HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

ruthvik947

17 karma · joined October 1, 2015

submissionscomments
ruthvik947··on Updated Google Maps shows destruction of the city of Rafah
Indeed the terrorists did win, as we can see from these images.
ruthvik947··on My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup
This seems like such an unimaginative and cynical claim. You're saying you can't think of any way of putting an LLM in service of developing your creativity and understanding?!
ruthvik947··on My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup
sure the electric motor didn't generate text, but it's ridiculous to think it was anywhere near reliable in its early days
ruthvik947··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (August 2026)
I've been working on something to help us pursue our long term interests in a reasonably more structured way: https://pond.li. The basic problem/idea motivating it is that it'd be valuable to reach more often into our archives/collections (or have them reach out to the present) than be pulled into the great big, novel firehose of information we're exposed to everyday.

It's also an attempt to make use of LLMs as not primarily chat partners. Keen for feedback if any of this strikes you as interesting

ruthvik947··on It's getting harder to focus every day
I feel similarly. I have a lot of tendencies characteristic of ADHD, but I'm undiagnosed, and I don't think I'll seek out the diagnosis either. I don't intend to take any stimulants, and the particular identity of having ADHD means little to me, so the diagnosis wouldn't change much. As you say, I'd still need to figure out how to live this life in these conditions anyway.
ruthvik947··on It's getting harder to focus every day
Unfortunately it's nearly here thanks to Starlink
ruthvik947··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)
I'm making https://pond.li to try and make our personal archives of text and other media we engage with more available to the present. It's an interesting design space at least, partly because it requires taking a stance on what meaningful/cognitive agency preserving human-LLM interaction looks like
ruthvik947··on Squillions: How money laundering won
but they did?
ruthvik947··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (October 2025)
my side-project is Possible World Wikis: https://www.possibleworldwikis.com/

LLM/procedurally-generated fictional wikis with worldbuilding history/context so the wiki stays coherent. Fun project to make the most of LLM hallucinations

ruthvik947··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2025)
Possible World Wikis! https://www.possibleworldwikis.com/

LLM/procedurally-generated fictional wikis with worldbuilding history/context so the wiki stays coherent. Fun project to make the most of LLM hallucinations

ruthvik947··on PossibleWorldWikis – LLM-based fictional world wiki generator
Sorry I botched that. Fixing now and will post again, thank you for bringing it to my attention!
ruthvik947··on PossibleWorldWikis – LLM-based fictional world wiki generator
Hey, HN, this was inspired by Borges’ fictional encyclopaedias and the idea (Brian Eno’s I think) that the flaws of a system/tool (hallucinations and LLMs here) are what we come to value over time. Hope you find it somewhat interesting/fun!
ruthvik947··on Read to forget
This stands in pretty stark contrast to a recent popular post on here about how important memorising things is to developing knowledge
ruthvik947··on Income Equality in Nordic Countries: Myths, Facts, and Lessons
How did the Netherlands go from 0.9 in 2019 to 0.75 in 2021!? You'd need nothing short of a mini-revolution to do that in those timescales
ruthvik947··on Nobody knows how to build with AI yet
I have a philosophy degree, have worked in product teams, and have had very similar observations. I could've written this comment!
ruthvik947··on Show HN: I built an LLM chat app because we shouldn't need 10 AI subscriptions
Not sure if you actually read the article but infrastructural impact is clearly discussed.

You sent over two links about the environmental impact of data centres. There is no denial that these are burdensome on the environment; the question is to what degree AI and its applications contribute to that effect. If you wanted to argue in good faith you'd be advocating for everyone to stop watching Netflix, because video streaming generates a far greater demand than AI currently does, but I don't see you doing this.

ruthvik947··on Show HN: I built an LLM chat app because we shouldn't need 10 AI subscriptions
https://andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sheet-for-conversa...
ruthvik947··on Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain
I had this for about a year, and it really only went away when I quit my job. It wasn't even a particularly demanding job, but I guess the lifestyle + the fact that I felt I was wasting my life away might have played a role. Nothing else is really different.
ruthvik947··on DolphinGemma: How Google AI is helping decode dolphin communication
Sorry, it's not really, just a personal nickname for him. Although I think I recall that Austin would call him Witters (very much to this annoyance).
ruthvik947··on DolphinGemma: How Google AI is helping decode dolphin communication
Indeed! As Witt once said, "if a lion could speak, we would not understand it." (https://iep.utm.edu/wittgens/#H5)
ruthvik947··on Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
I left to study for a masters in philosophy. Found it incredibly meaningful and enjoyable. I am however back in tech now as a product manager; I haven't yet been able to chart/imagine a reasonably stable career related to or within philosophy.
ruthvik947··on A Project of One’s Own
Needed to read this, thank you Paul! Was on the edge about a summer project -- deterred mostly by high-expectations, the project being likely non-monetisable, and a fear of failure. I see now none of those are valid excuses!
ruthvik947··on Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica situation
I think it is ridiculous to think that Facebook is sharing data to 3rd party sources out of charity. If you provide more value via data to integrating applications than any of your competitors, you will continue to have the largest share of the market. So yes, there is profit incentive.
ruthvik947··on Why the long-term future of humanity matters more than anything else
Was there intention with our species?
ruthvik947··on In Defense of Amy Wax’s Defense of Bourgeois Values
This is not a very meaningful argument if you don't provide metrics for 'excellence' and 'success'
ruthvik947··on What was Syria like before the war
I see nothing in the parent's comment that insinuates this. What specifically are you referring to?
ruthvik947··on Self-Compassion Works Better Than Self-Esteem
I found this to be a good starting point: http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/01/why-your-mind-is-always...