I never read Synthetic Serendipity though so you got me curious.
30 karma · joined December 3, 2025
I will tell you something simple: I have a family, I don't work in tech and I promised my C++ teacher, I will never, ever actually program. Scripting is ok.
Of several projects I’m working on, only one feels ready to be mentioned: a small roleplaying game exploring masks and consequences.
If I ever get to actual release, HN will be the first to know.
I never read Synthetic Serendipity though so you got me curious.
I was personally thinking of making NPC less npcy ( not completely unlike dwarf fortress, but expanded ).
On the other side of the spectrum are indies, who can afford to experiment a little more so you get more interesting uses ( like 'voicelines' by AI come to mind ).
I know what I want to believe, but it is hard for me to call it ( I think it is a temporary trend ), because I might be a little too close to it. After all, gamers have been conditioned to endure a lot over the past decade and mostly shrugged off most of the assaults on their favorite past time.
If I were to compare it to something.. it is almost like using LLMs for email summaries ( which is still what most bosses seem to be most pleased with ). There are better use cases. I think those were not explored yet.
Obviously, it all comes with its own sets of issues, but I am working through those as they come. But it is still a slow move solo.
Now, personally, I would like to have sane defaults, where I can toggle stuff on and off, but we all know which way the wind blows in this case.
But, unless you are on a local model you control, you literally can't. Otherwise, good rules will work only as long as the next update allows. I will admit that makes me consider some other options, but those probably shouldn't be 'set and iterate' each time something changes.
I am relatively certain you are not alone in this sentiment. The issue is that the moment we move past seemingly objective measurements, it is harder to convince people that what we measure is appropriate, but the measurable stuff can be somewhat gamed, which adds a fascinating layer of cat and mouse game to this.
It seems ( only seems, because I have not gotten around to test it in any systematic way ) that some variables like context and what the model knows about you may actually influence quality ( or lack thereof ) of the response.
But is it a hallucination if it was asked for it?:D
I would absolutely not suggest doing what I am doing to an average user.
edit: Frankly, just by thinking I am above average I might be inviting a more risky behavior.
I get that it is all about balance, but it is hard to disagree with Rahm here. Top down ban is the only real way to go.
Well, that part is bound to add a level of tension to the process. Our leadership has AI training, where the user is responsible for checking its output, but the same leadership also outright stated it now sees individual user of AI as having 7 employees under them ( so should be 7x more productive ). Honestly, its maddening. None of it is how it works at all.
It hits weirdly close to home. Our leadership did not technically mandate use, but 'strongly encourages' it. I did not even have my review yet, but I know that once we get to the goals part, use of AI tools will be an actual metric ( which is.. in my head somewhere between skeptic and evangelist.. dumb ).
But the 'AI talent' part fits. For mundane stuff like data model, I need full committee approval from people, who don't get it anyway ( and whose entire contribution is: 'what other companies are doing' ).