Earlier quoted context omitted.
FYI: non-Western countries exist.
Eh, even just “countries that are not the US” would be a correct statement. US tech salaries are just in an entire different ballpark to what most companies outside the US can offer. I’m in Canada, I make good money (as far as Canadian salaries go), but nowhere near “buy an expensive laptop whenever” money.
Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
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Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#22A bit related: AI companies distilled the whole Web into LLMs to make computers smart, why humans can't do the same to make the best possible new Wikipedia with some copyrighted bits to make kids supersmart? Why kids are worse than AI companies and have to bum around?)
Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#23Wikipedia-snapshots without the most important meta layers, i. e. a) the article's discussion pages and related archives, as well as b) the version history, would be useless to me as critical contexts might be/are missing... especially with regards to LLM-augmented text analysis. Even when just focusing on the standout-lemmata.
I’m a massive Wikipedia fan, have a lot of it downloaded locally on my phone, binge read it before bed, etc. Even so, I rarely go through talk pages or version history unless I’m contributing something. What would you see in an article that motivates you to check out the meta layers?
Me too, albeit these days I'm more interested in its underrated capabilities to foster teaching of e-governance and democracy/participation.
> "What would you see in an article that motivates you to check out the meta layers?"
Generally: How the lemma came to be, how it developed, any contentious issues around it, and how it compares to tangential lemmata under the same topical umbrella, especially with regards to working groups/SIGs (e. g. philosophy, history), and their specific methods and methodologies, as well as relevant authors.
With regards to contentious issues, one obviously gets a look into what the hot-button issues of the day are, as well as (comparatives of) internal political issues in different wiki projects (incl. scandals, e. g. the right-wing/fascist infiltration and associated revisionism and negationism in the Croatian wiki [1]). Et cetera.
I always look at the talk pages. And since I mentioned it before: Albeit I have almost no use for LLMs in my private life, running a Wiki, or a set of articles within, through an LLM-ified text analysis engine sounds certainly interesting.
1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_the_genocide_of_Serb...]
Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#24Why not both? LLM+Wikipedia RAG
Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#25Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most people who can nag about old laptops on HN can just afford newer one but are cheap as Scrooge Mcduck.
FYI: non-Western countries exist.
Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#27One important distinction is that the strength of LLMs isn't just in storing or retrieving knowledge like Wikipedia, it’s in comprehension. LLMs will return faulty or imprecise information at times, but what they can do is understand vague or poorly formed questions and help guide a user toward an answer. They can explain complex ideas in simpler terms, adapt responses based on the user's level of understanding, and…
- "'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' "
Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#28Re: Local LLMs versus offline Wikipedia
#29A bit related: AI companies distilled the whole Web into LLMs to make computers smart, why humans can't do the same to make the best possible new Wikipedia with some copyrighted bits to make kids supersmart? Why kids are worse than AI companies and have to bum around?)
we did that and still do. people just don't buy encyclopedias that much nowadays
It will be the free new Wikipedia+ to learn anything in the best way possible, with the best graphs, interactive widgets, etc
What LLMs have for free but humans for some reason don’t
In some places it is possible to use copyrighted materials to educate if not directly for profit