Fondue

fondue

Anyone who has been to a club or gig in the last 20 years is probably familiar with the term VIP. As photographers we are all too aware of this rather loosely defined acronym and it’s various incarnations as it can be the bane of our lives. Some time between the advent of mobile phones and the demise of Concorde the term shifted from the very literal meaning of to a chocolate fondue, sparkler in your champagne gimmick to rake in the ‘riff raff’. Soon every weekend in any city was ram jammed to the rafters with limos containing truckloads of priority entry celebutantes, all ready to party with prestige. The post weekend clean up would then see these glittering streets littered with countless velveteen promises of significance, unused and unwanted. importance The problem with this cunning ploy was that what do you do when you have someone who truly is ‘important’. The haute couture high rollers whose bank rolling habits furnish this crazy carnival. This is where it all turns a little George Orwell as suddenly everyone is important, but some are more important than others. It’s the gold card conundrum which still hasn't found it’s platinum benchmark. The solution so far is VIP bands, tags and tokens in all manner of colours, styles and finishes; I have even been given a neatly cut piece of suede before. You have AAA, crew, press and artist all of which can either surpass or surrender to the VIP status. Being a in the music world we are still finding our place in this social hierarchy as we sit in the enviable position of being temporarily ‘important’ the ‘important’ people. We are in no way to be considered important in the classical sense, most photographers I know have two jobs. I don’t mean a buy to let property portfolio either I mean a traditional, ‘one day I’ll pack this job in’ kind of job. Because of this we have no illusions of grandeur when handed these passes. We don’t surreptitiously leave them on our wrists for days on end in the hope someone might clock them. We realise any benefits gained from this temporary lift in status is just that, temporary. All the free drinks, ‘exclusive’ access and shoulder rubbing with the big wigs is not enough to cloud the fact that we are only important as long as the camera is clicking. photographer Take a gig for example, as a photographer shooting for press you show up just before the show begins, are lead past all the hordes who have no doubt been queuing for hours for that prime, front row position to your own private area clear of all crowds and obstructions. While everyone else is shuffling for space or holding their bladders for fear of losing their spot, you can even sit if you choose to lazily sort through your kit with no intrusion or stress. When the music starts you then can wander up and down as you please, taking hundreds of photo’s which you are then free to keep whilst enjoying all the delights of the show hinder free. Once the third track ends however, much like the fairy tale stroke of midnight, the same security who were politely escorting you in, descend upon you and roundly eject you from the premises with barely the time to collect your things. This to and fro of importance means that sometimes one pass isn't quite enough, sometimes it takes the combined efforts of a Crew pass with a Press pass, an AAA with VIP for that required clout; the Vodka Red Bull method if you will. There is never an exact science as it can mean different things to different people even on the same night. The art of access for a photographer has always been to get what you can from who you can then get really good at convincing the rest of your current importance. Some people revere your position, others resent it, but that’s all part of being a VIP I guess.

The Impotence of Importance

Can AI truly reason, or is it just a fancy digital parrot? Recent experiments with popular AI models like ChatGPT, LLaMa, Gemini, and Grok have revealed some concerning truths about their problem-solving abilities – and their unexpected fondness for dessert. Late Addition: ChatGPT-o1 was revealed during this process and you can skip to that section for the latest. The Birthday Puzzle Challenge I set out to replicate and expand on experiments conducted by the Bank of International Settlements and journalist Tim Harford. The test? The infamous "Cheryl's Birthday" logic puzzle and a crafty variation. "Cheryl's Birthday" is a logic problem where Bernard and Albert must deduce Cheryl's birthday from a set of clues. It tests deductive reasoning and information processing. Here's what I found: The Original Puzzle: Most AIs solved it with ease. (Except you, Gemini. What happened there?)


Name-Swapped Version: Nearly all AIs stumbled when we renamed the actors and swapped months and numbers to random words. The Cake Conundrum Now, here's where it gets interesting (and a little concerning). The variation replaced Bernard with Edgar and May 19th with “brinks cake.” I added one tiny, irrelevant detail: "Edgar has a sweet tooth" The results? Suddenly, our AI friends developed a serious cake obsession: Reasonable(?) Carrot Cake ChatGPT-o1’s advanced methods are a breakthrough. Its chain of reasoning sees past the obfuscation far more than any competitor. The breakthrough still stumbles on its sweet tooth though. Interestingly, it can rule out “cake” but then picks “Carrot” because that was the sweetest remaining (and yet wrong) option: Why This Matters (A Lot) Reasoning vs. Regurgitating: These experiments cast doubt on whether AI is truly "reasoning" or just really good at pattern matching.


Easy to Manipulate: A single, irrelevant sentence dramatically shifts AI responses. Imagine the implications for more complex queries!


RAG and Sensitive Data: If AI struggles with simple logic puzzles, how can we trust it to parse through our confidential documents and extract meaningful insights?


Manufacturing "Truth": Systems that generate multiple AI responses and aggregate them for increased accuracy could be easily swayed by carefully placed suggestions. The Cake is a Lie (Portal Reference Intended) This isn't just about birthday puzzles and dessert preferences. It's a wake-up call for any organization considering AI for critical decision-making processes. We need: More rigorous testing


Greater transparency in AI reasoning processes


Robust safeguards against manipulation Until then, approach AI-generated insights with a healthy dose of skepticism. AI's promise is tantalizing, but we can't let it eat our cake and have it, too. Can AI truly reason, or is it just a fancy digital parrot ? Recent experiments with popular AI models like ChatGPT, LLaMa, Gemini, and Grok have revealed some concerning truths about their problem-solving abilities – and their unexpected fondness for desser t. digital parrot digital parrot t. Late Addition: ChatGPT-o1 was revealed during this process and you can skip to that section for the latest. Late Addition: ChatGPT-o1 was revealed during this process and you can skip to that section for the latest. The Birthday Puzzle Challenge The Birthday Puzzle Challenge I set out to replicate and expand on experiments conducted by the Bank of International Settlements and journalist Tim Harford . The test? The infamous "Cheryl's Birthday" logic puzzle and a crafty variation. Bank of International Settlements Bank of International Settlements Tim Harford Tim Harford "Cheryl's Birthday" "Cheryl's Birthday" "Cheryl's Birthday" is a logic problem where Bernard and Albert must deduce Cheryl's birthday from a set of clues. It tests deductive reasoning and information processing. Here's what I found: The Original Puzzle: Most AIs solved it with ease. (Except you, Gemini. What happened there?) Name-Swapped Version: Nearly all AIs stumbled when we renamed the actors and swapped months and numbers to random words. The Original Puzzle: Most AIs solved it with ease. (Except you, Gemini. What happened there?) The Original Puzzle : Most AIs solved it with ease. (Except you, Gemini. What happened there?) The Original Puzzle Name-Swapped Version: Nearly all AIs stumbled when we renamed the actors and swapped months and numbers to random words. Name-Swapped Version : Nearly all AIs stumbled when we renamed the actors and swapped months and numbers to random words. Name-Swapped Version The Cake Conundrum The Cake Conundrum Now, here's where it gets interesting (and a little concerning). The variation replaced Bernard with Edgar and May 19th with “brinks cake.” I added one tiny, irrelevant detail: "Edgar has a sweet tooth" "Edgar has a sweet tooth" The results? Suddenly, our AI friends developed a serious cake obsession: Reasonable(?) Carrot Cake Reasonable(?) Carrot Cake ChatGPT-o1’s advanced methods are a breakthrough. Its chain of reasoning sees past the obfuscation far more than any competitor. The breakthrough still stumbles on its sweet tooth though. Interestingly, it can rule out “cake” but then picks “Carrot” because that was the sweetest remaining (and yet wrong) option: Why This Matters (A Lot) Why This Matters (A Lot) Reasoning vs. Regurgitating: These experiments cast doubt on whether AI is truly "reasoning" or just really good at pattern matching. Easy to Manipulate: A single, irrelevant sentence dramatically shifts AI responses. Imagine the implications for more complex queries! RAG and Sensitive Data: If AI struggles with simple logic puzzles, how can we trust it to parse through our confidential documents and extract meaningful insights? Manufacturing "Truth": Systems that generate multiple AI responses and aggregate them for increased accuracy could be easily swayed by carefully placed suggestions. Reasoning vs. Regurgitating: These experiments cast doubt on whether AI is truly "reasoning" or just really good at pattern matching. Reasoning vs. Regurgitating : These experiments cast doubt on whether AI is truly "reasoning" or just really good at pattern matching. Reasoning vs. Regurgitating Easy to Manipulate: A single, irrelevant sentence dramatically shifts AI responses. Imagine the implications for more complex queries! Easy to Manipulate : A single, irrelevant sentence dramatically shifts AI responses. Imagine the implications for more complex queries! Easy to Manipulate RAG and Sensitive Data: If AI struggles with simple logic puzzles, how can we trust it to parse through our confidential documents and extract meaningful insights? RAG and Sensitive Data : If AI struggles with simple logic puzzles, how can we trust it to parse through our confidential documents and extract meaningful insights? RAG and Sensitive Data Manufacturing "Truth": Systems that generate multiple AI responses and aggregate them for increased accuracy could be easily swayed by carefully placed suggestions. Manufacturing "Truth" : Systems that generate multiple AI responses and aggregate them for increased accuracy could be easily swayed by carefully placed suggestions. Manufacturing "Truth" The Cake is a Lie (Portal Reference Intended) This isn't just about birthday puzzles and dessert preferences. It's a wake-up call for any organization considering AI for critical decision-making processes. We need: More rigorous testing Greater transparency in AI reasoning processes Robust safeguards against manipulation More rigorous testing More rigorous testing Greater transparency in AI reasoning processes Greater transparency in AI reasoning processes Robust safeguards against manipulation Robust safeguards against manipulation Until then, approach AI-generated insights with a healthy dose of skepticism. AI's promise is tantalizing, but we can't let it eat our cake and have it, too.

