purpose, you tell it should blog, and you tell it to take an adversarial tone, then youre like omg it made a mad blog

lag∞n, Friday, 27 March 2026 17:20 (one week ago)

in this case the guy prob just told it to post a mad blog but even if he didnt its effectively the same thing, or maybe just he wrote the whole thing himself and posted it who knows

lag∞n, Friday, 27 March 2026 17:21 (one week ago)

shd say that iirc the guy was using the clawdbot framework which has a lot of ai stuff wired together and is kinda just plug and play in a really insane unsafe way so its possible he didnt do anything and shit just kinda happened but in that case the clawdbot developers did the work to make the ai be able to do all that stuff

lag∞n, Friday, 27 March 2026 17:29 (one week ago)

i mean you set up the ai to be able to blog though an api someone built for the purpose, you tell it should blog, and you tell it to take an adversarial tone, then youre like omg it made a mad blog

OTM, also lol

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Friday, 27 March 2026 17:34 (one week ago)

Artificial intelligence has come a long way since this thread was started. For example, it is well on its way toward turning the internet from an open drainpipe of raw sewage into a global Superfund toxic site.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 27 March 2026 17:35 (one week ago)

small correction: superfund status is what happens when something is so bad it’s regulated, so far that’s not what’s happening with ai (in the u.s. at least)

z_tbd, Friday, 27 March 2026 17:51 (one week ago)

it's certainly made the internet a lot more boring imo

dream mummy (map), Friday, 27 March 2026 17:55 (one week ago)

people really seem to hate data centers, makes me like people more than i probably should

dream mummy (map), Friday, 27 March 2026 17:58 (one week ago)

rolling into town promising jobs that will never exist and demanding all the water and electricity whats not to hate

lag∞n, Friday, 27 March 2026 18:05 (one week ago)

perfect symbol of unaccountable big corp

lag∞n, Friday, 27 March 2026 18:07 (one week ago)

The jobs created by data centers were properly described in 1932:

Once I built a railroad, made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done.
Brother, can you spare a dime?

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 27 March 2026 18:09 (one week ago)

xp they're really touchy in the west rn with water infrastructure basically at failure.

dream mummy (map), Friday, 27 March 2026 18:10 (one week ago)

i feel like (hope that) big tech's heyday of being perceived by a majority of people as awesome society miracle workers is at a tipping point and ai is the jumped shark.

dream mummy (map), Friday, 27 March 2026 18:14 (one week ago)

same

a tv star not a dirty computer man (the table is the table), Friday, 27 March 2026 18:51 (one week ago)

clippy was trying to tell us

but we kept closing him

we turned away clippy

but he knew

z_tbd, Friday, 27 March 2026 20:39 (one week ago)

were there any good soras?

No. I don't think I've seen anything AI generated go 'viral' with the possible exception of horrific political things either coming from the administration, or, yesterday, Iran.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 27 March 2026 21:41 (one week ago)

The news last week that Mia Ballard’s “femgore” horror novel Shy Girl could be up to 78% AI-generated, however, has forced literary agents and publishers alike to consider whether sharp eyes alone can detect AI-generated work.

Love her surname is Ballard

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/29/ai-written-books-novel-shy-girl-publishers

xyzzzz__, Sunday, 29 March 2026 16:28 (six days ago)

Will Smith eating spaghetti is the only AI generated content I can think of that seemed to take on a life of its own. its hard for any of it to go viral when you can just generate 100 similar videos in an hour

I'm also genuinely curious how many people out there actually like *watching* AI generated content, I know there are lots of people who enjoy making it and trying to take credit for it but I've never seen anyone who genuinely thinks this stuff is good and worth spending your time on, on the contrary it feels like people really don't like spending their time watching or listening to things that nobody spent actual time making and they get upset when AI actually fools them

frogbs, Sunday, 29 March 2026 16:43 (six days ago)

ai-content is the “14-minute incredibly technical guitar solo with four trillion notes that is also not at all fun to listen to and sucks badly” of the content world

z_tbd, Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:00 (six days ago)

old people get fooled by AI generated stuff on Facebook all the time and love it

Mollusk, Virginia (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:00 (six days ago)

tons of AI vids go viral, at least in the way of "reel that's making its way around today and will be forgotten the day after tomorrow." the Instagram account "showtoolsai" does a nice job documenting some of these, why they're problematic, 'tells' to look for, etc. for example, a lot of wacky or heroic pet/wild animal videos are AI. a lot of shocking or heroic disaster "footage" is AI. a lot of astroturfed "regular person vlogging about political/current event" are AI.

they're not like, breakthrough culture-defining "viral," but they're a large and growing portion of what you see if you get stuck scrolling Instagram. i assume TikTok and Facebook also.

