this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2025
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Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.

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Stubsack: weekly thread for sneers not worth an entire post, week ending 16th November 2025 (awful.systems)
submitted 3 days ago by self@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems
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Want to wade into the sandy surf of the abyss? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

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[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 5 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

new zitron: ed picks up calculator and goes through docs from microsoft and some others, and concludes that openai has less revenue than thought previously (probably?, ms or openai didn't comment), spends more on inference than thought previously, openai revenue inferred from microsoft share is consistently well under inference costs https://www.wheresyoured.at/oai_docs/

Before publishing, I discussed the data with a Financial Times reporter. Microsoft and OpenAI both declined to comment to the FT.

If you ever want to share something with me in confidence, my signal is ezitron.76, and I’d love to hear from you.

also on ft (alphaville) https://www.ft.com/content/fce77ba4-6231-4920-9e99-693a6c38e7d5

ed notes that there might be other revenue, but that's only inference with azure, and then there are training costs wherever it is filed under, debts, commitments, salaries, marketing, and so on and so on

e: fast news day today eh?

[–] EponymousBosh@awful.systems 7 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I doubt I'm the first one to think of this, but for some reason as I was drifting off to sleep last night, I was thinking about the horrible AI "pop" music that a lot of content farms use in their videos and my brain spat out the phrase Bubblegum Slop. Feel free to use it as you ses fit (or don't, I ain't your dad).

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 4 points 7 hours ago

tangent: I’ve seen people using this Bubblegum Slop (BS for short) in their social media stories. My guess is that fb/insta has started suggesting you use their slop instead of using music licensed from spotify, or something.

[–] sc_griffith@awful.systems 6 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Third episode of Odium Symposium is out (that’s the podcast I cohost). We talk about Cato the Elder and his struggle against militant feminist action in the roman republic. You can listen to the episode at https://www.patreon.com/posts/crack-sucking-143019155 or through any of the sources on our website, www.odiumsymposium.com

[–] sc_griffith@awful.systems 4 points 10 hours ago

further things: one, that’s the first website I’ve made where I wasn’t just plugging into a template, and I’m a little proud of it even though it’s almost nothing. I would appreciate feedback and suggestions

two, a future episode idea I have is to examine what I’m thinking of as “the trustless society.” it’s about the replacing of social relations with legal or financial intermediaries. Those of you who are long time buttcoiners will be familiar with this process. if any of you have specific readings to recommend I would love to hear it. I’ll probably mostly focus on balaji but anyone or anything will help

[–] rook@awful.systems 6 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Pavan Davuluri is apparently the “president of windows and devices” at microsoft. I, for one, am glad that I moved to linux when windows 10 got the axe, before anything tried to agenticify my pc.

Also, when did “frontier” become “first in lines to drink whatever it is the cult leader is serving up”?

https://xcancel.com/pavandavuluri/status/1987942909635854336#m

alt text

Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere. Join us at #MSIgnite to see how frontier firms are transforming with Windows and what’s next for the platform. We can’t wait to show you!

[–] istewart@awful.systems 4 points 7 hours ago

"Agentic" is meant to seem sci-fi, but I can't help but think it's terminal business-speak. It's the clearest statement yet of the attempted redesign of the computer from a personal device to a distinct entity separate from oneself. One is no longer a user or administrator, one is instead passively waiting for "agents" to complete a task on one's behalf. This model is imposed from the top down, to be the strongest reinforcement yet of the all-important moat around the big vendors' cloud businesses. Once you're in deep with "agents," your workflows will probably be so hopelessly tangled, vendor-specific, and non-debuggable/non-reimplementable that migrating them to another vendor would be a nightmare task orders of magnitude beyond any database or CRM migration. If your workflows even get any work done anymore at all.

[–] jonhendry@iosdev.space 4 points 12 hours ago

@rook

#AngryGoose Agentic, mister Davuluri? Agent for whom, motherfucker?

[–] antifuchs@awful.systems 7 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Rolling Stone on the emergence of the ai chatbot psychosis religion

[–] BurgersMcSlopshot@awful.systems 4 points 12 hours ago

What if we turned a markov chain containing two decades of internet fan fiction into an oracle. Just spitballing here...

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 8 points 14 hours ago

I want to keep bots from scraping my content because I don't want to feed the slop machine.

You want to keep bots from scraping your content because you're afraid it's gonna learn how to take over the world.

We are not the same.

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YuKktzP9yGbdrd7ry/gradientdissenter-s-shortform?commentId=KatyQAoEZG6eWyNBv

[–] o7___o7@awful.systems 7 points 21 hours ago (6 children)

Iphone Pocket: Inspired by the concept of “a piece of cloth"

Not satire I superpromise

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-pocket-a-beautiful-way-to-wear-and-carry-iphone/

[–] e8d79@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

I think they need to hire an English teacher for their marketing department.

Introducing iPhone Pocket: a beautiful way to wear and carry ____ iPhone

Please complete the sentence, a smartphone isn't a person.

[–] istewart@awful.systems 2 points 7 hours ago

Oh joy, I can perform a threat display by twirling it around my head like a bolo. I think I will get the pink or bright yellow one

[–] mirrorwitch@awful.systems 3 points 11 hours ago

More evidence for my conspiracy theory that all companies have switched their PR strategies to full-time ragebaiting. wake up sheeple

[–] Amoeba_Girl@awful.systems 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It's like a thong for your iPhone

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 2 points 9 hours ago

this is a more perfect description than any I could've come up! my thesis was largely on what a boon it would prove to thieves (although I recognize that flavour of thief probably varies by country and not all have them)

[–] bitofhope@awful.systems 9 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

3D-knitted, or "knitted" for short.