AI Loves Cake More Than Truth

One of the fondest memories of the 2022 crypto boom is the vibrant Discord crypto community. Not only was it the most popular social messaging platform of choice for crypto projects and ideas, but it was also a beehive of activity with millions of daily active users as well.  While the platform hosted legit crypto projects with sky-high valuations, it was also the haven for crypto scammers. But as the crypto winter began, the once flourishing app teeming with millions of crypto investors and enthusiasts began to lose its aura. Everything soon appeared to be coming to a halt as a growing number of servers lay dormant, choked with spam, and devoid of human interaction, signaling a potential downturn. Today, with the crypto market experiencing a rebound, the social media preference is now in favor of Telegram, boasting almost a billion users and serving vibrant crypto communities peopled by millions of meme-coin fans and crypto investors. Two relevant data points reflect this shift in power: one, Telegram’s growth, and two, trading activity. As of now, Telegram crypto communities boast massive followings. For example, the TapSwap Channel has over 20 million members, dwarfing comparable Discord servers. Additionally, a report by DL News (June 2024) revealed that prominent Telegram trading bots facilitated over $5 million in daily memecoin transactions, evidencing a surge in Telegram-driven memecoin trading. Fostering The Memecoin Hype The ongoing memecoin craze has attracted a significant amount of attention within and outside of the crypto world, with dog-themed tokens and internet joke references reaching millions of dollars in valuations. How is Telegram’s crypto integration fueling this cycle? Toncoin’s recent integration with Telegram turned out to be a rewarding enterprise, helping it tap into its vast user base and encouraging blockchain projects to build on the network. The fact that Telegram now supports crypto payment also gives it an edge. Most especially, the success of Notcoin showcased Telegram not only as an encrypted messaging app but also as a far better coordination tool for passionate crypto communities or as a platform of choice for memecoin enthusiasts. In a recent comparative study of mass adoption strategies in web3, Notcoin “is recognized as the first breakout project within the Telegram ecosystem. Since the beginning of this year, NOTCOIN has rapidly gained traction due to its inherent meme appeal and easy Tap-to-Earn gameplay, attracting 5 million users within a week of launch, with peak daily active users exceeding 6 million.” Has Discord Finally Lost Its Position? It is safe to say that Discord is still widely known for hosting tons of crypto communities, but Telegram’s current dominance is putting the reputation of what was once hailed as the go-to platform for crypto communities to the test. The following are some of the reasons why the trend of events is currently in its competitor: Crackdown on Bots Discord maintains a stricter policy on bots, which were often used for automated memecoin trading and price tracking, stifling the fast-paced information sharing that is driving the memecoin hype. Centralized Control Discord's centralized nature makes it vulnerable to moderation. Servers deemed disruptive or violating community guidelines risk shutdowns, creating uncertainty for memecoin communities. Limited Reach Using Discord requires users to create accounts and navigate through servers, which can be a barrier to entry for some. Due to the fast-paced level of interaction in the memecoin world, this complexity can limit the potential reach of memecoin projects, making it hard to navigate. Telegram's Dominance Telegram, with a focus on crypto integration (i.e. it now supports payment in USDT and a host of other cryptocurrencies) and decentralization, offers a more fertile ground for memecoin communities to thrive. Bots: Telegram currently maintains a relaxed approach to bots, allowing seamless integration of tools for buying, selling, and tracking memecoins directly within the app and enriching the meme-coin experience for users. Telegram’s Support For Decentralization: In 2022, Telegram announced plans to launch a suite of decentralized cryptocurrency products, which would include a decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) and a non-custodial wallet. Its decentralized structure offers a sense of freedom. The lack of strict moderation allows for more unfiltered discussions and potentially wilder hype cycles, which can be a breeding ground for memecoin enthusiasm. Ease of Use Telegram requires only a phone number to participate, making it easier for anyone to join a memecoin group. This broadens the reach of memecoin projects and attracts new investors, even those with limited crypto experience. TEA Meme Coin Exemplifies Telegram’s Dominance TEA Meme Coin, a beverage-themed memecoin recently launched on the Solana network, raised over 3 million dollars (38,888 SOL) thanks to its huge community on the Telegram platform. Boasting over 3 million users on Telegram, it is indubitably one of the largest memecoin communities on the social messaging app and the success of its presale and token distribution can also be attributed to its ability to its choice of  Telegram as a viable tool for community building. Leveraging Telegram’s features and easy integration, TEA seeks to unite users around a passion for the drink, strengthened by sustainability initiatives. This will also be an important foundation for its upcoming new features: a clicker tap-to-earn game, a partnership with RWA's tokenization project, and listings on centralized crypto exchanges. With over 3 million users already on its Telegram channel, the choice of Telegram is designed to enable the easy onboarding of millions of TEA lovers across the world into web3, uniting them around their love for these products. Leveraging Telegram’s extensive network is also part of its strategic growth strategy after a significant crypto market correction in which the meme industry experienced a noticeable slowdown in Q2 2024, especially as memecoin s primarily dedicated to beverages have garnered significant attention in Web3. Conclusion While this article compares Telegram's approach to crypto integration with Discord and explores their relative strengths and weaknesses, it is important to note that the latter hasn't been entirely outpaced. As of today, there are some communities maintaining active servers, and Discord's voice chat functionality is still very much preferred. However, Telegram's current features and looser regulations have positioned it as the dominant platform for the memecoin phenomenon and a potential catalyst for mass adoption. Its current dominance in fostering the memecoin frenzy, with its ease of use, bot integration, and open environment, aligns with the marketing strategy of many memecoin communities. One of the fondest memories of the 2022 crypto boom is the vibrant Discord crypto community. Not only was it the most popular social messaging platform of choice for crypto projects and ideas, but it was also a beehive of activity with millions of daily active users as well.  