practical

Please don’t ever put this word in the same paragraph as the Humane pin. Have you seen what that thing did?

Good luck out there! I am taking up the opposing position, and I am curious who will win.

What’s stopping you from placing a wager on your favorite platforms then? You seem to feel quite confident it’s going to happen, yet for some reason aren’t willing to get that “easy” money…

The price however is inline with my statement - that market considers a GOP win a near certainty.

You are reading the results backwards - Kalshi predicts a Democratic win at ~70% (as of now) probability. I agree the payback isn’t huge… but if you’re SURE then it’s easy money!

I have no specific information, but usually when a company is gobbled up like this, the employees get the short end of the stick. Given how nasty Humane was to their own customers, I can’t imagine the employees are getting treated well. Really depressing to see such a scummy CEO and company get a payday like this. I can’t imagine what HP saw in them.

Here you go friend: this is a prediction market on whether the Republicans or Democrats will win the house next year: https://kalshi.com/markets/controlh/house-winner

If your prediction is right and there are no more elections this will be easy money for you.

I hope there is a prediction market on this at some point because I do not think it’s likely that they will be able to block elections. I’d love to put my money where my mouth is.

The thing is, tariffs aren’t new. Manufacturing (or the lack thereof) in the US isn’t new… the only NEW thing appears to be voters that can be led around by the nose and lacking any kind of critical thought altogether. What % of people that voted for tariffs thought that China’d be paying for them? Probably the same folks who thought Mexico was going to build the wall and pay for it. Last time I checked, I don’t think we’ve received any money from Mexico for this.

If tariffs cause a rise in US production

This is one of the problems with the Trumpian approach to tariffs. I don’t know if you hadn’t noticed, but there’s remarkably little manufacturing in the USA for quite some time now, but let’s play this out.

The cost to set up a laptop manufacturing firm in the US is anywhere from $50,000,000 to $200,000,000. Then, you’ve gotta acquire all the raw materials and components to assemble the laptops, let’s call that another $500,000,000. Then, of course, you’ve gotta staff the place, and this is in a country where we do not have a lot of people that are experienced in manufacturing. Let’s call that another $100,000,000. By the time you add in R&D, logistics costs, legal and compliance (because the US is a bit more stringent than China in this area), you’re talking about $1 - $3 BILLION in costs.

Now, out of the few people / companies that have enough money to actually set up a laptop manufacturer in the USA, think about how confident they’d have to be to pull this off. The largest problem is, if you spend your billion dollars and build this factory and then the next week Trump removes the tariff, you’re instantly competing with foreign firms again, and you’re going to be going under pretty fast.

I’d say this tariff would have to be in place at LEAST 10 years before anyone gets confident enough to spend the massive amount of money and effort quoted above. When you think about how many millions of laptops are going to get sold between now and then, it’s pretty clear the American consumer is going to take a huge bath in the meantime.

Like so many things Trump is doing, this tariff is supposed to piss off China but just ends up fucking the consumer. Trump and his billionaire friends don’t care if a laptop is an extra $200. That’s change they can find under the couch. For your average American trying to make ends meet, that $200 sure as fuck would be useful.

So go ahead, vote Republican to “own the libs”. Just don’t be surprised when the sudden pain you feel in your wallet is very real.

An “industry” does not have the ability to ruin people’s free expression.

It does, by creating perverse incentives and the commercialized speech crowds out anything else. I mean, look at the topic… go check out GoneWild and tell me what you think…

Completely agree! The entire adult content platform has become nothing more than a monetization machine for platforms like OnlyFans. GoneWild was once about people expressing themselves and sharing their art without the pressure of making a quick buck. Now it’s all about selling subscriptions and getting clicks. The whole industry has been ruined by commercial interests prioritizing profit over passion and community. Same thing with Patreon, where creators are expected to churn out content just to keep their fans engaged rather than doing what they actually love. And don’t even get me started on the algorithm-driven news feeds that suck the soul out of social media. Commercialization has absolutely destroyed the integrity and creativity of online platforms. We’re losing the very things that made them worth using in the first place.

alternate name for this article: “How to feel good about yourself while doing something that doesn’t help anything at all”

For better or worse, this seems to be way less of a problem on the Fediverse. I can’t tell if it’s because it’s federated OR if it’s because corporate America hasn’t woken up to it (yet?!?). I find way more interesting discussions on lemmy than anywhere else on the net. Hopefully it stays that way!

