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Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

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Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#121
post #86

>For example, if you ask ChatGPT’s Agent to book a travel, it’ll open Chromium on Linux in an Azure container, search the query, visit different websites, navigate each page and book a flight ticket using your saved credentials. An AI Agent tries to mimic a human, and it can perform tasks on your behalf while you sit back and relax. Big tech has repeatedly shown that they are not good stewards of end users' privacy a…

I wouldn't trust a big tech AI agent to act in my own best interest. How do I know I'm getting the best deal and that they're not clipping the ticket? Given so many of these companies are really ad-tech/surveillance businesses, how do I know that they're not communicating information about me to the travel site which might affect the price?

> How do I know I'm getting the best deal and that they're not clipping the ticket?

You should actually expect the exact opposite. There's more money in getting large companies to pay you to redirect customers to more expensive products than in consumers paying for this kind of service. Honey[1] should server as a stark reminder here.

[1] https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/software/honey-scandal-e...

> According to Megalag and other content creators, Honey's core promise isn't true. PayPal and Honey say they'll run through a series of coupon codes to find the best deals. However, the firm is accused of using inferior codes to ensure the retailer gets more money from the sale while promising the user that the best code was used.

> Megalag tested this in his video and found instances where better codes were readily available online, but Honey chose to use a code with a lower discount, claiming it was the best deal.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think in this case, Microsoft has shown they don't respect the user when they force shutdown for system updates. This has happened during my time working retail and the mom and pops are helpless when this happens. I would never trust Microsoft to bake ai agents in..

> shown they don't respect the user when they force shutdown for system updates Are you familiar with the prior state of things that explicitly motivated this change?

Yes the security of every Windows computer was much better then, any software that automatically updates itself without user consent is obviously a massive security risk because the user is no longer in control of what software they run.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#123
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. Maybe I'm jinxing it, but I've never had a problem caused by failure to update my PC. Servers I understand because they're exposed to the Internet at all times. Not PCs

Lest one remembers Win 9x or even XP w/ no firewall on residential networks.

It's interesting how much different the landscape was in that era: single-device residential environments would have no firewall at all (just a PC with a publicly-routable IP address) and dial-up kind of fueled this due to PCI slot modems, but as the outboard nature of DSL and DOCSIS modems made it easier to build multiple-device residential environments by adding a router, suddenly everyone had a firewall (as a byproduct of NAT). Then you've got malware, which was far more prevalent on PCs through that transition relative to today, but now we've got IoT stuff probably not being updated as it ought to be, potentially hosting malware that serves as a proxy to sidestep an in-router firewall.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#124

Imagine a new version of Windows being released called "Windows Optimal" In addition to Home, Professional and Pro you get to buy Optimal. The catch is that it is priced 4x the home version. You wonder why? Optimal is exactly what you think it is. A ground up 0 bloatware, 0 telemetry, 100% easily tweakable privacy and performance settings from a single screen with 0 AI features, 0 Edge and 0 games. Imagine getting yo…

You are describing Windows 11 LTSC which is a product that exists because Microsoft knows people want to turn this crap off.

It is of course only available in volume licensing to keep it away from normal users. Only businesses get to control their computers.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#125
post #101
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> get groceries Isn't that what grocery delivery apps are for, if you really don't want to go to the store. > doing laundry, pairing socks etc … but solving any of that would require more than just bullshit LLM capabilities. Yes, it's a shame robotics (hardware) is harder than software, but that's not really the fault of AI model developers.

You kind of missed the point of my comment but ok > not really the fault of AI model developers It’s their fault for pushing all this crap in all the things and misleading their investors that there is actually “intelligence” in what we now call AI. > grocery delivery apps are for These are not popular here and for a good reason - you need to enjoy your food and it starts by picking the right ingredients yourself. “s…

They always mess up a few things, make brain dead substitutions, or get low quality produce. I had bags show up smelling strongly of cigarettes. All for a premium price, an app that takes a surprising amount of time finding things on, and the complete loss of discoverability.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#126
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're just describing a Linux distribution[1]. With the added benefit of being 0x the price. [1]: Assuming you're not married to some Windows only software that you can't get working using Proton/Wine, or don't want to run a Windows VM.

primary use case: gaming. needs to support everything from 90s to cutting edge modern games without hiccups

https://bazzite.gg/

Should work out of the box, no configuration needed.

The only caveat is games with kernel based anti-cheat, but I don't play many of those. Arc Raiders works just fine, for example.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#127
Microsoft has gone full-blown evil corporation again. No customer validation on any of the AI cruft. No full OPT OUT. Office products are bastardized with copilot buttons everywhere.

I've been a Windows user from day one and I now see a future without it. Satya had been a bright spot in Microsoft, but this blind lust for AI, especially in bed with Altman who is pure con artist, is unforgivable.

Some of the investment sells recently are starting to look like the beginning of the end for OpenAI. That will have a wide range impact on everything.

I use Claude for coding (and mostly in WSL). OpenAI enabled its users to have a sext conversation.

Seriously. And Satya just keeps on at full speed.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't, but oh boy, the experience is worth it. Bazzite[1] has it quirks but it mostly works fine in desktops. [1] https://bazzite.gg/

Imo if you just have a regular desktop PC, use Ubuntu/Fedora, not a dedicated 'gaming' distro. Bazzite's good as a stand in for steam os on non Valve handhelds, but Steam and Proton work just fine on a regular boring Linux distro.

Bazzite is just Fedora Kinoite with some tweaks for gaming, like automatically including Nvidia drivers.

I've joined the Kinoite kult since it's much easier to deal with an atomic system.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#129

Microsoft has gone full-blown evil corporation again. No customer validation on any of the AI cruft. No full OPT OUT. Office products are bastardized with copilot buttons everywhere. I've been a Windows user from day one and I now see a future without it. Satya had been a bright spot in Microsoft, but this blind lust for AI, especially in bed with Altman who is pure con artist, is unforgivable. Some of the investment…

> Satya had been a bright spot in Microsoft

What? How?

From a user's perspective, everything has gotten steadily worse under his reign. Solitaire is now a subscription service. I long for the halcyon days of Windows 8.

Re: Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders

#130

Microsoft has gone full-blown evil corporation again. No customer validation on any of the AI cruft. No full OPT OUT. Office products are bastardized with copilot buttons everywhere. I've been a Windows user from day one and I now see a future without it. Satya had been a bright spot in Microsoft, but this blind lust for AI, especially in bed with Altman who is pure con artist, is unforgivable. Some of the investment…

It’s do or die. Any ounce of doubt will cause the entire house of cards to collapse.
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