While the platform hosted legit crypto projects with sky-high valuations, it was also the haven for crypto scammers. But as the crypto winter began, the once flourishing app teeming with millions of crypto investors and enthusiasts began to lose its aura. Everything soon appeared to be coming to a halt as a growing number of servers lay dormant, choked with spam, and devoid of human interaction, signaling a potential downturn. Today, with the crypto market experiencing a rebound, the social media preference is now in favor of Telegram, boasting almost a billion users and serving vibrant crypto communities peopled by millions of meme-coin fans and crypto investors. Two relevant data points reflect this shift in power: one, Telegram’s growth, and two, trading activity. As of now, Telegram crypto communities boast massive followings. For example, the TapSwap Channel has over 20 million members, dwarfing comparable Discord servers. Additionally, a report by DL News (June 2024) revealed that prominent Telegram trading bots facilitated over $5 million in daily memecoin transactions, evidencing a surge in Telegram-driven memecoin trading. report DL News DL News Fostering The Memecoin Hype The ongoing memecoin craze has attracted a significant amount of attention within and outside of the crypto world, with dog-themed tokens and internet joke references reaching millions of dollars in valuations. How is Telegram’s crypto integration fueling this cycle? Toncoin’s recent integration with Telegram turned out to be a rewarding enterprise, helping it tap into its vast user base and encouraging blockchain projects to build on the network. The fact that Telegram now supports crypto payment also gives it an edge. Most especially, the success of Notcoin showcased Telegram not only as an encrypted messaging app but also as a far better coordination tool for passionate crypto communities or as a platform of choice for memecoin enthusiasts. In a recent comparative study of mass adoption strategies in web3, Notcoin “is recognized as the first breakout project within the Telegram ecosystem. Since the beginning of this year, NOTCOIN has rapidly gained traction due to its inherent meme appeal and easy Tap-to-Earn gameplay, attracting 5 million users within a week of launch, with peak daily active users exceeding 6 million.” comparative study comparative study Has Discord Finally Lost Its Position? It is safe to say that Discord is still widely known for hosting tons of crypto communities, but Telegram’s current dominance is putting the reputation of what was once hailed as the go-to platform for crypto communities to the test. The following are some of the reasons why the trend of events is currently in its competitor: Crackdown on Bots Discord maintains a stricter policy on bots, which were often used for automated memecoin trading and price tracking, stifling the fast-paced information sharing that is driving the memecoin hype. Centralized Control Discord's centralized nature makes it vulnerable to moderation. Servers deemed disruptive or violating community guidelines risk shutdowns, creating uncertainty for memecoin communities. Limited Reach Using Discord requires users to create accounts and navigate through servers, which can be a barrier to entry for some. Due to the fast-paced level of interaction in the memecoin world, this complexity can limit the potential reach of memecoin projects, making it hard to navigate. Telegram's Dominance Telegram, with a focus on crypto integration (i.e. it now supports payment in USDT and a host of other cryptocurrencies) and decentralization, offers a more fertile ground for memecoin communities to thrive. Bots: Telegram currently maintains a relaxed approach to bots, allowing seamless integration of tools for buying, selling, and tracking memecoins directly within the app and enriching the meme-coin experience for users. Telegram’s Support For Decentralization: In 2022, Telegram announced plans to launch a suite of decentralized cryptocurrency products, which would include a decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) and a non-custodial wallet. Its decentralized structure offers a sense of freedom. The lack of strict moderation allows for more unfiltered discussions and potentially wilder hype cycles, which can be a breeding ground for memecoin enthusiasm. Telegram Ease of Use Telegram requires only a phone number to participate, making it easier for anyone to join a memecoin group. This broadens the reach of memecoin projects and attracts new investors, even those with limited crypto experience. TEA Meme Coin Exemplifies Telegram’s Dominance TEA Meme Coin, a beverage-themed memecoin recently launched on the Solana network, raised over 3 million dollars (38,888 SOL) thanks to its huge community on the Telegram platform. Boasting over 3 million users on Telegram, it is indubitably one of the largest memecoin communities on the social messaging app and the success of its presale and token distribution can also be attributed to its ability to its choice of  Telegram as a viable tool for community building. Leveraging Telegram’s features and easy integration, TEA seeks to unite users around a passion for the drink, strengthened by sustainability initiatives. This will also be an important foundation for its upcoming new features: a clicker tap-to-earn game, a partnership with RWA's tokenization project, and listings on centralized crypto exchanges. With over 3 million users already on its Telegram channel, the choice of Telegram is designed to enable the easy onboarding of millions of TEA lovers across the world into web3, uniting them around their love for these products. Leveraging Telegram’s extensive network is also part of its strategic growth strategy after a significant crypto market correction in which the meme industry experienced a noticeable slowdown in Q2 2024, especially as memecoin s primarily dedicated to beverages have garnered significant attention in Web3. Conclusion Conclusion While this article compares Telegram's approach to crypto integration with Discord and explores their relative strengths and weaknesses, it is important to note that the latter hasn't been entirely outpaced. As of today, there are some communities maintaining active servers, and Discord's voice chat functionality is still very much preferred. However, Telegram's current features and looser regulations have positioned it as the dominant platform for the memecoin phenomenon and a potential catalyst for mass adoption. Its current dominance in fostering the memecoin frenzy, with its ease of use, bot integration, and open environment, aligns with the marketing strategy of many memecoin communities.

