Daily Tech News 5 May 2024

Top Story

The US government has mandated automatic emergency braking in all new cars sold starting 2029. (Car and Driver)

This could save 360 lives a year, claims the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost as many as are killed by beavers and bathtub accidents combined.

Tech News

Understanding Stein's paradox. (Joe Antognini)

Well, that didn't work.
Why RAG won't solve generative AI's hallucination problem. (Tech Crunch)
Because models have no real intelligence and are simply predicting words, images, speech, music and other data according to a private schema, they sometimes get it wrong. Very wrong.
What RAG does is tell the AI to look the damn answer up instead of making it up.

For which the AI is entirely unnecessary.
4060 Ti or 7700 XT? (Tom's Hardware)

Following price cuts from both Nvidia and AMD, the judges award this round to the 7700 XT. In fact, I've seen the 7700 XT (which has 12GB of RAM) selling for less than even the 8GB model of the 4060 Ti, making the choice easy.
Setting up computers all over the place, including a new Linux server at home running Ubuntu 24.04.

Disclaimer: The Team MP44 is awarded a rating of "sucks", after failing completely under both Windows and Linux.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:02 AM (o3SCB)

2 I called them.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:02 AM (o3SCB)

3 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 04:03 AM (fwDg9)

4 https://tinyurl.com/3wrhymjh
20 Tweets from Bad Blue
Some good stuff

Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 04:03 AM (fwDg9)

5 This automatic emergency braking is going to be a hoot-

how will the system know what the road conditions are before slamming on the brakes

Posted by: Don Black at May 05, 2024 04:08 AM (/7KEl)

6 from the TechCrunch article

Here’s a similar pitch from SiftHub:
Using RAG technology and fine-tuned large language models with industry-specific knowledge training, SiftHub allows companies to generate personalized responses with zero hallucinations.

"allows"--but doesn't ensure

This guarantees increased transparency and reduced risk and inspires absolute trust to use AI for all their needs.

That's nowhere near standard English.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:09 AM (o3SCB)

7 "Automatic Emergency Braking"

Oh, FFS!

As a former machine operator, running at the whim & mercy of several dozen 'properly functioning' sensors...

I'd bet that the supposed benefits will ultimately be outweighed by the risks of having vehicles controlled by such a... sensing apparatus.

MANUAL OVERRIDE, FTW!!!! (but you can be sure there will not be an "off" switch for this "feature" until after many lawsuits. Like passenger-side airbags.)

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:11 AM (njWTi)

8 “... you’re likely to give more accurate answers if you have a reference [like a book or a file] in front of you ....”

Oh rilly? An example of a reference the author of the article gives is wikipedia!!! What could go wrong.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:12 AM (o3SCB)

9 7 "Automatic Emergency Braking" ... I'd bet that the supposed benefits will ultimately be outweighed by the risks of having vehicles controlled by such a... sensing apparatus.

MANUAL OVERRIDE, FTW!!!! (but you can be sure there will not be an "off" switch for this "feature" until after many lawsuits. Like passenger-side airbags.)
Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:11 AM (njWTi)

I'm imagining the terror of the helpless human in a car trying to, say, get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle when the car automatically brakes.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:14 AM (o3SCB)

10 Ubuntu is heading down the same dark path Microsoft blazed. Telemetry, forcing snaps (to the point that you can install using apt and get a snap instead), lots of other crap. You don't even get deb package recognition in context menus by default in 24.04 anymore.

Linux Mint rides on top of Ubuntu but fixes their bugs, has fantastic additional features like Timeshift, doesn't do telemetry, reacted to Ubuntu's snaps crap by disabling snaps entirely by default (but can be reenabled), and is entirely community run and supported, instead of Microsoft-Lite, I mean, Canonical. Oh, and the DE of the main version, Cinnamon, is 10000000x times better than Ubuntu's Gnome (tho Cinnamon keeps the bits of Gnome that are actually decent, like Disks).

When even the Archlinux snobs concede that LM has become very mature and stable. you know it has to be pretty good. I first replaced every Ubuntu box in my house with LM.... and then I replaced my Windows boxes with LM. Both Microsoft and Canonical are banished from my household (aside from what our jobs force). And couldn't be happier.

Posted by: Qwinn at May 05, 2024 04:15 AM (AYO2r)

11 I'm imagining the terror of the helpless human in a car trying to, say, get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle when the car automatically brakes.
Posted by: m
----------

Exactly.

