patrick.net

Yeah another generation of disruptive technology that displaces workers.

Look at how word processing applications replaced the typing pool and the automated telephone switching systems replaced telephone operators.

I saw this with automated engine rooms which allowed for reduction of watchstanders from 4 to only 2 watchstanders.

.

The are not displaced by AI per se, as in AI will not do their jobs, it's just their masters are pivoting into the next big thing and need to cut in last big things areas.

Good in any case, let woke persons eat the cake

RWSGFY says

The are not displaced by AI per se, as in AI will not do their jobs, it's just their masters are pivoting into the next big thing and need to cut in last big things areas.

Yeah. Slick.

AI can be useful and I've been playing with it quite a bit. Its chief use is introductory information on multitudes of subjects. For coding, it's just about useless to make a complete working program, but it gets you 80% of the way there, and then you need to debug it. It's worse than useless for geopolitical information, it's just narrative propaganda.

Couple of interesting things I've gotten it to do:

1) Generate code for encryption using ECC that doesn't work, and this is actually trivial to do
2) Produce incorrect explanations of how ECC works
3) Generate code that was supposed to use AES 256 where it couldn't produce the same results with two well known libraries.
4) Identify that Ukraine was overthrown in a CIA coup only to have it then insist it was still the "Revolution of Dignity"
5) Generate code for libraries in Perl that do not exist, and never have existed.

It's REALLY good at bullshit, that's the problem. People with bullshit work will be able to greatly streamline their workload, however, for actual work that requires explicit and complete knowledge, it's not very useful although I have gotten good stuff out of it. I used to work with a library called ncurses which is basically a simple system to generate "windows" in a terminal. It's still useful in designing quick, but throw away interfaces where I need to test a library, but I don't have any idea what kind of GUI I'm going to use with it. Frequently it won't compile, however it will produce much of the code you need, and you just have to re-work it a bit. It does save time.

richwicks says

It's REALLY good at bullshit,

GIGO

...or should we use BIBO instead? I like that better.

I wonder if Google is making these job cuts announcements in anticipation of the 30 January 2024 earnings call.

It may be that they will not exceed expectations for the Oct-Dec 2023 reporting period, and will state they are looking to save money and are going to raise earnings guidance for at least the second half of 2024. They'll take the charge or hit for severance pay during first half of 2023.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/google-parent-alphabet-laying-off-innovation-lab-workers

Google parent Alphabet Inc. is reportedly slashing jobs within its innovation lab called X as it adopts a new structure.

In recent months, X – described as a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs that develops technologies to solve the world's hardest problems – has increased talks regarding funding with venture capitalists and other investors, so they can launch projects even faster, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

X was established in 2010 by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin with the goal of working on "far-out, sci-fi sounding technologies that could one day make the world a radically better place." Since then, the division has "incubated hundreds of different moonshot projects," with many going on to become independent businesses.

The lab's new structure will help projects spin out to become independent businesses even more quickly with support from Alphabet as well as outside backers, Bloomberg reported, citing one of the people and an email to staff obtained by the outlet.

ad says

has increased talks regarding funding with venture capitalists and other investors, so they can launch projects even faster, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Why would investors fund those when just parking their money in the S&P 500 instead? Or even Treasuries.

Yes, yes...they are into funding long shots. But that is a lot easier to justify when interest rates are near nothing. S&P reflects businesses who cut the fat/restructured and now making good profits along with the 150% increase in construction of manufacturing facilities as business' reshore.

Alphabet is probably in a better position to have more success. But a lot of those 'independent businesses' are going to need more rounds of funding. So, same thing.

Oh, and they need to rename it from X. Doesn't matter that they named it that on 2010 before Musk even dreamed of taking over Twatwaffle. It's confusing now.

They say it's because of AI to fuel the over selling of AI. But in reality, people don't jump to Google first as the undisputed of truth and facts.
Sure people use Google for a lot of things, but Google Searches isn't one of them. People Google goods and where to buy more than trivial information or factoids.
These are gatekeepers of facts. Twitter laid off 10's of thousands of them when Elon took over, and they went to work for Google to throttle information.
What they are discovering is people are getting their facts directly from the websites. They are not asking ask Google first, they just go to content they trust directly. So the army of gatekeepers Google has hired, at this point can be done by AI, if they want to further destroy their Search engine business model.

Trump is winning the GOP primary handedly. At this point, the Google execs are realizing what a useless money pit, trying to filter positive information on Trump while pushing propaganda and negative State news on Trump is pointless.
Also the woke policies has destroyed Google. So rather than admit these follies, they are just going to try to claim AI is going to do their Job. A Job that apparently nobody can do, and furthermore nobody should be doing.

Pre Trump in 2015 and during the 2016 election season. Google was just some good organic code that knew how to collate and deliver relevant results based on your search query. They didn't need gage keepers then, If you remember then, the bulk of their employees were either Coders or Google ads account reps. The Search engine was the product. When you have an army of woke morons narrating the content. Your product becomes an army of woke idiots.
So they have learned.

Tenpoundbass says

Pre Trump in 2015 and during the 2016 election season. Google was just some good organic code that knew how to collate and deliver relevant results based on your search query. They didn't need gage keepers then, If you remember then, the bulk of their employees were either Coders or Google ads account reps.

Google has been a gate keeper since Alphabet became their "parent" company in 2013. Gatekeepers weren't as necessary (but they were there) back then, because nobody knew anything. There were too few people that understood what was actually going on with X or Y.

Ukraine's overthrow happened in 2014, and I remember finding out about it, BEFORE it happened because of Victoria Nuland's "fuck the EU" "scandal". The media only reported on her use of vulgarity, what they didn't mention is that in that conversation, she and Geoffrey Pyatt were deciding on the next government of Ukraine, which BECAME the next government of Ukraine 2 1/2 weeks before the coup was complete.

Funny. But I'd say the majority of coders are either libertarians or conservatives. It's just the usual vocal woke (and mostly talentless) minority fucking things up ;)