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Tom Groat

@tomrg.bsky.social

Reporter for my local newspaper, former teacher. Used to be Shazom123 on the bird site. History, politics, football, TV and plenty of random stuff.

334 Followers  |  474 Following  |  3,050 Posts  |  Joined: 02.01.2024  |  2.1468

Latest posts by tomrg.bsky.social on Bluesky

But he’s doing everything (and so is congress and the SCOTUS) to make sure he is an all powerful lame duck.
I’m imagining this just leads to graft, political disillusion, entrenchment of structural problems and eventually president Nick Fuentes.

19.10.2025 00:20 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This has been a fascinating chat, thank you very much. And it’s only possible because of amazing technical revolutions - that I, ironically, am arguing to be wary of!
But I need to get to sleep.

18.10.2025 23:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes. I find the linking of investment to invention is the problem.
Poor inventions are over hyped to gather investment. This incentives mass investment in poor products, creating bubbles and market disruption.

I don’t know how to fix this. But I know we should be more wary of it.

18.10.2025 23:28 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Fair point. I was thinking of chips and phones.

18.10.2025 23:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It wasn’t that big a budget. It was hyped because, thanks to CGI it could be made quickly and (reasonably) cheaply. It was followed by other (bigger) films such as skyline.
But there is a trajectory there. Quality graphics get cheaper and more accessible. AI fastforwards this.
-that’s my argument.

18.10.2025 23:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I get this, and two make hardware, so function much like typical companies have since the 1600’s.

18.10.2025 23:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And if they don’t it’ll be ….
Where’s the logical proof that string AI is coming, that is not based on β€œwell we can do things now we couldn’t five years ago, so in 5 years time we must be able to…” that logic gave us cryogenics, and 500 years ago the dream of base metals into gold…

18.10.2025 23:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes! And every new idea is hyped as β€œget in now before other do, this could change the world!”
And the idea turns out to be augmented glasses, or the metaverse, or 3D cinema.
So much gets wasted and everything is overhyped.

18.10.2025 23:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Also we may have just been through the big period of change. What if the revolution has happened and all the new ideas - sold to us as the next β€˜google’ or smart phone, are just refinements on old ones?
This is not a game changer, it’s an iPod nano.

18.10.2025 23:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

They all existed before the internet. It did not require the invention of telecommunications.
Wi fi, that’s a game changer, and mobile signal. I’d put them in my small set of revolutionary ideas.
But I still think they only come along once every 10 years.

18.10.2025 23:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Ah, now that could be it.
If it can create new software - from a very basic prompt, so we only need to imagine the solution. Then I can see that being revolutionary.
I’ll give you that.
Provided it works.
Which I expect it will, given time.

18.10.2025 23:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We are chatting here now in a way that would be impossible in the 90’s or even in the early 2000s given my location!
I’m also getting pings from all the other apps, having other conversations and watching video online.
This phone is revolutionary. How is AI?

18.10.2025 23:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We are a bit into the digital weeds here. At least for me.
As a consumer. What do I see or experience that is different. That is revolutionary? How does your parameter network affect my life?
Having this phone in my hand has completely changed it. (For good or for ill).

18.10.2025 23:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

But how, as a viewer, are they any different?
I can watch Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow in 04, and now any Saturday morning commercial can have better production values.
But it’s not the same change as having a smart phone in my pocket. That’s revolutionary.

18.10.2025 23:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

They have major flaws in their designs, and can only make profit by not honouring their original premise.

18.10.2025 22:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Also, how much money does Facebook actually make? From what I’ve read Twitter/X is a massive loss maker. Netflix is an unsustainable model. This is the reasons behind the enshitification of online services, isn’t it.

18.10.2025 22:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, this is what I’m looking at. Because this is what gets hyped and sold. This is what they say will be the next internet, to generate heat, give them investment and then they cash in before it either works, or more often than not, does not.

18.10.2025 22:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I mean you never had to pay for the internet, it was a platform that allowed other businesses to set themselves up.
The infrastructure was not patented and the people who wrote the original code and played out the structure did not become billionaires.

18.10.2025 22:53 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

In terms of hardware, we are now used to our phones being able to do just about anything. How is this a revolutionary leap. It seems to me as though it is a leap forward, but still on the same path.
It’s not moving from the desktop to the mobile device which was genuinely revolutionary.

18.10.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It produces impressive results (but people were bowled over by the CG effects on terminator 2) but I’m still to see the real β€˜revolution’ part.
Maybe I haven’t thought through all the implications yet.

18.10.2025 22:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It can generate answers and put them in a concise phrase - but google was getting there (this is lien we’ve leaped 5 years over night).
It can generate text, but so could old programmes.
How is it different from an old programme, just with a fantastically bigger data set, and speed?

18.10.2025 22:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

You understand it on a much greater level than I do. But to me, its effect is not unlike we have just pressed fast forward on where things were going.
We had video created by computers that looked almost lifelike, but took years to make.
Now it’s there in seconds.

18.10.2025 22:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

The internet was a huge leap. But no one is promising an advance as large as that.
It was also never monetised. In fact, if anything, for arts and news etc, it has been too free.
I’m thinking of ones that make their inventor/investor lots of money.

18.10.2025 22:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah, that would probably be my suggestion too.

18.10.2025 21:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you very much.

18.10.2025 21:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Chances of national guard being set on the cities with the largest marches? And any World Cup matches moved from them?

18.10.2025 19:12 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Going to put up the set list later?

18.10.2025 19:09 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

That’s a very good question. I suspect the accounts are complicated enough to fudge it.
He’ll also get a wage, and a naval wage won’t he?

18.10.2025 18:55 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œThe constitution was never meant to be a suicide note” is what some republicans have saying for a while. You’ll also note they completely dropped their t party anti Obama obsession with it. Now it all just about fealty to Trump.

18.10.2025 18:53 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I don’t really use ChatGPT, know others who do, but I can’t see how it’s a major benefit. And having been through one computing revolution, it usually just means you ask fewer employees to do more.

18.10.2025 18:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

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