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 2 points 9 hours ago

"the concept of “a piece of cloth,”" will just forever live in my brain now, I suspect

[–] jonhendry@iosdev.space 4 points 20 hours ago

@o7___o7

Apple is Touching Cloth.

[–] V0ldek@awful.systems 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What in the sweet fuck happened here, does this count as vandalism?

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 7 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Fix0red

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_unsolved_problems_in_computer_science&diff=next&oldid=1320261740

None of those are well defined "problems". An entire applied research field is not a "problem" akin to other items on this list lik P vs NP.

[–] V0ldek@awful.systems 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Thank you for your service o7

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 2 points 10 hours ago

To be clear, I can't edit Wikipedia to save my life. Editor in this case was Elestrophe.

[–] jaschop@awful.systems 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Fresh from the presses: OpenAI loses song lyrics copyright case in German court

GEMA (weird german authors' rights management organisation) is suing OpenAI over replication of song lyrics among other stuff, seeking a license deal. Judge rules that whatever the fuck OpenAI does behind the scenes is irrelevant, if it can replicate lyrics exactly that's unlawful replication.

One of GEMA's lawyers expects the case to be groundbreaking in europe, since the applicable rules are harmonized.

[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 10 points 19 hours ago

I cannot believe I am rooting for GEMA. What a weird world this has become.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

lemmy.ml by way of hexbear's technology comm: The Economist is pushing phrenology. Everything old is new again!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/38830374

screenshot of text "Imagine appearing for a job interview and, without saying a single word, being told that you are not getting the role because your face didn’t fit. You would assume discrimination, and might even contemplate litigation.But what if bias was not the reason? What if your face gave genuinely useful clues about your probable performance at work? That question is at the heart of a recent research"

[...]

screenshot of text "a shorter one. Some might argue that face-based analysis is more meritocratic than processes which reward, say, educational attainment. Kelly Shue of the Yale School of Management, one of the new paper’s authors, says they are now looking at whether AI facial analysis can give lenders useful clues about a person’s propensity to repay loans. For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing."

tweet

economist article

archive.is paywall bypass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology

EDIT: Apparently based off something published by fucking Yale:

https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/ai-photo-analysis-illuminates-how-personality-traits-predict-career-trajectories

https://insights.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2025-01/AI%20Personality%20Extraction%20from%20Faces%20Labor%20Market%20Implications_0.pdf

Reminds me of the "tech-bro invents revolutionary new personal transport solution: a train!" meme, but with racism. I'll be over in the angry dome.

[–] bitofhope@awful.systems 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What does it tell about a scientist that they see a wide world of mysteries to dive into and the research topic they pick is "are we maybe missing out on a way we could justify discriminating against people for their innate characteristics?"

"For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing" fuck off no one is this naive.

[–] YourNetworkIsHaunted@awful.systems 4 points 1 day ago

I remember back before I realized just how full of shit Siskind was I used to buy into some of the narrative re: "credentialism" so I understand the way they're trying to sell it here. But even extending far more benefit than mere doubt can justify we're still looking at yet another case of trying to create a (pseudo)scientific solution to a socially constructed problem. Like, if the problem is that bosses and owners are trying to find the best candidate we don't need new and exciting ways to discriminate; they could just actually invest in a process for doing that, but trying to actually solve that problem would inconvenience the owning/managing classes and doesn't create opportunities to further entrench racial biases in the system. Clearly using an AI-powered version of the punchline for "how racist were the old times" commentary is better.

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

(edit: advance warning that clicking these links might cause eyestrain and trigger rage)

so for a while now sheer outrageous ludicrous nonsense of the trumpist-era USA politics has been making a bit of an impact on the local ZA racists (and, weirdly, not only the white nationalists but also the black nationalists - some of it has shone through in EFF and BFLF propaganda strains), and I knew that with the orange godawful-king ascension to his hoped-throne it was only a matter of time before shit here escalated

anyway, it's happened. the same organisation also put up some ads along the main highway ahead of the G20 summit

(upside: some of those have already been pulled down. downside: the org put up some more. don't know what's happened with the latest yet)

fuck these people

[–] bitofhope@awful.systems 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

SoftBank Cashes Out Nvidia Stock (Archive)

I'm too jaded to get my hopes up, but wouldn't it be so nice if this were the beginning of the end for the AI bubble?

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Either they're right, and the bubble pops soon, or they're too early and it's another hilarious Softbank L

[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

my read of the situation is that it's another phenomenal softbank L even if they timed this sale at the top of the nvdia valuation. if they thought it's a bubble popping soon, they would try to get out of openai deals, but they're doing the opposite. most immediately, they need money to dump 20B-ish into openai by end of the year, triggered by that no-profit transition, and it's money that they apparently don't have. that their stock dumped like 15% in a week probably didn't help either

[–] JFranek@awful.systems 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This. Masayoshi son is selling furniture to YOLO more money into OpenAI.

[–] istewart@awful.systems 6 points 1 day ago

ok, cool. when does he start selling off all the super limited-edition anime waifu merch? asking for a friend

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

this has increased the comedy

[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

if you think it's stupid, it's not as stupid as it sounds, it's worse. they also sold some tmobile stock and took debt backed by ownership of arm. it's like they instinctively get rid of pieces of ai bubble that retains some money and hold to pieces that are black holes

[–] o7___o7@awful.systems 5 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

Business strategy: become the Red Lobster of venture capital

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