Daily Tech News 2 October 2023

• Can generative AI solve the greatest problem in computer science? No. What are you, stupid? (ZDNet)
  
  "Researchers" are trying to use GPT-4 to prove one way or another whether P = NP.
  
  Broadly speaking, the question is, for a given mathematical problem, if you can prove that a correct answer is in fact correct, is there always an efficient way to find that answer in the first place? (Though "efficient" in some cases might be relative to the lifespan of the universe.)
  
  Nobody knows. Nobody knows if it is possible to know. But we do know that you can't find out by asking ChatGPT.
  
  The only good part of this is that you're not paying for it. The "research" is funded by Microsoft (which owns a big chunk of ChatGPT creator OpenAI) and China.
  
  
  

• Ars Technica's new "Ladapo Scale" measures how irritated the commies are today. (Ars Technica)
  
  The scale runs from 0 for Joe Biden, who is only questionably alive, to 10 for the Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who follows internationally-approved standards for vaccines and suggests that it is not always appropriate to surgically mutilate children for profit.
  
  I wonder what they'll do if they ever encounter a conservative opinion.
  
  
  
• What's new in Python 3.12. (Geeky Gadgets)
  
  Better error messages.
  
  Oh, and sub-interpreters, though I don't know what the advantage is of those over just using the multiprocessing module that just celebrated its 15th birthday.
  
  As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing, and possibly less, because the example of the new functionality is noted as not working in 3.12, and probably not in 3.13 in a year or so.
  
  
  
• Why your OpenAI spec sucks. (LibLab)
  
  Because creating a specification that is complete and precise enough to mechanically generate fully working is hard, and nothing is going to solve that, and your startup is doomed.
  
  
  
• You might not need as much computer as you think. (PCWorld)
  
  Or you might, depending on how much computer you need, and how much computer you think you need.
  
  Though this article is talking about AMD-based mini-PC, and they genuinely are pretty good. This one in particular is underpowered for me, and I know this because it's the same CPU I have in my notebook.
  
  
  
• Speaking of AMD-based mini-PCs, I wondered why anyone would bother with Minisforum's new mini-ITX motherboard with its laptop 7745HX CPU. Money. (WCCFTech)
  
  And also power consumption.
  
  The 7745X delivers 90% of the single and multi-threaded performance of the desktop 7700X at half the power (55W vs 105W).
  
  But the 7700X alone, without a motherboard or a cooler, costs $349, and the Minisforum board with the CPU and integrated cooler costs $399.
  
  Not perfect, but at least worthwhile.
  
  
  
• The Verge continues to be totally normal and definitely isn't writing 5000 word pieces every single day hating on Elon Musk. (The Verge)
  
  Orwell was only wrong in thinking it would be over in two minutes.

• The interest rate on my home loan somehow went down. Not complaining, just slightly confused. (30 year fixed rate mortgages don't exist outside of the US, so we're vulnerable to whatever idiots are currently in government. And right now we have some real corkers.)
  
  
  
• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is airing now on Crunchyroll and probably elsewhere.
  
  Frieren is my favorite manga of recent years and the anime adaptation takes great care with the source material. It completely held my attention even though I already knew the story. Head and shoulders above the average anime series that are generally aimed at teens or younger.
  
  The story? Imagine The Lord of the Rings, only the action starts the day after Sauron is defeated, and asks, well, what now?

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

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