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:15 AM (njWTi)

12 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 05, 2024 04:18 AM (ju2Fy)

13 Seems like an honest ending to that TechCrunch article:

So RAG can help reduce a model’s hallucinations — but it’s not the answer to all of AI’s hallucinatory problems. Beware of any vendor that tries to claim otherwise.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:19 AM (o3SCB)

14 Qwinn - Yeah, I might well reinstall it with Mint.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at May 05, 2024 04:20 AM (BLOW1)

15 4 https://tinyurl.com/3wrhymjh
20 Tweets from Bad Blue
Some good stuff
Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 04:03 AM (fwDg9)

Thanks, Skip!

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:20 AM (o3SCB)

16 AI is on the RAG...

Posted by: Mister Ghost at May 05, 2024 04:20 AM (TGPs7)

17 My car already has a radar system what tells me to BRAKE! (with many BEEPS to alert me, too!) when, say, the car ahead of me slows rapidly. Or, somebody suddenly cuts me off in traffic.

PITA, but doesn't slam on my brakes fercryinoutloud...

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:21 AM (njWTi)

18 MP44

Any relation to our MP4?

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 05, 2024 04:21 AM (ju2Fy)

19 A blessed and Holy Pascha (Easter) to our Eastern Orthodox posters. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The celebration of Pascha is beautiful-for those who have not experienced it - as celebrants process around the church With candles Easter Eve at 12:00, the door to the church are opened and the celebration continues inside.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2024 04:22 AM (XkYcA)

20 The US government has mandated automatic emergency braking in all new cars sold starting 2029. (Car and Driver)

This could save 360 lives a year,
------------------

But how many lives will they kill? Several times I've had cars slam on brakes while I was making an aggressive move to avoid collisions. Ironically, one vehicles warning msg on the dash came up as "Collision Assist." Seemed accurate.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 05, 2024 04:30 AM (ju2Fy)

21 17 My car already has a radar system what tells me to BRAKE! (with many BEEPS to alert me, too!) when, say, the car ahead of me slows rapidly. Or, somebody suddenly cuts me off in traffic.

PITA, but doesn't slam on my brakes fercryinoutloud...
Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:21 AM (njWTi)

Can you turn off, or turn down, the beeps?

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:33 AM (o3SCB)

22 Pixy - cool, you wouldn't regret it. (Check out applets when you're there, can do amazing things to the taskbar).

Ubuntu's getting so bad that I'm actually considering going to Linux Mint Debian Edition (which also uses Cinnamon DE and is supposedly almost indistinguishable from the main version). The only thing holding back is that the Ubuntu repos are considerably richer than the Debian ones. I'm hoping the Mint devs finally decide to make LMDE their main package and just take the worthwhile stuff from Ubuntu repos that Debian doesn't have in theirs and just put it in their own repo.

Posted by: Qwinn at May 05, 2024 04:33 AM (AYO2r)

23 makes me think of that drone in I, Robot that leans in Will Smith's car window and says "YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A CAR ACCIDENT"

Posted by: Don Black at May 05, 2024 04:33 AM (/7KEl)

24 A beautiful message from one of- the head clergy- or the head fellow ( I'm not up on Eastern Orthodox Clergy; Sorry) of the Orthodox Church. It is a good message for all Christians:

https://tinyurl.com/w4z55w76

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2024 04:42 AM (XkYcA)

25 18 MP44

Any relation to our MP4?
Posted by: olddog in mo at May 05, 2024 04:21 AM (ju2Fy)

; )

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 04:42 AM (o3SCB)

26 Rain again today

Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 04:58 AM (fwDg9)

27 Can you turn off, or turn down, the beeps?
Posted by: m
-----------

No.

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:59 AM (njWTi)

28 Rain again today
Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 04:58 AM (fwDg9)

That's just ducky !

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:07 AM (T4tVD)

29 Hiya

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:07 AM (T4tVD)

30 Hiya, JT!

How you?

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 05:14 AM (njWTi)

31 “as many as are killed by beavers”

GavGov recently planted 20 live beaver in moist meadowy places here in NorCal. Those plantings were offset by the 32 live coyote planted near moist meadowy places in NorCal.

Posted by: 13times at May 05, 2024 05:16 AM (S7agN)

32 I'm attempting to wake up and succeeding slowly.

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:17 AM (T4tVD)

33 Good luck waking up, JT.

Wish me luck getting to sleep. LOL

G'night... zzzzzzzzz

Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 05:18 AM (njWTi)

34 If the automatic breaking mandate gets you aroused you are going pass out in ecstasy from the the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandate that all cars at some point will have mandatory alcohol interlock systems. The rules for this are being drafted and will be published by the end of 2024.

