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Comment Alexa already "does whatever it wants" ... (Score 1) 44

I have a set of 5 Echo Dots around the house and ever since I "upgraded to Alexa+" -- it's a train-wreck. Sure, the AI gives much smarter answers to questions. But they continuously forget my preferences for the voice I chose for them to use. (My wife and I both prefer their "female 2, relaxed" voice, as most similar to the original and more "professional" sounding than the others.) But no, it keeps going back to a voice that sounds like a bubbly, annoying teenage girl. Worse yet, there's no way to set a voice as default for all devices. You have to go around changing it for each one independently.

And that's before all the creepy, info-stealing behavior it has. EG. Someone will come over and ask it a few questions. Next thing you know, it's asking them to share their name since it's a voice they don't recognize.

Comment Re:What is left to change besides oven and microwa (Score 2, Insightful) 267

What is left to change besides oven and microwave times?

One...the most IMPORTANT one....my internal clock....

That really takes close to a week to get fixed every time.....it throws all of us humans off to some degree.

Oh...and my dog....I have to adjust her schedule twice a year too....

Comment Re:Maybe It's Unreasonable Public Records Requests (Score 1) 51

The private sector has a solution to all of this that "just works". You acknowledge the supply and demand. Swamped with public record requests? Great! Hire more people to handle them as their job description/title, and charge enough for them to cover their salaries or hourly contractor rates.

IMO, asking one group to pay $2.3 million for a records request is unreasonable. But why can't you ask all of them to pay a fair share so the process works smoothly and effectively for everyone involved? A qualified govt. contractor hired to fulfill FOIA requests is typically paid a midpoint salary of about $88K per year.

Comment re: TX as "The Republican state" (Score 1) 51

Fact of the matter is, TX has been more the extreme, modern Facist-Republican governed state than "traditional Republican" for decades now. It took a lot of people some time to come to that realization. But definitely by the 1990's, watching what was happening in Texas made me solidify my views as more Independent/Libertarian than Republican.

As just a couple of examples?

- TX passed a law requiring people get a permit to legally possess Pyrex glassware. (Thought was, if you weren't a research lab or a school, you probably only had it around your residence if you were making illegal drugs.)
- TX was well known for their "Vampire cops" who were legally allowed to hold a person down after they were pulled over, and draw their blood to check for alcohol.

The general populace of Texas doesn't necessarily reflect this at all, especially with so many liberal-minded people who moved there from places like California in recent years. But the people in political power there operate with a lot of support from those who like the traditional ideals Texas claims to stand for, while acting in ways contrary to some of those ideals.

Comment Multiple methods vs 1. (Score 2) 86

Humans use multiple methods of thought.
Faith: (Appeal to Authority)
Science: (Scientific Method)
Formal Logic (If x then y)
Bias: (Appeal to previous examples)

While AI is built on Formal Logic, it does not use it. Instead it uses Bias entirely. It has no faith and does not understand or use the scientific method.

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