231–237 of 237 posts
Paywalled articles ate Internet
It's literally a dollar to sign up I think everyone whining can afford it.
I could subscribe and cancel but that's a lot of friction to just read one article.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an enormous amount to discuss about "open source," and it's neglected enough that the bro generation of programmers doesn't even understand it, or the difference between it and Free software, and what those differences materially mean to developers and the public at large. The reason that HN is eaten up by LLMs is because it's eaten by any trendy topic that's in the mainstream news. HN used to be directed by…
>it's neglected enough that the bro generation of programmers doesn't even understand it, or the difference between it and Free software, and what those differences materially mean to developers and the public at large. I concur, there's clearly been a generational shift away from the idea of making a cool thing and sharing it. Part of it is economic: even programmers can struggle with bills these days, and the last…
I had thought about bringing attention to it but now I am not even sure what it would mean.
I doubt that I could be a person who can advocate for open source full time while someone pays me, that's the main issue. I am okay with just enough to satisfy and I am even satisfied with less but to me, atleast right now, Advocacy for open source does seem to be part time unless I want to take a massive gamble of my life which I thought of but I am just not comfortable right now, its definitely complicated and I am not sure
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's literally a dollar to sign up I think everyone whining can afford it.
If I could just give them $1 and get the article and that's the whole transaction, that would be great. But they want me to subscribe and I don't read their articles enough for it to be worth it. I could subscribe and cancel but that's a lot of friction to just read one article.
> Going through YC’s startup directory reveals that of the 170 startups in the most recent summer batch 154 are AI startups. The author calculates this by searching for the term "AI" in the name and description of each startup's YC page. But presence of the term "AI" doesn't make a startup an "AI startup," so to speak. For example, I picked one startup at random, Topological, which is "developing physics-based founda…
> For example, I picked one startup at random, Topological, which is "developing physics-based foundation models for CAD optimization." Just because the company uses AI doesn't make it an "AI startup." It is interesting that you have an opinion on what a real AI startup is and either (1) don’t know what foundation models are, or (2) do know what foundation models are but think that a company whose core focus is on de…
It might sound like I'm splitting hairs here but I'm trying to illustrate the problem of defining a startup as an "AI startup" simply due to the presence of AI somewhere in its product. It would be like calling early-days Facebook (the actual website, not the diversified conglomerate that Meta has become) an "internet startup" instead of a "social media startup." Sure, the former is technically true but it's a near-meaningless description, because every company in the 21st century is an "internet company" in some respect.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Why sell shit that you don't want yourself/ aren't passionate about?? Best interpreation: you need to pay bills and this startup is your last hope after sending out 500 apps and getting 3 interviews back (2 interviews ghosted you after the first round and the 3rd said "overqualified" despite it being a senior role) Worst interpretation: we're in a gold rush, and a lot of people will sell fool's gold if they can.
I understand this situation and maybe this is the reason why I think that we might need to change the system so that there isn't so much pressure on people to pay the bills that startup becomes the last hope.. Like, I definitely understand the desperation but I can't help but blame the system which lead us to where we are but I don't really know man, maybe blaming the system wouldn't help either and there is definite…
But that's sadly not happening here. Every story about the true problems get flagged because HN seems to have this strong sense of staying apolitical in a time of absolutely rampant destruction happening in real time most recent example of the US government shutting down: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45434146
There's a lot of Apathy but what really worries me is the almost forced ignorance from people who should be able to rise beyond that. I guess it's just a reflection on how Silicon Valley also sold out when push came to shove. Whatever makes more money, morality, ethics, and long term preservation be damned.
YC remains a great source of creative inspiration for me. However, I tend to skip most AI-related content on HN, as the topic does more harm than good to me in my daily life. Some people around me delegate more and more decisions to the chat, and that frightens. Especially if you are somehow dependent on them or your work gets evaluated by some creepy AI-driven bossware. We should admit that AI, particularly LLMs, is…
I was recently in a work AI training where we were encouraged to have AI review all our vendor and contractor budgets and find holes and create rebuttals to line items. Was wondering what if the vendor has ai review our rebuttals and create counter-points to our ai-created arguments. At some point it will just be AI talking against itself to another AI chatbot.
90% (154/170) of the latest HN summer batch are AI startups. I was expecting a lot, but not this much.
I've also noticed many startups from prior YC batches that haven't found traction yet have pivoted to AI-related offerings. It's been kind of amusing to watch them become absorbed into the hype cycle, one by one.