My question is when does the administrative state grant itself the power to decide that your ability to drive a car can be terminated, in the name of saving lives, based on when it determines you are a social risk. This type of thinking is the heartbeat of the ever encroaching nanny state.

Posted by: Lost in Space at May 05, 2024 05:27 AM (hqGCh)

35 'm attempting to wake up and succeeding slowly.
Posted by: JT

I am attempting to fall back asleep and failing spectacularly.

Posted by: Lost in Space at May 05, 2024 05:28 AM (hqGCh)

36 34 If the automatic breaking mandate gets you aroused you are going pass out in ecstasy from the the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandate that all cars at some point will have mandatory alcohol interlock systems. The rules for this are being drafted and will be published by the end of 2024.

My question is when does the administrative state grant itself the power to decide that your ability to drive a car can be terminated, in the name of saving lives, based on when it determines you are a social risk. This type of thinking is the heartbeat of the ever encroaching nanny state.

Posted by: Lost in Space at May 05, 2024 05:27 AM (hqGCh)

Yep on all that.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 05:32 AM (o3SCB)

37 'Nite JQ !

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:32 AM (T4tVD)

38 27 Can you turn off, or turn down, the beeps?
Posted by: m
-----------

No.
Posted by: JQ at May 05, 2024 04:59 AM (njWTi)

I guess you could blast music real loud!

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 05:33 AM (o3SCB)

39 Thanks for the Big Bad Blue Tweets Skip !

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:33 AM (T4tVD)

40 It will be interesting to see how urban POC's handle having the commie shit weasels drive/take their car

Posted by: Jamaica at May 05, 2024 05:37 AM (IG7T0)

41 "From brokenness to blessing.." A reflection on a passage from Joel:

https://tinyurl.com/54hd3whf

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2024 05:41 AM (XkYcA)

42 Someday the muffler noise and backfires will be an app on their phone.
City has to drop points for Arsenal to win.
Everton can go play with TB14's Birmingham team.

Posted by: Jamaica at May 05, 2024 05:43 AM (IG7T0)

43 Good morning morons

Unusual rain all day yesterday

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2024 05:43 AM (RIvkX)

44 40 It will be interesting to see how urban POC's handle having the commie shit weasels drive/take their car
Posted by: Jamaica at May 05, 2024 05:37 AM (IG7T0)

Huh. I'm thinking "same way they handled having the commie shit weasels mandate vaccines," but I can't think of exactly how it would work itself out.

Posted by: m at May 05, 2024 05:43 AM (o3SCB)

45 It's not about safety it's about power and control.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2024 05:46 AM (RIvkX)

46 Good morning morons

Unusual rain all day yesterday
Posted by: San Franpsycho

No WONDER I got wet !

Posted by: JT at May 05, 2024 05:49 AM (T4tVD)

47 The Jefferson County Republican Party has canceled a fundraiser scheduled for Saturday with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

...the county GOP stated that “safety concerns” led to the cancellation of the event because protesters were expected to show up.

bonus fact I learned from this article:

Jeffco GOP Chair Nancy Pallozzi

Posted by: Don Black at May 05, 2024 05:51 AM (/7KEl)

48 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at May 05, 2024 05:52 AM (86W+h)

49 KRAK OF DAWN HAS ARRIVED
Grab a cup of coffee and head upstairs

Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2024 05:55 AM (fwDg9)

50 Evening and morning to all the early Sunday risers and later weekend toilers! I slept okay, with the help of a single cold pill -- thus no coughing -- and I plan to work out gently this morning. With 74 F. and 90% humidity, I'm not looking forward to it.

In even poorer news, Miss Linda is decidedly un-thrilled at the idea of my retiring this month, and won't discuss the move-and-buy-a-house scenario unless I force it. She has never been excited about the idea when I showed her nice houses on Realtor in Evansville and environs.

Instead of being excited about "the new chapter," as the cliche has it, I'm finding myself a little depressed (along with the usual seasonal "down" I feel when the nasty humid heat closes in).

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2024 05:57 AM (omVj0)

51 Being miserable at work, the new commute AND suffering eight or nine months of foul weather. Blarg.

Posted by: 13times at May 05, 2024 06:32 AM (IlHsm)

52 Automatic Emergency Braking? I thought Pete Buttiplug enjoyed getting slammed in the rear.

Posted by: TC at May 05, 2024 06:38 AM (cHOHf)

53 Sorta pre-book thread. Anyone familiar with Jeff Vandermeer’s weird fiction Southern Reach Trilogy?

The first book with the crawler scribing odd phrases on the alien lichen growing on the stairwell walls in the tower.