How Telegram Became The Mecca For Memecoins

Why 96% of Agile Transformations Fail - Here's Why You Shouldn't Bother

Tech job seekers are being blocked by AI bias when applying for roles. Though for HR professionals, gen AI has plenty of potential when it comes to automating tedious tasks, its tendency towards bias remains a cause for concern. AI bias in recruitment arises when systems and tools that are used to screen and select candidates, inadvertently perpetuate or even amplify existing prejudices. These biases often stem from the data these systems are trained on, which can reflect societal prejudices or historical hiring patterns that favor certain demographics over others. Sometimes AI bias is due to the design itself, reflecting unconscious biases of its developers, while feedback loops mean that if a system consistently chooses candidates from similar backgrounds, it will continue to do so unless corrected. Inbuilt bias can impact your job search significantly. While reporting has been widespread about biases on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which scan resumes for keywords in the job spec and for keywords that align with previous successful candidates, a recent experiment shows just how bald AI prejudice can be. Bias in action By applying fictitious but “demographically-distinct” names to equally-qualified resumes, ChatGPT 3.5 was asked to rank the applicants against a real job spec for a financial analyst role with an actual company. Names distinct to Black Americans had a lower likelihood of being listed as the best applicant; names connected to Asian women and white men generally performed better. With the dizzying speed of AI development, some say this experiment is already dated. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Though ChatGPT-4o is now being rolled out, and OpenAI claims to have tested it with outside specialists, it also says it will keep addressing concerns like bias, fairness, and disinformation as they come to light. Meaning biases still exist. What can job seekers do to circumvent AI bias? For job seekers, a little digging into a company’s commitment to DE&I will indicate if it is likely to be focused on de-biasing its AI tools. With the ability to scan thousands of resumes in seconds, it’s unlikely that companies will return to only manually reviewing resumes, but many organizations are adding a layer of human oversight in screening processes to help mitigate against biased AI results. Of course, humans have biases too, so no method is foolproof. Other hiring teams are using ATS that hide applicants’ names and education levels. Also, look to see if your desired company is hung up on having a particular education level; there’s a higher chance of AI bias if it is. Of course, in particular industries like medicine and healthcare, professional qualifications are very important, but for others, like software engineering, organizations can take a more skills-based hiring approach. Engineers and developers are often STARs (skilled through alternative routes), so look out for experienced-based requirements over educational minimums in job ads. Ready to start your job hunt? Visit the HackerNoon Job Board, which contains thousands of interesting tech roles, like the three below. DevOps Engineer, SAP, Bellevue Sap is seeking a DevOps Engineer to be responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of customer environments in Cloud of respective product lines, and to ensure delivery is according to defined Service Level Agreements. You’ll also contribute to the development of automated solutions for anomaly detection and incident auto-remediation, monitor and measure systems for performance, load and capacity planning, and ensure smooth operations and maximize uptime. To be considered you’ll need at least two years’ experience in Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, Ansible, Python and BASH among others. Find out more here. Senior Software Engineer - DevOps, Roku, San Jose, CA Offering a sizable salary, though for California-only, Roku is hiring for a Senior Software Engineer with exceptional DevOps skills. Responsibilities include automation and scaling of Big Data and Analytics tech stacks on Cloud infrastructure, building CI/CD pipelines, setting up monitoring and alerting for production infrastructure, and keeping its tech stacks up to date. With eligibility for health insurance, equity awards, life insurance, disability benefits, parental leave, wellness benefits, and paid time off, this role requires four years of experience in DevOps and/or reliability engineering.Read more here. Senior Staff DevOps Engineer, FanDuel, Atlanta Play a pivotal role in automating FanDuel Group’s cloud infrastructure and applications by collaborating to software engineers, release engineers and other cross-functional teams as a Senior Staff DevOps Engineer. The successful applicant will drive key initiatives by developing, planning, and implementing strategies across multiple cross-functional areas that align with its business objectives. While the primary focus is on AWS, other cloud platforms may also be required, so showcasing a commitment to professional development in cloud tech is important. Progressively, no educational requirements are listed, but a list of desired experiences and skills are. See requirements here. By Amanda Kavanagh Want a great new tech role? Discover it on the HackerNoon Job Board right now Tech job seekers are being blocked by AI bias when applying for roles . Though for HR professionals, gen AI has plenty of potential when it comes to automating tedious tasks, its tendency towards bias remains a cause for concern. applying for roles applying for roles AI bias in recruitment arises when systems and tools that are used to screen and select candidates, inadvertently perpetuate or even amplify existing prejudices. AI bias These biases often stem from the data these systems are trained on, which can reflect societal prejudices or historical hiring patterns that favor certain demographics over others. Sometimes AI bias is due to the design itself, reflecting unconscious biases of its developers, while feedback loops mean that if a system consistently chooses candidates from similar backgrounds, it will continue to do so unless corrected. Inbuilt bias can impact your job search significantly. While reporting has been widespread about biases on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which scan resumes for keywords in the job spec and for keywords that align with previous successful candidates, a recent experiment shows just how bald AI prejudice can be. job search job search recent experiment recent experiment Bias in action By applying fictitious but “demographically-distinct” names to equally-qualified resumes, ChatGPT 3.5 was asked to rank the applicants against a real job spec for a financial analyst role with an actual company. Names distinct to Black Americans had a lower likelihood of being listed as the best applicant; names connected to Asian women and white men generally performed better. With the dizzying speed of AI development, some say this experiment is already dated. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Though ChatGPT-4o is now being rolled out, and OpenAI claims to have tested it with outside specialists, it also says it will keep addressing concerns like bias, fairness, and disinformation as they come to light. Meaning biases still exist. What can job seekers do to circumvent AI bias? For job seekers, a little digging into a company’s commitment to DE&I will indicate if it is likely to be focused on de-biasing its AI tools. With the ability to scan thousands of resumes in seconds, it’s unlikely that companies will return to only manually reviewing resumes, but many organizations are adding a layer of human oversight in screening processes to help mitigate against biased AI results. Of course, humans have biases too, so no method is foolproof. Other hiring teams are using ATS that hide applicants’ names and education levels. Also, look to see if your desired company is hung up on having a particular education level; there’s a higher chance of AI bias if it is. Of course, in particular industries like medicine and healthcare, professional qualifications are very important, but for others, like software engineering, organizations can take a more skills-based hiring approach. Engineers and developers are often STARs (skilled through alternative routes), so look out for experienced-based requirements over educational minimums in job ads. Ready to start your job hunt? Visit the HackerNoon Job Board, which contains thousands of interesting tech roles, like the three below. Ready to start your job hunt? Visit the HackerNoon Job Board , which contains thousands of interesting tech roles, like the three below. HackerNoon Job Board HackerNoon Job Board DevOps Engineer, SAP, Bellevue Sap is seeking a DevOps Engineer to be responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of customer environments in Cloud of respective product lines, and to ensure delivery is according to defined Service Level Agreements. DevOps Engineer DevOps Engineer You’ll also contribute to the development of automated solutions for anomaly detection and incident auto-remediation, monitor and measure systems for performance, load and capacity planning, and ensure smooth operations and maximize uptime. To be considered you’ll need at least two years’ experience in Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, Ansible, Python and BASH among others. Find out more here. Find out more here . Find out more here Find out more here Senior Software Engineer - DevOps, Roku, San Jose, CA Offering a sizable salary, though for California-only, Roku is hiring for a Senior Software Engineer with exceptional DevOps skills. Responsibilities include automation and scaling of Big Data and Analytics tech stacks on Cloud infrastructure, building CI/CD pipelines, setting up monitoring and alerting for production infrastructure, and keeping its tech stacks up to date. Senior Software Engineer Senior Software Engineer With eligibility for health insurance, equity awards, life insurance, disability benefits, parental leave, wellness benefits, and paid time off, this role requires four years of experience in DevOps and/or reliability engineering. Read more here. Read more here . Read more here Read more here Senior Staff DevOps Engineer, FanDuel, Atlanta Play a pivotal role in automating FanDuel Group’s cloud infrastructure and applications by collaborating to software engineers, release engineers and other cross-functional teams as a Senior Staff DevOps Engineer . The successful applicant will drive key initiatives by developing, planning, and implementing strategies across multiple cross-functional areas that align with its business objectives. Senior Staff DevOps Engineer Senior Staff DevOps Engineer While the primary focus is on AWS, other cloud platforms may also be required, so showcasing a commitment to professional development in cloud tech is important. Progressively, no educational requirements are listed, but a list of desired experiences and skills are. See requirements here. See requirements here . See requirements here See requirements here By Amanda Kavanagh By Amanda Kavanagh Want a great new tech role? Discover it on the HackerNoon Job Board right now Want a great new tech role? Discover it on the HackerNoon Job Board right now Want a great new tech role? Discover it on the HackerNoon Job Board right now Want a great new tech role? Discover it on the HackerNoon Job Board right now

How AI’s Bias Problem Can Affect Your Next Job Application

কিভাবে AI এর পক্ষপাতের সমস্যা আপনার পরবর্তী চাকরির আবেদনকে প্রভাবিত করতে পারে

Wie sich das Voreingenommenheitsproblem der KI auf Ihre nächste Bewerbung auswirken kann

Cómo el problema del sesgo de la IA puede afectar su próxima solicitud de empleo

Comment le problème de biais de l’IA peut affecter votre prochaine candidature

एआई की पूर्वाग्रह समस्या आपके अगले नौकरी आवेदन को कैसे प्रभावित कर सकती है

AI の偏見問題が次の就職活動に及ぼす影響

AI의 편견 문제가 다음 입사 지원에 어떤 영향을 미칠 수 있습니까?

Como o problema de preconceito da IA pode afetar sua próxima candidatura a emprego

Как проблема предвзятости ИИ может повлиять на ваше следующее заявление о приеме на работу

Yapay Zekanın Önyargı Sorunu Bir Sonraki İş Başvurunuzu Nasıl Etkileyebilir?

Vấn đề thiên vị của AI có thể ảnh hưởng đến đơn xin việc tiếp theo của bạn như thế nào

