I think if we, as a community, really put our heads together, we could figure out how to define and make useful user-respecting tools that incorporate LLMs. There are a lot of hard problems, like the massive power consumption, and the ethical use of data, that I don’t really know how to solve.

I think a start would be to focus on making smaller, lower-complexity models that are built for purpose, rather than trying to make a jillion-parameter jack-of-all-trades trades model. I think it would also make sense to focus initially on areas where there are already large corpuses of freely available text, like all the writings in the public domain. But I don’t really have a good idea of what these tools would be used for, exactly, which is where I’m stuck.

He doesn’t really specify use cases beyond Sashiko (I believe that’s the project they’re discussing), which, if I understand correctly, uses an LLM to review kernel patches using a pre-set list of prompts. The output of those prompts presumably gets added to the PR for anyone who cares to read it.

These outputs sometimes have mistakes in them, so the maintainers must read them with a critical eye, but I think Linus is arguing here that it’s sufficiently… “good enough” that including them is helpful to the maintainers, that it catches enough real stuff without wasting too much time on fake stuff. There are always tradeoffs when adding a tool to the stack, and sufficiently rare misfires are probably worth the times it catches real problems that humans miss.

The solution is to make sure those LLM tools help maintainers instead of just causing them pain. There’s no question on that side.
We’re not forcing anybody to use it, but I will very loudly ignore people who try to argue against other people from using it.
And no, AI isn’t perfect. But Christ, anybody who points to the problems at AI had better be looking in the mirror and pointing at themselves at the same time.
Because it’s not like natural intelligence is always all that great either.
The kernel project has been and will continue to be about the technology.
Sure, the social angle of working on open source is important and often a very motivating part of the project, but in the end that’s a side benefit, not the point of the project.
This is NOT some kind of “social warrior” project, never has been, and never will be.
In the kernel community we do open source because it results in better technology, not because of religious reasons.
And so we make decisions primarily based on technical merit. Not fear of new tools.

IMO it’s a pretty clear eyed take. LLMs are tools and, like all tools, are more fit for some purposes than others. And, like many tools, they’re hard to understand, easy to misuse, and dangerous when they are misused (intentionally or otherwise). And, like any tool, they can be used for evil if the user has a mind to do so. Just because they are currently being used to do great harm doesn’t mean they can’t also be put to good use.

I think the FOSS community, in particular the Fediverse community, does itself a disservice by refusing to engage with them at all. They aren’t evil in and of themselves, they’re just new and selfish people will try to find an angle with them, same as it’s always been. I think it’s up to us to understand them and try to find a way to use them ethically. Show the world that it’s not that we invented scary Artificial Intelligence, it’s just that we created a cool, if wonky, search interface for text. Wonky in what way? Well, I think it’d be nice if there were robust FOSS tools and documentation I could use and/or contribute to, and learn about them with a community of my peers working for the common good, instead of having to either take the megacorps at their word or just renounce anything “AI branded” altogether, which doesn’t feel like a good long term strategy.

I want to be dead clear about this, because it’s the entire reason Gorai exists: this is not a robotics framework that happens to tolerate AI. It’s a robotics framework designed because of AI. The bet is simple — the robots worth building from here on out are going to be driven, at least in part, by agents. So we designed for that on day one, not as a bolt-on you duct-tape onto the side later.

Seems like a shaky bet. I think I’d rather not have “agents” tightly coupled with my hardware controllers.

second thing, this

Safety enforced at the capability node, not trusted to the agent

Misses the point of why thinking about software as agents is dangerous, particularly in the context of robotics. Two or more agents may simultaneously decide to take actions that, on their own, aren’t dangerous, but when performed at the same time can produce a dangerous situation that neither “agent” could foresee. the more agents, the more complicated bodies you have to account for in the system, and it quickly becomes unpredictable.

For the longest time I just thought “New York City” was what everyone called it to differentiate it from the state. I didn’t know it wasn’t used by people from NYC until I was a teenager / young adult. Similarly, I didn’t know that it was kind of a disparagement. Once I started paying attention to it I noticed that if the city is being referred to in a positive or neutral context, it’s usually “New York” or NYC (pronounced en-why-see), but if it’s a negative context then it’s much more likely to be called “New York City”. Like calling a wayward child by their full name.

