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Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

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Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#81
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Crypto people kept suggesting that crypto was a solution to an X problem while ignoring that a database was a better solution the problem. I’ve yet to hear any good use cases for crypto, and I’ve been asking for years on here. Meanwhile there are a bunch of AI tools out there that are working and helping.

AI is a gigantic landscape with tons of different applications to different problems, and there are many solutions which work for a given problem. However, if we narrow what AI is to LLMs, we have a stochastic parrot which needs to be fed the world literally to enable it to create semi-coherent sentences about something being asked. More importantly, what that parrot says doesn't have to be true, it can't be guarante…

I think it's premature to be integrating LLMs into operating systems. That said I think they're very valuable, and the training is fundamental research. I feel like complaining about the resources used to train new models is a bit like complaining about the resources used to build experimental fusion reactors or particle accelerators. The fact that we're seeing direct applications is a bonus, but it's still more like fundamental research than anything.

People are spending all that money training because they are trying to fix the problems you're complaining about, and this includes fixing the power consumption problem. If we can create 3B parameter models that have capabilities on par with today's 405B parameter models, that's worth spending a lot of energy training. But nobody knows what is possible, so they have to try. I feel like you're basically arguing nobody should try because you don't believe they will ever improve, but that seems contradicted by the general trajectory of how things have been working the past decade. More resources spent on training means more efficient and useful models.

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#82
post #21

A while ago I wrote about my experience using Windows for work after 10 years of being a Linux-only user [1]. One of the positive notes I had was: > As a positive note, the default text editor Notepad is nice and lightweight, a good piece of software. Unfortunately, they screwed it up with Windows 11. And apparently they are doubling down on this. [1] https://sebastiano.tronto.net/blog/2023-01-28-windows-deskto...

on windows 11 it's still lightweight and snappy though, with tabs, autosave, dark theme and design that fits in and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#84

Throwing AI at everything is starting to make cryptocurrency seem positively environmentally friendly. At least it serves some kind of purpose.

It a result of a rather sad trend, which I think started with Google. Rather than going out and doing market research you just throw things against the wall, measure and see if people are using it at any significant rate. The difference between Google and Microsoft is that Google have no problems just killing of things that doesn't perform to their standard (which is bad in it's own way). With Microsoft backwards com…

The developers that believed in WinRT weren't so lucky with backwards compatibility.

That is why outside Microsoft own employees, no one else cares anylonger about it, after the whole mess that keeps going on.

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#85
post #69

Why do writing tools have to be a feature of every app instead of an operating-system wide tool like Apple Intelligence? Makes no sense whatsoever to just "sprinkle AI everywhere" except for specialized use cases.

It's easier than product development and is flashy to market.

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#87
post #6

Is it safe to say we've crested the peak of the Gartner Hype Cycle for AI? I've seen several essays/posts describing "AI Fatigue" recently.

Here's a Google Trend graph of the last 5 years for "AI" (and "crypto" for comparison).

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&ge...

At least based on search volume, we're still on an upward swing.

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#88

It makes more sense to add this to Wordpad, but didn’t they kill Wordpad in Windows 11? Keep Notepad simple.

I'm not sure how they built this thing, but it makes sense to me on the face of it: Notepad should be the thinnest wrapper possible around a simple textbox, and the generated thing they're showing should be built into the widget itself so it's exposed to all apps in the OS (much like macOS exposes emacs/readline-style shortcuts everywhere that uses a default textbox).

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#89
post #78

I just wish Microsoft had a simpler mindset for their OS. Simple, privacy-first, consumer-first defaults and optional upgrades to more enhanced tools via their App Store. Imagine if instead of Windows Recall being installed and available automatically on machines, they just added Recall as an optional downloadable add-on via the App Store... I don't think it would have received nearly as much backlash.

> Simple, privacy-first, consumer-first defaults and optional upgrades to more enhanced tools via their App Store.

Why would anyone use this over Ubuntu? They need something to differentiate themselves from the inexorable creep of free software.

Re: Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now

#90
post #69

Why do writing tools have to be a feature of every app instead of an operating-system wide tool like Apple Intelligence? Makes no sense whatsoever to just "sprinkle AI everywhere" except for specialized use cases.

You mean it should be integrated into the text box control, and/or the keyboard? That does make a lot of sense to me.

Though some applications also benefit from app-specific integration on top of that.

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