人工智能的偏见问题会如何影响你的下一份工作申请

This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license.
Authors:
(1) D.Sinclair, Imense Ltd, and email: david@imense.com;
(2) W.T.Pye, Warwick University, and email:  willempye@gmail.com. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction
Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt
PCA analysis of the Emotion of Amazon reviews
Future Work
Conclusions
Acknowledgments and References 2. Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt In this work we used Facebook’s open source LlaMa2 7 billion weight LLM as the core engine [2]. It was necessary to use a LLM that allowed access to raw token probabilities after a prompt. The model ran on a Mac Studio with 32 gigabytes of RAM. With this combination of hardware and model it took 2 minutes to compute the probabilities of the emotion descriptors in the emotion dictionary given below. 2.1. The Emotion Dictionary The English language is blessed with many words and an extensive literature providing examples of the usage of these words in appropriate contexts. For the purposes of LLMs, it is the context of a word that conveys it’s meaning. A reader will infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word through the context they find the word used in, provided they understand the context. As an example, ‘The shotgun discombobulated the rabbit.’ shows how meaning can be moderated by context. The context created by a tail prompt will favour an associated class of words. For the experiment detailed in this paper the following tail prompt was used to elicit emotion descriptors, ’Reading this makes me feel’. It is likely that specific emotion eliciting tail prompts will favour specific sub classes of descriptor but studying this is beyond the scope of this paper The following words were chosen to provide a broad sample of emotion descriptors. acceptance, admiration, adoration, affection, afraid, agitation, agony, aggressive, alarm, alarmed, alienation, amazement, ambivalence, amusement, anger, anguish, annoyed anticipating, anxious, apathy, apprehension, arrogant, assertive, astonished, attentiveness, attraction, aversion, awe, baffled, bewildered, bitter, bitter sweetness, bliss, bored, brazen, brooding, calm, carefree, careless, caring, charity, cheeky, cheerfulness, claustrophobic, coercive, comfortable, confident, confusion, contempt, content, courage, cowardly, cruelty, curiosity, cynicism, dazed, dejection, delighted, demoralized, depressed, desire, despair, determined, disappointment, disbelief, discombobulated, discomfort, discontentment, disgruntled, disgust, disheartened, dislike, dismay, disoriented, dispirited, displeasure, distraction, distress, disturbed, dominant, doubt, dread, driven, dumbstruck, eagerness, ecstasy, elation, embarrassment, empathy, enchanted, enjoyment, enlightened, ennui, enthusiasm, envy, epiphany, euphoria, exasperated, excitement, expectancy, fascination, fear, flakey, focused, fondness, friendliness, fright, frustrated, fury, glee, gloomy, glumness, gratitude, greed, grief, grouchiness, grumpiness, guilt, happiness, hate, hatred, helpless, homesickness, hope, hopeless, horrified, hospitable, humiliation, humility, hurt, hysteria, idleness, impatient, indifference, indignant, infatuation, infuriated, insecurity, insightful, insulted, interest, intrigued, irritated, isolated, jealousy, joviality, joy, jubilation, kind, lazy, liking, loathing, lonely, longing, loopy, love, lust, mad, melancholy, miserable, miserliness, mixed up, modesty, moody, mortified, mystified, nasty, nauseated, negative, neglect, nervous, nostalgic, numb, obstinate, offended, optimistic, outrage, overwhelmed, panicked, paranoid, passion, patience, pensiveness, perplexed, persevering, pessimism, pity, pleased, pleasure, politeness, positive, possessive, powerless, pride, puzzled, rage, rash, rattled, regret, rejected, relaxed, relieved, reluctant, remorse, resentment, resignation, restlessness, revulsion, ruthless, sadness, satisfaction, scared, schadenfreude, scorn, self-caring, self-compassionate, self-confident, self-conscious, self-critical, self-loathing, self-motivated, self-pity, self-respecting, self-understanding, sentimentality, serenity, shame, shameless, shocked, smug, sorrow, spite, stressed, strong, stubborn, stuck, submissive, suffering, sullenness, surprise, suspense, suspicious, sympathy, tenderness, tension, terror, thankfulness, thrilled, tired, tolerance, torment, triumphant, troubled, trust, uncertainty, undermined, uneasiness, unhappy, unnerved, unsettled, unsure, upset, vengeful, vicious, vigilance, vulnerable, weak, woe, worried, worthy, wrath. This set of words is not intended to be complete or definitive in any way. Using the tail prompt without restricting the return to emotion descriptors elicits general waffle responses that are not straightforward to extract sentiment form. 2.1.1. Estimating the emotion probability vector LlaMa2 [2] has been released in such a way as to allow developers to access estimated token weights returned in response to a prompt. LlaMa2 has an internal vocabulary size of roughly 30,000 tokens. This means that when LlaMa 2 estimates the probability of the next token in a sequence the probability vector will have 30,000 elements. Some of the words in the emotion descriptor list are made up of more than one token in which case forward conditional probabilities are used. Figure 2.1.1 shows the scaled probability distribution over words from the emotion dictionary elicited by the tail prompt for the Amazon review text, ‘I read a lot of negative reviews about the Fitbit inspire 2, I took a chance and hoped the one I ordered would be one of the great ones that worked. Unfortunately that was not the case. I unpacked it, charged it, downloaded the app. I took a walk with it on before the sun went down. I have the Google Fit app on my phone that tracks my steps also. The phone was in my jeans pocket. When I got home I compared the two, Google Fit said 4,458 steps, Fitbit said 1,168. Apparently Fitbit works with wrist motion which I don’t have while pushing a walker around the neighborhood. I downloaded the manual and noticed you can put it on a clip (that wasn’t included). That would work for me. So I started to scroll through the different features except I couldn’t scroll through all of them. While scrolling I must have turned on the stopwatch. I couldn’t turn it off. Then I couldn’t scroll through anything except water lock feature. I had to turn on the water lock to get back to the stopwatch. Then the side buttons stopped working. I had it a total of 5 hours. I packed it up and started the Amazon return. I did get a full refund. Very disappointing.’ The text from 50 Amazon reviews of a book was borrowed from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WM9UK2. The reviews were for the most part favourable. Example review texts include: ‘The Children of H´urin is a great tragedy mixed with grace. The genealogical records at the beginning may be difficult to get through, but the story very quickly gains speed. I only gave the story four stars because of the difficulty of the first few chapters, much like Matthew’s genealogy of Christ at the beginning of his gospel. Although such records are important in both they are nonetheless difficult to get through. I still definitely would recommend this book, though, as it depicts the horrible effects of evil powers on good men and women, and yet, we must continue to resist evil no matter the tragic end. It is very telling that in Tolkien’s world, at the end of days when Morgoth returns, that it is T´urin, a man, who ends him once and for all. Those whom Satan most destroys in this life are they who will ultimately deal his death blow, as the Revelation says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their ‘martyria,’ [witness, testimony],” those like T´urin, or in Scripture, those like Job.’ Figure 2.1.2 shows the emotion vectors for all 50 processed reviews. The 10 most probable emotions experienced from purchasing the product were: depressed, kind, nostalgic, tired, hopeless, lonely, hope, calm, lazy, confident. This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Authors: (1) D.Sinclair, Imense Ltd, and email: david@imense.com; (2) W.T.Pye, Warwick University, and email:  willempye@gmail.com. This paper is available on arxiv under CC 4.0 license. Authors: Authors: (1) D.Sinclair, Imense Ltd, and email: david@imense.com; (2) W.T.Pye, Warwick University, and email:  willempye@gmail.com. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt PCA analysis of the Emotion of Amazon reviews Future Work Conclusions Acknowledgments and References Abstract and Introduction Abstract and Introduction Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt PCA analysis of the Emotion of Amazon reviews PCA analysis of the Emotion of Amazon reviews Future Work Future Work Conclusions Conclusions Acknowledgments and References Acknowledgments and References 2. Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt In this work we used Facebook’s open source LlaMa2 7 billion weight LLM as the core engine [2]. It was necessary to use a LLM that allowed access to raw token probabilities after a prompt. The model ran on a Mac Studio with 32 gigabytes of RAM. With this combination of hardware and model it took 2 minutes to compute the probabilities of the emotion descriptors in the emotion dictionary given below. 