The word and sentence structure choices Gavin Newsom posts on his Twitter feed is that. The unceasing agitprop; It’s weird and fantastic and unreal. People “liking” his propaganda inhaled the toxic lichen-pollen.

Posted by: 13times at May 05, 2024 06:45 AM (mhgCT)

54 Guy buys an EV motorcycle that is roughly equivalent to the Honda Trail 125 I have on order with a few exceptions. It cost 50% more, has 1/3 the range, and refueling takes about 5 hours as opposed to about 5 minutes. And one more thing, unlike the Honda, it catches fire in the first 3 mi of riding it. As a point of comparison there are numerous Honda Trail 90 motorcycles, first introduced in the mid-1960s, are still on the road.

Now scale this cock up to millions of EV vehicles on the road. I suggest you bring hot dogs and buns cuz that's is the future. Evs are a scam. The best quote in the video is it's not on fire. It's overheating. The good part starts at 9 minutes.

https://youtu.be/wxr1iXEf9lY

Posted by: Lost in Space at May 05, 2024 07:02 AM (hqGCh)

55 A 125 dirt ebike doing 48mph on the road? I’ve literally no idea how those things are set up; sprockets etc., and is he riding into a headwind?

And the rider looks like he weighs at least 180?

Posted by: 13times at May 05, 2024 07:44 AM (5dsPO)

56 Did not receive calls or texts on the new Samsung for 3 days. Everything suddenly dumped in at 02:00 on Saturday, all of it at once. I think it has to do with Google Messages and that Chat setting, on by default. Or something. Restarted the phone 3 times and set Chat to Text and Messages, so far so good.
I don't get many calls or texts so didn't think much of it, until the sudden appearance of a dozen texts and calls.

WTF.

Posted by: LenNeal at May 05, 2024 08:17 AM (NdL8w)

57 My question is when does the administrative state grant itself the power to decide that your ability to drive a car can be terminated, in the name of saving lives, based on when it determines you are a social risk. This type of thinking is the heartbeat of the ever encroaching nanny state.

Posted by: Lost in Space at May 05, 2024 05:27 AM (hqGCh)

Reason 1,278 why I will hang on to my '06 Mustang GT for the remainder of my days. No newer vehicle in my future. My 57 Chevy in the garage is my back up.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at May 05, 2024 09:12 AM (iODuv)

58 A team of devs from my work spent over a year trying to develop a LLM-based chatbot that could replace our current expert system chatbot (which has constant complaints, craps out on the regular, and is on an expensive license to boot). "Hallucinations" was exactly the problem that made us drop the idea.

The vast majority of our time was spent trying various ways to reduce the "hallucinations" (not sure I like that term since it implies a lot of false things about what is happening). RAG was one of the later things we tried, but we found that 1) the process of reducing hallucinations was essentially turning the LLM into a search-driven expert system (or layering one on top of the LLM), and 2) getting the LLM to pull from the relevant part of the document was a crapshoot.

In the end, RAG is just a jargon-ized way of saying "bound the allowed results based on curated documents", and it doesn't address the fundamental problem of LLMs not understanding the words they put together.

Posted by: Cortillaen at May 05, 2024 12:30 PM (6kADi)

59 I'm sure someone has already commented but automatic braking (mandated of course) is going to be a huge boon to the Carjacking industry.
Thinking a little further ahead anyone that disables the autobrake, and subsequently runs over an attempted hijacker, would undoubtablely be charged with manslaughter or murder.

Unless we have had the revolution by 2029 and all those bureaucrats and leftist judges are swinging by the neck by then.

Posted by: John the River at May 05, 2024 12:48 PM (/3goP)

60 > This automatic emergency braking is going to be a hoot

Last year, I rented a minivan for a trip...a Chrysler Pacifica, IIRC. It was equipped with this "feature." Driving north from Las Vegas on I-15, it triggered a few times when it saw the bottom of a hill up ahead and mistook it for a car. That misbehavior got old pretty quickly. I shut it off and had no further problems with it.

If they're mandating the inclusion of this misfeature, what do you suppose the odds are that at some point beyond that, you won't be able to shut it off?

Posted by: Scott at May 06, 2024 01:24 PM (kmvkg)

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Posted by: multi addons at May 14, 2024 12:41 AM (q7t97)

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