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YC: Requests for Startups

ycombinator.com

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Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#511

Post by wolframhempel »

keiferski wrote: post #505
wolframhempel wrote: post #498

Slight tangent - but I feel that our need for "explainable AI" might lead to us missing out on some fundamentally different ways of thinking and reasoning that AI could provide. Machines might reach conclusions in ways that simply can't be "dumbed down" to human reasoning. That doesn't mean that these means are esoteric or outside of logic, but it just takes a few levels of derivations and statistic to make something…

I call this "machine metaphysics" and I think it's an extremely interesting area of speculation. A whole lot of human metaphysics are based on our (very limited) sensory inputs – which machines/AI have infinitely more of. As a quick example, it seems to me that an AI may not need the concept of a universal, in the philosophical sense, because it is capable of handling a near-infinite number of particulars.

That's super interesting. Are there any books/articles/further reading on this you can recommend?

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#512

Post by mpweiher »

This "glue code" — ETL pipelines, integrations, and custom workflows — is the dark matter of the enterprise software universe.

Hmmm...solving glue code, the "dark matter of [enterprise] software". Maybe I should apply? ;-)

https://blog.metaobject.com/2021/06/glue-dark-matter-of-soft...

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#513

Post by khokhol »

lukan wrote: post #495
khokhol wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ukraine is out of ammunition NOW There's no need to be hyperbolic. They're certainly facing a serious situation. But by all accounts they still have some runway. And if you'll check your current news feeds very carefully: no, the front hasn't collapsed, and no, the Russians aren't on the verge of overrunning Kharkiv and Odesa. So no, Ukraine is not "out of ammunition NOW".

They have so little ammunition, that they have to think 2 or 3 times about every artillery and even more so every anti air shot they have to take. With resserves are shrinking and less and less on the way. It is hard, waging war this way. Russia on the other hand is now in war economy mode. They produce ammunition and tanks way, way faster, than the west. So if there would be a startup saying, we can build a automate…

Right, but making statements that are plainly and objectively false (simply for alarmist effect) doesn't help make that happen.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#514

Post by a_vanderbilt »

Animats wrote: post #426
a_vanderbilt wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More or less all of these yes. I always found it ironic how the new Javelin is believed to be cheaper because the components are less mechanical and easier to source. The continued support especially. Military systems can be designed (and warrantied) to last decades if maintained properly - and that costs the big bucks.

During wartime, it may be better to design for a short lifespan. Build the seeker with ordinary AA batteries welded in instead of thermal batteries with a standby life of decades. If it's intended for Ukraine or Taiwan, skip the part temperature range that would allow the thing to sit in the sun for a year in Iraq. Seal up the unit and stencil it "NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE" and "USE BEFORE 2026-12-31". It will…

It isn't as simple as "make a new design with a shorter lifespan" either. These systems are intended to work the first time every time, and every change introduces numerous second-order consequences. You swapped the batteries? Great the balance of the missile now changed and we have to re-calculate the flight dynamics. Remove some shielding and conformal coating? Now the thermal properties have changed on the control boards and the welds are cracking due to different heat propagation. We certainly could make them cheap and dirty, but their reliability and consistency would suffer. The last thing you want is to shoot a missile and piss off the guy on the receiving end, who isn't dead but is now very motivated to get revenge.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#515

Post by a_vanderbilt »

lukan wrote: post #476
hef19898 wrote: post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering that WW2 artillery shells were used all the way into th 70s and 80s, you might rethink that.

Ukraine is out of ammunition NOW. If the war suddenly ends and they have to dispose of warheads that will expire soon, that is a cost that can be paid. But more importantly for them is ammunition now, if that can be achieved by making the build process simple, it should probably be done.

You can't immediately scale up manufacturing. People have to be trained, parts have to be procured, and facilities made available to build the things. Ramp-up takes months, and if you're lucky the product is well established already so you aren't stepping on landmines as you scale. I helped to restart a mothballed process for a military product once and I have stories that you wouldn't believe.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#516

Post by keiferski »

wolframhempel wrote: post #511
keiferski wrote: post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call this "machine metaphysics" and I think it's an extremely interesting area of speculation. A whole lot of human metaphysics are based on our (very limited) sensory inputs – which machines/AI have infinitely more of. As a quick example, it seems to me that an AI may not need the concept of a universal, in the philosophical sense, because it is capable of handling a near-infinite number of particulars.

That's super interesting. Are there any books/articles/further reading on this you can recommend?

Unfortunately I haven't come across much writing of this sort, as most of the philosophical writing about AI centers on the reverse topic: how humans will be changed by machines.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#517

Post by keiferski »

practal wrote: post #507
keiferski wrote: post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call this "machine metaphysics" and I think it's an extremely interesting area of speculation. A whole lot of human metaphysics are based on our (very limited) sensory inputs – which machines/AI have infinitely more of. As a quick example, it seems to me that an AI may not need the concept of a universal, in the philosophical sense, because it is capable of handling a near-infinite number of particulars.

There are a LOT of natural numbers, even for an AI.

I had in mind more concrete aspects of "human" reality. A lot of the divisions we make between objects seem dependent on our language, which is dependent on our sensory abilities.

The concept of species is maybe a good example – it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, if you think about it. It's merely a linguistic placeholder to describe a step in a process, because the idea of constant evolutionary change is too difficult to encapsulate in a single concept. An AI would have no issue with this, as it is capable of taking in and holding much more data and conceptualizing the concept of a process.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#518

Post by murkt »

fullspectrumdev wrote: post #382
MangoCoffee wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low cost swarm of drones for new defense technology. We have seen consumer grade DJI drone use in Ukraine-Russia war by both sides. AI to control a swarm of cheap drones to survey and kill?

The DJI drones are even too costly, the current gen of FPV drones used in the field capable of busting a BMP at 10km distance cost like 400 USD tops. Longer range systems cost a bit more, but not a whole lot much more. Improvements that are desirable are generally in terms of range, endurance, sensors and resistance to electronic warfare. Copying the silent prop design from Zipline would also be neat to reduce the so…

It’s not like you can hear a drone approaching, while driving APC/BMP, though. For bomber-type quads, sure, it probably can make a difference.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#519

Post by [deleted] »

keiferski wrote: post #503

It's surprising to me that Tech never seems interested in conflict resolution. A lot of issues in the world are basically negotiation problems, yet they get treated as competitive ones. A better world is probably one in which conflicts are defused early, not one in which arms races are treated as the default. Why is that? Is conflict resolution too much of a non-tech thing and more in the realm of politics? Or is the…

[deleted]

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#520

Post by zknowledge »

keiferski wrote: post #503

It's surprising to me that Tech never seems interested in conflict resolution. A lot of issues in the world are basically negotiation problems, yet they get treated as competitive ones. A better world is probably one in which conflicts are defused early, not one in which arms races are treated as the default. Why is that? Is conflict resolution too much of a non-tech thing and more in the realm of politics? Or is the…

I don't have an answer for your questions but this comment really stood out to me. Maybe it's just my years in tech, but I have never thought of conflict resolution in the context of a tech problem to solve. The only format of this I can think of is anonymous forums or communications tech. Otherwise, it's very out of the box thinking which is great to see.
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