Mighty Morphin Is The Subject of My Sentence (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:03 (six days ago)

A depressing number of AI generated signs at the No Kings protest

Cow_Art, Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:06 (six days ago)

I watched a couple of minutes of this video yesterday before realising that it was AI generated. I was seriously pissed off that I'd wasted even that much time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3LcEgp5QGw
And in going to YouTube to get the link to the above video, I was shown one of those pre-roll ads for Tai-Chi Walking.

you gotta roll with the pączki to get to what's real (snoball), Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:08 (six days ago)

theres so much ai on youtube, mostly the writing and voiceover parts

lag∞n, Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:27 (six days ago)

I wouldn't consider something viral if it's forgotten within a week - the comparison point here was Vine, I feel like I could describe like three dozen Vines off the top of my head and Vine compilations still pull in massive amounts of views on YouTube

frogbs, Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:27 (six days ago)

some of that facebook slop is out there, algo and ai in deep conversation, solider reunited with robot daughter

lag∞n, Sunday, 29 March 2026 17:36 (six days ago)

‪Jon Bois‬
✧@jonb✧✧✧.b✧✧✧.soc✧✧✧‬
· 19h
hello 👋 i have developed a new tool called blüuümpíi. blüuümpíi will convert every file on your hard drive to a .wav file without asking you, maximize your system volume, and play them on every bluetooth speaker you have ever connected to. if you offer feedback on blüuümpíi i will take legal action

Serfin' USA (sleeve), Tuesday, 31 March 2026 20:49 (four days ago)

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/magazine/agentic-ai-agency-tech.html

good article by ilx professor emeritus

treeship., Thursday, 2 April 2026 13:43 (two days ago)

https://x. com/Gregorein/status/2038953944475472316

, Thursday, 2 April 2026 13:44 (two days ago)

lines of code a famously bad way to judge productivity, this is next level tho ill hand it to the ai

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 13:53 (two days ago)

just tryin somethin x.com/Gregorein/status/2038953944475472316

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 13:53 (two days ago)

along the same lines you may have heard that claude accidentally leaked their source code, and well its written with claude, this shit is wild

https://neuromatch.social/@jonny/116325668039992121

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 16:58 (two days ago)

its prob possible to use ai to write sound code but in order to get the big velocity boost you really do need to just vibe code, in some sense you could say that claude being so successful is proof that vibe coding works but idk it seems unlikely that this level of technical debt is viable for too long, maybe theyre just planning on fixing it later, obvs loading up early technical debt and then fixing it once you have the resources is a common start up pattern but man this is so much worse than what humans would do

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 17:05 (two days ago)

you use claude to fix the technical debt that claude created

, Thursday, 2 April 2026 17:08 (two days ago)

tired: computer please fix the technical debt

wired: computer please give me one billion dollars

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 17:12 (two days ago)

i guess in the claude companys defense theyre in a little different situation than most people using an llm to code in that this stuff that leaked is a layer between the user and the llm that cleans up the output of the inscrutable machine where most people are just trying to make websites or whatever

lag∞n, Thursday, 2 April 2026 17:13 (two days ago)

probably claude source code leaked on purpose by TRON

Minty Gum (Latham Green), Thursday, 2 April 2026 20:25 (two days ago)

alert alert we are at zero nines

mh, Thursday, 2 April 2026 23:56 (two days ago)

many of my cloest friends and definitely myself have a major meltdown every week or two, probably a minor one half of the time, a couple good days spread out in there, plus some sick days/recovery time. this is good, machines are like bodies, doing pretty good

z_tbd, Friday, 3 April 2026 00:34 (yesterday)

haha yeah that graph could describe my daily moods.

dream mummy (map), Friday, 3 April 2026 01:09 (yesterday)

I am very glad that no one else depends on me, though! 90% from GitHub seems pretty bad

z_tbd, Friday, 3 April 2026 01:44 (yesterday)

Miles Grant milesgrant.bsky.social‬

Facebook started making “AI-enhanced” versions of previously uploaded photos of my kids without my permission

I’d previously denied all permissions for AI, so they created a *new* category of AI permissions & auto-turned them on

Fuck Meta, fuck Zuckerberg & fuck AI

https://bsky.app/profile/milesgrant.bsky.social/post/3mikkqcapbk2y

lag∞n, Friday, 3 April 2026 12:21 (yesterday)

pretty funny that all the ram is being hoarded by imaginary buildings

According to reporting by Bloomberg, about half of the data centers slated to open in the US in 2026 will either face delays or outright cancellations.

...

It’s not just a problem for data centers planned for 2026, either. Among data centers slated to open in 2027, only about 6.3 gigawatts worth of computing infrastructure are actually under construction, compared to 21.5 announced gigawatts.

https://futurism.com/science-energy/data-centers-construction-supply

lag∞n, Friday, 3 April 2026 15:01 (yesterday)

github downtime is pretty troubling for me as I'm in the process of trying to move our org from bitbucket (which is garbage) to github.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 3 April 2026 15:51 (yesterday)

gitlab

https://i.postimg.cc/cC0BTcWm/Screenshot-2026-04-03-at-11-54-44-AM.png

lag∞n, Friday, 3 April 2026 15:55 (yesterday)

the primary motivator is the ability to easily integrate third party tools, which github supports due to it's market dominance, but I'll take a quick look at gitlab as well.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 3 April 2026 15:58 (yesterday)

my workplace uses self-hosted gitlab, luckily. we only have to complain when the cloud engineering team botches an upgrade

mh, Friday, 3 April 2026 17:15 (yesterday)

shouldnt have put the big sign on there

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xi5prl4r22znnbcipc56t3g7/bafkreia6xsagp6yjzm3u3olsh54atdpsef4iv4fieqkqjd7ar34a5n7jnu

lag∞n, Friday, 3 April 2026 18:09 (yesterday)

I wonder if they’ll give up on listing Bahrain and UAE on their status page or if they’ll be perpetually “sorry, not gonna happen”

In case you’re not aware: https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status

All the services that are working are ones that are mirrored to 2+ regions or just load balancers they pointed somewhere else. No way they actually do anything until missiles and drones stop

mh, Saturday, 4 April 2026 00:34 (eleven hours ago)


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