2.1. The Emotion Dictionary The English language is blessed with many words and an extensive literature providing examples of the usage of these words in appropriate contexts. For the purposes of LLMs, it is the context of a word that conveys it’s meaning. A reader will infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word through the context they find the word used in, provided they understand the context. As an example, ‘The shotgun discombobulated the rabbit.’ shows how meaning can be moderated by context. The context created by a tail prompt will favour an associated class of words. For the experiment detailed in this paper the following tail prompt was used to elicit emotion descriptors, ’Reading this makes me feel’. It is likely that specific emotion eliciting tail prompts will favour specific sub classes of descriptor but studying this is beyond the scope of this paper The following words were chosen to provide a broad sample of emotion descriptors. acceptance, admiration, adoration, affection, afraid, agitation, agony, aggressive, alarm, alarmed, alienation, amazement, ambivalence, amusement, anger, anguish, annoyed anticipating, anxious, apathy, apprehension, arrogant, assertive, astonished, attentiveness, attraction, aversion, awe, baffled, bewildered, bitter, bitter sweetness, bliss, bored, brazen, brooding, calm, carefree, careless, caring, charity, cheeky, cheerfulness, claustrophobic, coercive, comfortable, confident, confusion, contempt, content, courage, cowardly, cruelty, curiosity, cynicism, dazed, dejection, delighted, demoralized, depressed, desire, despair, determined, disappointment, disbelief, discombobulated, discomfort, discontentment, disgruntled, disgust, disheartened, dislike, dismay, disoriented, dispirited, displeasure, distraction, distress, disturbed, dominant, doubt, dread, driven, dumbstruck, eagerness, ecstasy, elation, embarrassment, empathy, enchanted, enjoyment, enlightened, ennui, enthusiasm, envy, epiphany, euphoria, exasperated, excitement, expectancy, fascination, fear, flakey, focused, fondness, friendliness, fright, frustrated, fury, glee, gloomy, glumness, gratitude, greed, grief, grouchiness, grumpiness, guilt, happiness, hate, hatred, helpless, homesickness, hope, hopeless, horrified, hospitable, humiliation, humility, hurt, hysteria, idleness, impatient, indifference, indignant, infatuation, infuriated, insecurity, insightful, insulted, interest, intrigued, irritated, isolated, jealousy, joviality, joy, jubilation, kind, lazy, liking, loathing, lonely, longing, loopy, love, lust, mad, melancholy, miserable, miserliness, mixed up, modesty, moody, mortified, mystified, nasty, nauseated, negative, neglect, nervous, nostalgic, numb, obstinate, offended, optimistic, outrage, overwhelmed, panicked, paranoid, passion, patience, pensiveness, perplexed, persevering, pessimism, pity, pleased, pleasure, politeness, positive, possessive, powerless, pride, puzzled, rage, rash, rattled, regret, rejected, relaxed, relieved, reluctant, remorse, resentment, resignation, restlessness, revulsion, ruthless, sadness, satisfaction, scared, schadenfreude, scorn, self-caring, self-compassionate, self-confident, self-conscious, self-critical, self-loathing, self-motivated, self-pity, self-respecting, self-understanding, sentimentality, serenity, shame, shameless, shocked, smug, sorrow, spite, stressed, strong, stubborn, stuck, submissive, suffering, sullenness, surprise, suspense, suspicious, sympathy, tenderness, tension, terror, thankfulness, thrilled, tired, tolerance, torment, triumphant, troubled, trust, uncertainty, undermined, uneasiness, unhappy, unnerved, unsettled, unsure, upset, vengeful, vicious, vigilance, vulnerable, weak, woe, worried, worthy, wrath. This set of words is not intended to be complete or definitive in any way. Using the tail prompt without restricting the return to emotion descriptors elicits general waffle responses that are not straightforward to extract sentiment form. 2.1.1. Estimating the emotion probability vector LlaMa2 [2] has been released in such a way as to allow developers to access estimated token weights returned in response to a prompt. LlaMa2 has an internal vocabulary size of roughly 30,000 tokens. This means that when LlaMa 2 estimates the probability of the next token in a sequence the probability vector will have 30,000 elements. Some of the words in the emotion descriptor list are made up of more than one token in which case forward conditional probabilities are used. Figure 2.1.1 shows the scaled probability distribution over words from the emotion dictionary elicited by the tail prompt for the Amazon review text, ‘I read a lot of negative reviews about the Fitbit inspire 2, I took a chance and hoped the one I ordered would be one of the great ones that worked. Unfortunately that was not the case. I unpacked it, charged it, downloaded the app. I took a walk with it on before the sun went down. I have the Google Fit app on my phone that tracks my steps also. The phone was in my jeans pocket. When I got home I compared the two, Google Fit said 4,458 steps, Fitbit said 1,168. Apparently Fitbit works with wrist motion which I don’t have while pushing a walker around the neighborhood. I downloaded the manual and noticed you can put it on a clip (that wasn’t included). That would work for me. So I started to scroll through the different features except I couldn’t scroll through all of them. While scrolling I must have turned on the stopwatch. I couldn’t turn it off. Then I couldn’t scroll through anything except water lock feature. I had to turn on the water lock to get back to the stopwatch. Then the side buttons stopped working. I had it a total of 5 hours. I packed it up and started the Amazon return. I did get a full refund. Very disappointing.’ ‘I read a lot of negative reviews about the Fitbit inspire 2, I took a chance and hoped the one I ordered would be one of the great ones that worked. Unfortunately that was not the case. I unpacked it, charged it, downloaded the app. I took a walk with it on before the sun went down. I have the Google Fit app on my phone that tracks my steps also. The phone was in my jeans pocket. When I got home I compared the two, Google Fit said 4,458 steps, Fitbit said 1,168. Apparently Fitbit works with wrist motion which I don’t have while pushing a walker around the neighborhood. I downloaded the manual and noticed you can put it on a clip (that wasn’t included). That would work for me. So I started to scroll through the different features except I couldn’t scroll through all of them. While scrolling I must have turned on the stopwatch. I couldn’t turn it off. Then I couldn’t scroll through anything except water lock feature. I had to turn on the water lock to get back to the stopwatch. Then the side buttons stopped working. I had it a total of 5 hours. I packed it up and started the Amazon return. I did get a full refund. Very disappointing.’ The text from 50 Amazon reviews of a book was borrowed from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WM9UK2. The reviews were for the most part favourable. Example review texts include: ‘The Children of H´urin is a great tragedy mixed with grace. The genealogical records at the beginning may be difficult to get through, but the story very quickly gains speed. I only gave the story four stars because of the difficulty of the first few chapters, much like Matthew’s genealogy of Christ at the beginning of his gospel. Although such records are important in both they are nonetheless difficult to get through. I still definitely would recommend this book, though, as it depicts the horrible effects of evil powers on good men and women, and yet, we must continue to resist evil no matter the tragic end. It is very telling that in Tolkien’s world, at the end of days when Morgoth returns, that it is T´urin, a man, who ends him once and for all. Those whom Satan most destroys in this life are they who will ultimately deal his death blow, as the Revelation says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their ‘martyria,’ [witness, testimony],” those like T´urin, or in Scripture, those like Job.’ ‘The Children of H´urin is a great tragedy mixed with grace. The genealogical records at the beginning may be difficult to get through, but the story very quickly gains speed. I only gave the story four stars because of the difficulty of the first few chapters, much like Matthew’s genealogy of Christ at the beginning of his gospel. Although such records are important in both they are nonetheless difficult to get through. I still definitely would recommend this book, though, as it depicts the horrible effects of evil powers on good men and women, and yet, we must continue to resist evil no matter the tragic end. It is very telling that in Tolkien’s world, at the end of days when Morgoth returns, that it is T´urin, a man, who ends him once and for all. Those whom Satan most destroys in this life are they who will ultimately deal his death blow, as the Revelation says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their ‘martyria,’ [witness, testimony],” those like T´urin, or in Scripture, those like Job.’ Figure 2.1.2 shows the emotion vectors for all 50 processed reviews. The 10 most probable emotions experienced from purchasing the product were: depressed, kind, nostalgic, tired, hopeless, lonely, hope, calm, lazy, confident.

