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Ok, but I think the transition from Transformers to GPT took a lot of hard work and insight, and the OpenAI research team deserves ample credit for it.

Worried in the sense that their products have the potential to be harmful. But yes, otherwise I am rooting for OpenAI. Why not? I don't have a horse in this race.

Yes, I was referring, among other things, to a recent tweet where he calls OpenAI "his" startup. Some of his coworkers may find that irksome, as he was not there when GPT2 was released. (If I understand correctly)

I am a bit worried by the various immodest public statements Sam has made in the last few days. A bit more gravitas would be welcome.

Does PL have product-market fit for anything?

This. I think these firms would have an easier time hiring engineers away from FAANGs, if they realised that FAANG engineers don't precisely understand how the bonus system works. (I think the vagueness is actually seen as a feature of the bonus system!)

It goes to show that the demand for C++ is not actually that high.

That's also what you see at underfunded startups.

From personal experience, I got the impression that Amazon was not even that interested in hiring experienced developers. I think they decided that churning through early-career engineers was ultimately more effective for them.

OP never said he was their manager. In fact, OP's manager probably doesn't want him to be mentoring all day long.

The North could have benefitted from a manufacturing renaissance, and reshoring in general, but Brexit put a damper on all that...

I can't really tell... For instance, I initially thought the tweet was a joke, but apparently it was serious.

Aren't nearly all FAANGs on a hiring freeze?

This tweet has caused a lot more offence in America, than it has in France.

I think "he"'s actually a "she".

I think what happens over time at FAANG, is that you get some divisions that are way overstaffed, and others that are way understaffed.

Very interesting, thanks !

I thought what this Stanford professor said was rather sensible, but some people want to believe that the tech industry always functions in a rational way.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say.

Who gave tech CEOs permission to blame their mistakes of the past 2 years on ZIRP ? This has become a kind of meme. The problem is, ZIRP has been the reality, on and off (mostly on), since 2008.

I realize my comment is way too terse to make sense to anyone other than myself, this should be a blog post!

I also hold this unpopular opinion : the maker movement has ultimately failed.

I am not fully certain why, but think social factors are partly to blame. What I saw (in the UK) was that the new generation of middle-class, hobbyist makers weren't interested in engaging with and learning from the historical, working-class manufacturing sector.

In most countries, I don't think you're required to update your home every time the electrical code gets a change. However, many electricians will try to sell you on this unnecessary work.

This is what's technically known as a "Ratner moment".

That's the correct take, thanks.

Definitely. We still have this unfair situation today, where "founders" get most of the upside, and "founding engineers" hired immediately after get ~1% or less.

Because it was a loan ?

Sounds like McGee might not have got his fair share of Id's success. Maybe Carmack felt bad about that.

Anything you can think of that's made of plastics was, prior to the mid 20th century, made of metal, ceramics, glass, fabric, or wood.

You'll realise these materials are usually much less suited to the task. In aggregate, the polymer industry was a huge benefit for humanity.

To take just one random example, I think electical wiring was insulated with fabrics in the early 20th century, which must have been expensive to make, and perhaps no too durable.

But really, plastics improved the manufacturability and performance of literally everything.

My take is that 10+ years ago, the average Google or Amazon engineer would have been comparatively more offended to see so many fake products, reviews, websites, fake everything on their platforms. Today, they see all this as someone else's problem.