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Work with the garage door up (2024)

notes.andymatuschak.org

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Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#51

Post by simonw »

dimes wrote: post #43
simonw wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fear of AI companies "slurping up data" being used as a rationale for not sharing anything is one of the most underrated harms of the whole current AI mess.

It’s not a fear. It’s reality. It’s literally happening on HN right now. Take this game, for example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47698455 Within an hour, someone had cloned the game with addition mechanics that multiple people mentioned they like more: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47729573

That's not an AI company "slurping up data", that's someone using AI tools to accelerate their own personal clone of a project.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#52

Post by booleandilemma »

simonw wrote: post #51
dimes wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not a fear. It’s reality. It’s literally happening on HN right now. Take this game, for example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47698455 Within an hour, someone had cloned the game with addition mechanics that multiple people mentioned they like more: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47729573

That's not an AI company "slurping up data", that's someone using AI tools to accelerate their own personal clone of a project.

I think you're missing the point. The game (no pun intended?) has changed. Working with the garage door up has become a liability.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#53

Post by booleandilemma »

simonw wrote: post #29
booleandilemma wrote: post #17

I don't know if I trust this as much as I did in the past. There's lots of competition out there. Lots of AI companies that want to slurp up data. It's a nice warm and fuzzy thing to say but I don't think it helps you, it just helps competitors get the jump on you.

Fear of AI companies "slurping up data" being used as a rationale for not sharing anything is one of the most underrated harms of the whole current AI mess.

I completely agree. Honestly I wish we could go back to before AI. I don't like where it's taking us at all. Changing how we write code is just the beginning. Next we'll be replacing humans altogether. I've already had an interview with a soulless "AI recruiter" bot. We can't go back now of course, but one can dream.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#54

Post by orev »

BoostandEthanol wrote: post #25

Goes both ways. I had a phase of trying this and found I had to invest as much or more effort figuring out how to document stuff for the eyes of an outside observer as I did on the actual task. Guess maybe the answer in my case is to not make it accessible, but does that defeat the purpose?

Figuring out how to document stuff for others forces you to think things through at a deeper level yourself, and that’s the main point of the idea being presented here. Forcing yourself to organize your own thoughts is where the personal growth comes from.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#55

Post by simonw »

booleandilemma wrote: post #52
simonw wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not an AI company "slurping up data", that's someone using AI tools to accelerate their own personal clone of a project.

I think you're missing the point. The game (no pun intended?) has changed. Working with the garage door up has become a liability.

Doesn't feel particularly different to me, I've been publishing my side projects as open source code on GitHub for over a decade.

The effort required to adapt them has dropped, but I've always exposed them to being adapted.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#56

Post by criddell »

jdrormdj wrote: post #23
somehnguy wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe you may be overthinking it a tad. I take it just to mean "work in the open". As an example - at my home unless the weather is poor I always leave my garage door up when working on something, whether vehicles or other projects. This is mainly for sunlight and fresh air but the end result is the same. Any neighbor or passerby can see what I'm doing, and in rare cases may actually be able to help or offer advi…

I get leaving garage door open, just for ventilation, but I always lock the main gate on driveway. Letting random people to freely roam around workshop seems incredible reckless, dangerous, and like a pending lawsuit! The glassworkhop referenced earlier is working with liquid that is over 1500c! It can amputate a hand in seconds! The same with carpentry, my circular saw does not even have a safety conductivity switch…

You're thinking way too literally.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#57

Post by dimes »

simonw wrote: post #55
booleandilemma wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're missing the point. The game (no pun intended?) has changed. Working with the garage door up has become a liability.

Doesn't feel particularly different to me, I've been publishing my side projects as open source code on GitHub for over a decade. The effort required to adapt them has dropped, but I've always exposed them to being adapted.

> Doesn't feel particularly different to me

> The effort required to adapt them has dropped

AI is an entirely different situation because the effort required to copy has dropped by multiple orders of magnitude. You used to be able to build in the open without worrying about copycats because the vast majority of people didn’t want to spend the effort. Now (with AI), even someone with the slightest, most fleeting whim can copy your work.

It’s great that you’re open to being adapted. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re not open to having your ideas outright taken, then it’s not safe to build in the open any longer.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#58

Post by cyberge99 »

simonsarris wrote: post #26
mattkevan wrote: post #24

Genuinely curious where the best place online to do this is today. Until recently my reflexive answer would have been Twitter, but [gestures vaguely at the state of it]. Would it be Substack, Bluesky, Mastodon, a personal blog, or somewhere else? Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it's hard to know where to get started.

> but [gestures vaguely at the state of it] Everyone wants to gesture vaguely at the state of it but it's still by far the best place. Just use the site the way you want to use it, post the way you wish others posted, and mute stuff you don't like aggressively.

Xtwitter is NOT the best place to be. For anything unless you’re a horny cryptobro.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#59

Post by simonw »

dimes wrote: post #57
simonw wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't feel particularly different to me, I've been publishing my side projects as open source code on GitHub for over a decade. The effort required to adapt them has dropped, but I've always exposed them to being adapted.

> Doesn't feel particularly different to me > The effort required to adapt them has dropped AI is an entirely different situation because the effort required to copy has dropped by multiple orders of magnitude. You used to be able to build in the open without worrying about copycats because the vast majority of people didn’t want to spend the effort. Now (with AI), even someone with the slightest, most fleeting whim…

If I cared about people copying my projects and ideas I wouldn't put them on GitHub with a liberal open source license.

Re: Work with the garage door up (2024)

#60

Post by [deleted] »

simonw wrote: post #59
dimes wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Doesn't feel particularly different to me > The effort required to adapt them has dropped AI is an entirely different situation because the effort required to copy has dropped by multiple orders of magnitude. You used to be able to build in the open without worrying about copycats because the vast majority of people didn’t want to spend the effort. Now (with AI), even someone with the slightest, most fleeting whim…

If I cared about people copying my projects and ideas I wouldn't put them on GitHub with a liberal open source license.

[deleted]
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