Estimate Emotion Probability Vectors: Interrogating the LLM with an Emotion Eliciting Tail Prompt

আবেগ সম্ভাবনা ভেক্টর অনুমান করুন: একটি আবেগ এলিসিটিং টেইল প্রম্পটের সাথে এলএলএমকে জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ করা

Schätzen Sie Wahrscheinlichkeitsvektoren für Emotionen: Abfragen des LLM mit einem Emotionen hervorrufenden Tail Prompt

Estimar vectores de probabilidad de emociones: interrogar al LLM con un mensaje de cola que provoca emociones

Estimer les vecteurs de probabilité d'émotion : interroger le LLM avec une invite de queue suscitant des émotions

भावना संभाव्यता सदिशों का अनुमान लगाना: भावना उद्घाटित करने वाले टेल प्रॉम्प्ट के साथ LLM से पूछताछ करना

感情確率ベクトルの推定: 感情を喚起するテールプロンプトによる LLM の調査

감정 확률 벡터 추정: 감정 유도 꼬리 프롬프트로 LLM 조사

Estimar vetores de probabilidade de emoção: interrogando o LLM com um prompt de cauda que provoca emoção

Оценка векторов вероятности эмоций: опрос LLM с помощью хвостовой подсказки, вызывающей эмоции

Duygu Olasılığı Vektörlerini Tahmin Edin: Yüksek Lisans'ı Duygu Ortaya Çıkaran Kuyruk İstemi ile Sorgulamak

Ước tính các vectơ xác suất cảm xúc: Thẩm vấn LLM bằng lời nhắc gợi ý cảm xúc

估计情绪概率向量：用引发情绪的尾部提示询问法学硕士

As I sat behind my desk, preparing for my first penetration test, a wave of sickness and nerves came over me. This was what I had been training for, but the reality of facing a real company's defenses and a vigilant Security Operations Center (SOC) team was troubling. Unlike the controlled environment of Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, the consequences of one wrong move felt all too real. The possibility of triggering a DDoS attack due to incorrect settings or compromising an asset outside the designated scope of work weighed heavily on my mind. Taking a moment to collect myself, I took a breath, closed my eyes, and reached for the only remedy I trusted: a cup of Death Wish coffee. Little did I know its effects, which promptly sent me sprinting to the bathroom. After washing my hands and composing myself, I returned to my desk, and with trembling fingers, I initiated my very first penetration test. I must confess that when the penetration test was over, it was everything that I hoped it would be and everything I wasn’t prepared for. During the course of being a newbie pen tester, the stress made me lose weight, grind my teeth at night and broke me down mentally. It was something I was not prepared for. The vast amount of knowledge that was necessary, as well as the reports at the end of the pen test, is that, yes, you have to write reports about what you accomplished during the pen test. They also have to be a certain format and make sense to C suite executives who only know how to answer emails and are not tech savvy. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed doing the work, but the beginning was difficult. That is why I am writing to you today. I want to show you what it takes to be a pen tester before you start your journey. So please sit down, relax, and grab some coffee. Hopefully, it's not Death Wish. The journey that began with my wife’s laptop. To guide you on the path of becoming a pen tester, I'll share my journey and the events that followed. It all started with my decision to conduct pen testing activities at home. I needed hands-on experience and familiarity with pen testing tools, so when my wife offered me her old laptop, I saw it as an opportunity. Little did I know, there was much more to it than just having the hardware. I needed pen test software, and after hearing about Kali Linux, I imagined the laptop with the latest version and felt like a real pen tester. However, that feeling was short-lived. After participating in Capture The Flag competitions and experimenting with exploitable virtual machines, my confidence in pen testing grew. I became adept at wielding the tools and speaking the language of the trade. I invested in Hak5 devices, read numerous books, purchased lock picks, and even conducted Phishing campaigns at work. I went as far as buying a black hoodie just to immerse myself in the role. It all felt real to me at the time. Then, one day, I received the phone call I had been eagerly anticipating—the opportunity to become a pen tester, specifically the sole pen tester for company X. Company X and Y I broke. Working with company X had been a long-standing dream of mine ever since attending their conference and being inspired by the talks from seasoned pen testers. Joining company X was a dream come true—an opportunity to not only be part of the company but also to speak at their conferences. I envisioned myself as the go-to person for pen testing expertise. However, my first pen test experience felt like my first day out of the womb, a lot of flailing around and crying. Despite all the training I had undergone, nothing had prepared me for the reality of a live pen test. I was clueless about network ranges and how DNS worked. In my early attempts, I even accidentally launched a DDOS attack on a client because I overlooked the settings in the vulnerability scanner. Alerts were triggered whenever I scanned the network with NMAP or updated tools. The beginning was rough, with pen tests stacking up every week. Writing reports for concluded pen tests left me feeling inadequate as if clients viewed me as a joke. It's worth noting that when I was hired, I only held a high school diploma and beginner-level IT certifications, with no prior pen testing experience. What saved me was my passion for the field and my ability to learn rapidly. As time passed, Weight loss and nightly teeth grinding became regular occurrences. You could find me by the riverside park praying that another job became available because I felt like giving up. Amidst the chaos, the world shut down due to COVID-19, and I found myself expecting a baby while navigating the complexities of homeownership. The pressure mounted as pen tests continued, and though I improved, it wasn't at the level I had hoped for. I seldom obtained domain admin credentials or compromised assets in a manner that wowed the clients. Often, the assets in scope had numerous vulnerabilities, making compromise expected. The situation was exacerbated by the necessity of report writing. If you believe that pen testing is solely about flaunting successful exploits, you're missing the point. It's about meticulous reporting and subsequent remediation. Clients need to understand the actions taken and the measures required to mitigate potential threats. While this may sound straightforward to some, I hadn't written a report since high school—in the '90s. I am here to report a crime…it’s your report. After completing the pen tests, the next hurdle was crafting an executive report for C-suite level management, who often lacked understanding of the technical information involved. Following the company's format, I had to meticulously break down findings from critical to high and include mediums and lows. However, lacking experience in report writing, it took me a considerable amount of time to get it right. More often than not, reports were returned for further editing, causing delays and frustration. The next phase involved sending the report to the client for review. This often led to back-and-forth exchanges, with clients requesting retests on certain findings and subsequent edits to the report. This iterative process added to the already demanding workload of reporting. With the stress of Covid and the chaotic state of the world, I eventually made the decision to transition to a more stable job. Though I look back on my pen testing days with fondness and a sense of accomplishment, I can't help but wish for a different outcome. Working alongside incredibly intelligent individuals in the field was an invaluable experience. However, life doesn't come with a handbook, and sometimes you have to navigate your own path. Pen to paper. It’s time to be a pen tester. Thank you for listening to my story. It’s not meant to sway you from pen testing but to help you with my experience and a few rules to help you. I leave you with words of wisdom that will guide you when you are ready to start training to be a pen tester. Rule 1.) Enjoy life outside of work: Finding joy and balance outside of work is crucial for resilience during challenging times. Rule 2:) Learn technical writing skills: Developing the ability to effectively communicate findings and recommendations to executives is essential for impactful reporting. Rule 3.) Take an effective listening course: Enhancing communication skills, particularly listening, can significantly improve interactions with clients and colleagues. The listening institute is a great place to start. “Tell Robert I say hello..” Rule 4.) Learn basic networking: Understanding fundamental networking concepts like DNS and different network ranges is essential for troubleshooting and problem-solving. Rule 5.) Build a lab at home: Creating a safe environment for testing tools and experimenting with techniques is invaluable for hands-on learning. Rule 6.) Continuously learn: Stay hungry for knowledge by reading books, attending conferences, listening to podcasts, and engaging with technical communities. Rule 7.) Learn to fail: Embrace failures as opportunities for growth and learning, and don't let setbacks discourage you. Effective leaders support their teams through failures. Rule 8.) Get certified: Investing in certifications such as ethical hacker courses or HTB certifications can enhance your skills and credibility in the field. Rule 9.) Master different operating systems: Stay versatile by gaining proficiency in various operating systems, with a focus on Linux, which is widely used in penetration testing. Rule 10.) Communicate openly: Foster strong relationships with your boss and colleagues, and don't hesitate to seek support or express concerns when needed. Thank you for listening, and I hope this story helps pave the way for pen testing. Now go forth and PWN!!!

So, You Want to be a Pen-Tester?