If you remembered your junction box pullers you can just scootch 'em a little closer. Just make sure you have a metric puller otherwise it’ll only pull 'em 2 yards and still be a little short.

Otherwise you gotta send the kid back to the shop to look for it.

The worst is getting out in the field with your 5lb hammer only to find you only brought metric stakes, so you gotta go all the way back and get your 3kg hammer.

That kinda talk has been going on in TN since I was a kid. They said the same thing about Georgia not too long ago. I’m of the mind that breaking one-party control generally looks hopeless right up until it starts to buckle, and then change can appear to happen quickly. Sorta like gradual wear on a machine manifesting in a sudden dramatic failure. I don’t know if or when we’ll pull that off in TN but I don’t think it’s hopeless.

It would be nice. I would love to not have to keep two sets of each tool type just because America can’t admit Europe did something better. And not just a little better, like, it’s embarrassing how difficult SAE is over metric.

It’s probably too late for me. But I dream of a world where my grandchildren only need one socket wrench set.

LMAO the vast majority of the population there can’t afford food or housing or healthcare because they’re the first places to fall into the grip of a christofascist coup that’s trying to take over the entire US government and making a pretty good go of it so far. What a bunch of rubes.

We’re already off the cliff. And we’re going to take everyone with us if we keep sliding.

They have to disclaim it as leftist propaganda because to do otherwise would leave room for the upper class to possibly start feeling some empathy for the poor. These states are all places where christian fascism has its strongest grip, and part of maintaining that grip is constantly insisting that all problems that exist in the glorious uberstate are either A) the fault of non-whites / non-christians / gays / communists etc., or B) not really problems, just the fevered imaginings of the Liberal Media that Hates America. Am I gonna listen to what NBC, a company from New York City, has to say about my state? C’mon now.

A huge number of upper class Tennesseans will take any fig leaf offered that lets them believe that everything is mostly fine in TN, just a few ragtag “urban types” making things difficult for the rest of us. It makes it a lot easier to convince yourself that your lifestyle has no negative consequences, it’s just lazy poors who don’t work as hard at their dad’s gravel company as you do.

It’s a shitty and self-sustaining situation, which is why articles like these rarely have much impact. We’ve all already decided who we’re gonna blame when stuff like this gets aired, and we just go through the same motions when it does.

Glad you reminded me, I hadn’t checked my new rep for AIPAC contributions. Looking pretty good! It’d be nice to have someone in TN not bought by AIPAC.

Gotta respect a fire caster with both bushy eyebrows still intact.

Haha, that’s as good an explanation as I can think of.

Why?

Nothing to worry about folks, it’s only rarely fatal! Most service members won’t even experience serious, debilitating long-term side effects!

I think it’s a network problem. Most people use Chrome, therefore most people’s friends and co-workers use Chrome, so there’s a strong incentive to go with the pack. Google is obviously exploiting this to get their ecosystem claws in deeper, but I think the main thing is that Google effectively dethroned Microsoft as the default, and Mozilla has just kind of “been around” the whole time as the weird alt browser that the IT guy uses, even being propped up by Google in exchange for Firefox users’ search data.

What should Mozilla do? IDK. I don’t think “more AI” is the right answer, but I also don’t know what I would do in their position. It’s a tight spot.

I really want to build one of these. Gonna have to find blueprints for a CNC machine and a 3D printer first I guess.

If we can keep the internet from getting corporatized and segmented, we could have build guides for everything from basic hand tools, to metal foundries, to robotic equipment, just… on the internet for anyone to pick up and use to build their own tools. Starting from scratch, if they so desired. That would be cool.

I feel like Polymarket is relatively small potatoes. Who’s been benefiting from the high oil prices? non-gulf oil producers. Whoever controls that oil has been making real bank. I don’t know which all countries are major exporters, but I know a few of them are Russia, the US, and the US’s newest puppet state, Venezuela.