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Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

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Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#71

Post by tadfisher »

steve1977 wrote: post #59

I think many people don't realize how big this dependence is. You're running Linux? Oh fine... on which hard- and firmware? Intel? AMD? Apple Silicon? Qualcomm? All US. You're using the Internet? Via Cisco routers? Europe and other regions would have to put in huge efforts to really gain independence.

I think there are different forms of dependence that result in more or less severe carrying costs. Hardware is only a problem when you need to replace it or create new installations, so its carrying cost is rather low. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is subscription-based, induces vendor lock-in with a whole software/hardware ecosystem, and is updated on a whim from the vendor with next to no customer control; its carrying cost is enormous.

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#72

Post by FpUser »

mikeayles wrote: post #3

In a similar vein, I would recommend watching Cory Doctorow's presentation at 39C3,a post american, enshittification-resistant internet. https://youtu.be/3C1Gnxhfok0?si=uKDlYn33IIYevj8p

As much as I am for freedom and hate that DMCI or whatever it is called the guy is delusional. Not because he propoese to repeal the act (I am all for it) but his ideas that one can have some profitable business doing circumvention and selling software / hardware that unlocks whatever one is trying to unlock. As soon as you try to sell one it will be hacked and released for free.

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#73

Post by ambicapter »

Sytten wrote: post #50

If we want to meaningfully reduce our dependency we "just" need more capital. All founders in Canada will tell you that Canadian VC suck: they are risk averse, their due diligence is painful and their terms are made so they can't lose. It is not rare in Canada for ex-founders of failed startups to be hundred of thousands of dollars in debt. That's why we are always advised to go seek funding in the US. In Canada we l…

I mean it’s their money, not yours. Stands to reason that if you have a silly amount of money you can afford to spend it in silly ways (and if you don’t, you don’t). Sometimes you even hit it big then you get to tell everyone how much of a genius you are!

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#74

Post by Yoric »

marcosdumay wrote: post #46
gdulli wrote: post #26

Geopolitics aside, tech dependence in general has tipped from net helping us to hurting us. AI dependence is going to make social media dependence look like nothing.

I have never seen some person or organization that couldn't ditch LLMs in an instant. Are you talking about some other kind of AI?

Big Tech is trying to push forward a model in which technicians use LLMs without understanding them. That's where all these "you don't need to learn coding" PRs converge towards.

That would be a nightmare scenario for almost everybody involved, but it's exactly the one in which the Trump admin believes and invests, and it is a possible future.

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#75

Post by microtonal »

steve1977 wrote: post #59

I think many people don't realize how big this dependence is. You're running Linux? Oh fine... on which hard- and firmware? Intel? AMD? Apple Silicon? Qualcomm? All US. You're using the Internet? Via Cisco routers? Europe and other regions would have to put in huge efforts to really gain independence.

The thing is that we had been allies for many decades. So the US and the EU are very entwined. You only mention one side, those chips are made using ASML machines from The Netherlands (with lenses from Germany), the latter two use an architecture licensed from a UK company (owned by a Japanese conglomerate). It was a very successful cooperation between two continents, but since the US wants to throw that under the bus, we have to become self-sufficient.

It will take time to untangle the mutual dependencies and become more independent. That said, ARM also designs full ARM64 cores (until recently Qualcomm cores were based on ARM cores, until the new cores based on the NUVIA acquisition) and they can be fabbed in Taiwan (TSMC) and South Korea (Samsung), and hopefully Europe in some years.

Besides that, it's true that if you are running Linux, you rely on US firmware and Intel/AMD chips, but assuming that Intel ME doesn't have a bad remote kill switch, you can continue to run on existing hardware.

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#76

Post by microtonal »

Havoc wrote: post #53

I really wish the EU leaned heavily into the cloud basic building blocks. There's a lot of stuff in big cloud that is genuinely hard to duplicate especially with network effects, but I don't see why they can't throw a billion or 3 at ensuring you've got a homegrown stack that can do VMs, S3, function, container registry, database, block storage, firewall etc - with guaranteed funding, clear licenses, handful of local…

Baby steps are better than no steps & a lot of things can be made to run on those building blocks

Yes. EU citizens should not let others (or themselves) talk them down. Yes, it will be an enormous job, but it's how you tackle any job - step by step. And there are a lot of things that can already be moved, like e-mail, code forges, databases, etc.

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#77

Post by microtonal »

istanbulbebesi wrote: post #41

Here are the migrations we been doing to with my extended family to get rid of our US dependencies: - Gmail -> ProtonMail - Whatsapp -> Telegram - I installed Linux to my parents laptops. They like it. - YouTube App -> Newpipe and Smarttube Also, my next car will be a BYD. The current one is a Ford.

Also, my next car will be a BYD. The current one is a Ford.

Replacing one non-ally by another. We have a VW ID.3 and it's great. Some people will argue that the on-board system is better on a Tesla or BYD, but a small loss of convenience, but a huge win for independence and the internal market. (Most of the criticisms are also outdated, the platform improved a lot since earlier generations.)

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#78

Post by microtonal »

istanbulbebesi wrote: post #49
pseudony wrote: post #39

Made a Ask HN, but screwed it up by editing the text. Anyway, good ideas/tools for evaluating LLMs ? Naturally, as a Dane, I am moving away from Claude, but I’d like more than a gut feel about how much I may have given up to do so.

Just go for Qwen or Deepseek. They are both very good.

Or Mistral, it is French and has been great for my day to day queries (haven't tried for programming yet).

Re: Escaping the trap of US tech dependence

#79

Post by bflesch »

bhawks wrote: post #65
bflesch wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You talk about "market forces" and you don't seem to understand them at all. "Confidentiality", "Integrity", and "Availability" are a foundational concept of security (the CIA triad). For non-US citizens "Integrity" and "Confidentiality" have been compromised for a long time, but these things have no day-to-day impact. They are only relevant as kompromat material once you become powerful and they want you to act in U…

New?! This isn't new. You just haven't been paying attention. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55615214 Or maybe it is fine when it happens to people you disagree with.

Your argument based on false equivalence bias might work with in a megachurch but not here.

Amazon dropping Parler, a shitty US-based right wing social network nobody outside the US ever heard of, is totally on the same level as US waging economic warfare against Europe and laying claim on sovereign countries like Canada and Greenland. /s

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