Senator Josh Hawley was in his office, fumbling with a collection of outdated gadgets. His desk was cluttered with a clunky flip-phone, a ancient computer tower, and stacks of CDs labeled “Software for Dummies.” He had just been reading about this newfangled AI technology that everyone was buzzing about—though he wasn’t entirely sure what an AI was.

The phone rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. He fumbled with the flip-phone, trying to press the correct buttons to answer. When he finally managed to say “Hello,” his voice dripped with confusion.

“Senator Hawley, this is Greg from OpenAI. I wanted to discuss your proposed legislation about AI downloads,” the voice on the other end said.

Hawley leaned back in his chair, trying to look wise. “Legislation? Oh, right, that’s what they call laws these days. Something about jailing people who download stuff from China.”

Greg sighed. “It’s not just about downloading, Senator. It’s about AI models—complex software that can learn and adapt, like DeepSeek.”

Hawley’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t heard of DeepSeek before. “DeepSeek? That sounds communist to me. Probably tracking your thoughts or something.”

Greg tried to explain how AI works, but Hawley kept interrupting with questions about old technologies he thought were relevant. “So if someone downloads this AI, it’s like a CD-ROM, right? You just stick it in and hope it works?”

Greg pressed on, trying to translate the concept of cloud computing into terms Hawley might understand. “It’s more like… a virtual flip-phone that you can talk to without actually holding it.”

Hawley looked down at his desk, where his actual flip-phone was sitting. “I’m not sure I follow. Why would downloading this AI be bad?”

“Because DeepSeek is state-sponsored and could be used maliciously,” Greg said. “It’s like giving someone a modem to the Chinese government.”

Hawley brightened up. “Oh! Like that time I tried to use a dial-up connection? That was dangerous, wasn’t it? You didn’t know who was listening!”

Greg couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not sure you’re understanding this correctly, Senator. This isn’t about phone calls or CDs—it’s about advanced algorithms that could change everything.”

Hawley stood up, clutching his flip-phone like it was a weapon. “Advanced? Sounds like the kind of thing that could be used to spy on people or start wars! Just like those CDs I tried to use once—they had some kind of communist software.”

Greg hesitated but decided to play along. “So you’re saying if someone downloads DeepSeek, they might be helping a foreign power? That’s why you want to jail them?”

Hawley nodded vigorously. “Exactly! It’s like having a modem without the filter. I propose jailing these people to protect our freedoms.”

Greg exchanged a glance with his colleague, who was now staring at him in disbelief. Finally, he said, “ Senator, this isn’t how technology works. If you jail people for downloading AI models, you’re not protecting innovation—you’re stifling it.”

Hawley squinted at Greg as if he were staring into the sun. “Stifle? I’m trying to stop something dangerous. You think I don’t know about this communist tech? I’ve seen it on the internet—full of viruses and stuff.”

Greg took a deep breath, realizing there was no way to reason with Hawley in this state. “Well, if that’s your stance, just remember: you’re not alone. There are people out there who think AI is a threat.”

Hawley smirked. “Good. People like me keep them in check.”

The call finally ended, and Greg sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Senator Hawley is running for re-election,” he muttered to himself. “And if this bill passes, it’s going to be a nightmare.”

As for Senator Hawley, he was already back at his desk, scribbling notes about how to protect the country from “AI invasions.” He had no idea what he was up against—but one thing was certain: he was ready to fight.

TIL most water is made of Hydrogen