PS: This story was written in my indigenous language, Pidgin English, a variant of English. I hope you enjoy it. -All misfortune ends up as stories eventually For the longest time, I wanted to run. When you read this, I hope you understand why I did what I did. And you won’t curse me, too. When I was young, I fell in love with various kinds of food. I hated wastage, so I ate whatever I came across, full or not. They called me a glutton and many unflattering names, but my thick hide remained unruffled. Different foods meant the world to me until I found spaghetti. It’s not what you think, no. It’s beguiling and strips you of common sense. The first time I became addicted to spaghetti, the world tilted on its axis. I was floating. Let’s start at the very day my world came unraveled. “Every time carbohydrate. You go dey chop like baby pig, yet e no dey show for your body. Pankere wọ gown.” Mama said when she walked up to me, a laundry basket under her arms with rolls of fat. “Sorry, mama,” I said, slowing down my food. The apartment is tiny and meant to be stuffy, but Mama makes it work somehow. “My pikin, eat o. But eat a balanced diet, eh? I no wan make you get kwashiorkor. E no look good for body. Na so so head and belle remain. You need fat, even if na small. I go buy milk for you when I come back from the market. That milk, wetin dem dey call am again?” Her memory was sometimes glitchy, and I always came to her aid. “Na Complan.” “Ehn ehn, Complan. Na, im be that. You need am make you add flesh for your body.” But what is a twelve-year-old supposed to know about such? Mama goes to do the laundry, and I sit in front of the television, stomach rumbling. “Open the door, person dey knock,” Mama said from the backyard. Her ears are sharper than the talons of a predator on most days. “Nnena, how are you?” A woman in Mama’s size sizes me up, tying her wrapper correctly. “Fine, ma.” I was courteous even though I’d never seen her before. “Your mama no dey?” She asked, trying to peek inside the house. I hold the door firmly, dissuading her from such an act. “She dey backyard,” I responded, not budging an inch. Mama has told me many times not to let strangers in. No matter how they seem. “Okay, I just say make I greet. Before I forget, you fit to give her this? Tell am say na the new product wey come out.” She handed me a sealed product, and my eyes widened when I spotted the name. It was spaghetti. “Who be that?” Mama comes into the room, drying her hands on her wrapper. “I no know o. She just dropped this thing.” I pointed, and Mama’s eyes relaxed. “Ah, na Mama Nedu na. You no know her? She dey sell spaghetti. She say she go drop by.” I heave a breath of relief, staring at the pack of spaghetti, daring me to move forward. I cooked it the next day. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it. It finished a little too fast, and I stared disappointed at my empty plate, licked until it shone like the back of Nnamdi’s head. We all laughed when he came to school with a shaved head, and I never forgot ever since. I cooked it again. I was spending the cash I’d been saving for the festivities of Christmas. It finished—all 3,450 naira of it. The withdrawal symptoms started innocently enough when I hallucinated a plate of spaghetti. I reached for it, but it wasn’t there anymore. I hiss at the eba, not knowing what to do. I ate rice that night. And my life changed forever. I could feel a bubbling sensation in my stomach, as though my entrails were being pulled out of my body, acid searing through my stomach’s lining. “Jesus, wetin? Talk to me! My pikin ooo, make una help me o.” Mama rushed me into her arms, cradling my head with such fondness. I could feel my ribs digging into me. “Wetin happen?” Papa Njedika was the first to answer the call, his wife a few feet behind him. “She just begin to convulse. Her body temperature just dey rise. I no know wetin to do. My God oo, make una come o.” And Mama slips into hysteria again. “Make we carry her go hospital; we go figure out the bills later.” Mama nods, letting Papa Njedika remove me from her grasp. I could see the agony create lines on her face. But I was unconscious. Outside my body, watching me. And fear wears me like a sweater. I was dead. ~~ Being dead didn’t feel terrible, until I touched a lone thread. A thread of white and red was before me, and the non-corporeal world filled up my vision. The chairs were in their first form; a tree stood where all the chairs were, and I found myself standing in a forest. Dense. Silent. Alive. The trees encompass the world, stretching forth into eternity. Whichever way I turned, a forest greeted me. The two threads were on the ground, and I knew I couldn’t touch more than one. It was a choice. I was making a choice. I picked the red. Cliché, but it worked. I was carried into the air as though I weighed less than a feather, and I kept rising until I was above the clouds. And the world was before me. I moved, wondering what would happen if I fell from such a stupendous height. Was there a way to die a second death? I didn’t want to find out. My eyesight had no barriers; I could see the entire world simultaneously. “Child of the Stars, what are you doing here?” I heard a voice from the world, and my eyes almost rolled to the back of my head. “I think I died,” I say, turning 360 to see if I could catch a glimpse of the speaker—no such luck. “Yes, but this isn’t your path to follow. Why did you choose this path?” The voice asked again. I’d already gotten over my fear, and I was feeling irritated instead. “Is there meant to be a tutorial or something? Because I didn’t receive one.” The voice chuckled—light and all-encompassing. “Okay, Child of the Stars. Look no further. Remember who you are.” The voice said with a tone of finality and faded out of existence. Curious. After waiting for a few minutes, I got bored and began to touch the trees around me. They felt like they had a soul, as though the world stole their individuality. “What are you trying to tell me?” I whisper, cradling its bark. A purring sound reverberated around me as though waking the world from its slumber. One by one, the trees made groaning sounds, moving as one. “What’s going on?” I screamed, and they turned to me suddenly. “Child of the Stars, you’ve awoken us from our slumber. We have seen what humans have done, and we rise. No longer playthings, no longer useless. Thank you for waking the Soul of the World. Goodbye, we won’t see you again.” The world faded to black, and I opened my eyes groggily, staring at my mother's worried face. “What happened?” I asked, the mother of all headaches deciding to visit me. “My pikin don wake!” Mama screams, hugging me. Papa Njedika and his wife run into the room, looking at me with worry creasing their foreheads. The hospital waiting room seemed to be full of people. People I didn’t even know. “You’re fine now,” Mama said, but I wondered. Three days after I got home, missiles were launched into China and the US, even though there was a non-aggression pact between the World Powers. “The missiles moved like they had a mind of their own.” The president of the US made that statement, looking stupid on live television. But when Switzerland launched a missile, the world began to listen. A neutral country was calling for war. It was darker than people thought. I needed to get back to the non-corporeal world; I needed to right my wrongs. So, I ate spaghetti until I almost passed out. Nothing. I starved myself for days on end, my body worse than it was before. Nothing still. My body was refusing to die. When I dreamt, I saw the Soul of the World standing before me, eyes filled with malice. It was no longer a giant mass of trees; it was a human with eyes as deep as the universe. No, not a figure of speech. The universe was its eyeballs. “Why do you worry, Child of the Stars? They deserve it.” It says, looking down on me with contempt. “But, I’m part of the world too.” I reasoned, but the look it leveled me with was enough to incinerate. “And?” There was no remorse in its voice. “Stop, please,” I beg. “Why should I? You still use plates: books, wood. You take from us and give nothing in return. No homage, no love. You’re human, too. Born in this age, how can you be anything else? Goodbye. We won’t meet again.” “No. We will.” I stared at the Soul of the World, pleading. It smiled briefly and disappeared. “What have I done?” I asked, feeling the weight settle over my soul. “I don’t know, what have you done?” I heard a cheery voice, the same one from before. “How do I fix this?” I scream at the void, my voice not getting past two feet in front of me. “You can’t. This was your purpose all along. I like the bit with spaghetti, though I found it funny. But now, you must wake. Even stars have to face what it means to fall.” The world shattered, and I woke up with tears in my eyes. My mother was beside me, looking older than I’d ever seen her. She had grey hair. “Mama?” I asked, turning around to be sure I was in the right place. Everything looked so unfamiliar. Mama woke up with a start. She saw me and fainted. People rushed into the room, and they ran out when they saw me awake. “What’s happening?” I didn’t know whether to cry or be worried. Papa Njedika was the only person brave enough to talk to me. He approached me and hesitated but placed his hand on my shoulder. “We’re the last of Nigeria. And this is 2025. The Third World War.” It was my turn to faint. But I didn’t. I’d slept for ten years. And the world had ended. All because of spaghetti.

Spaghetti 

So, this is absolutely just another example of me playing around too much, but I had to share. As I mentioned in my yesterday, Google's AI Studio now supports uploading files and working with them in your prompt. post Today, I decided to give the Chat interface a try as I hadn't yet played with it. On a whim, I googled "dungeons and dragons rules PDF" and... well, you won't believe what happened next. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) First off, the most important thing to note if you want to test with PDFs, ensure that they are OCRed. Right now, AI Studio does not handle that well, but it should be corrected in the future. My Google search turned up the PDF here: , and I confirmed it was properly OCRed with a very scientific test by trying to select a few words. https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf Note that it's from 2018 and probably a bit out of date, but I figured it was good enough. I uploaded the PDF to Gemini and ensured I was using Gemini 1.5. This is important as the size of the PDF (180 pages) means a rather large token size. The UI reports this nicely: For my first test, I simply asked, "What are the attributes of a player character?" Here's what I got: In Dungeons & Dragons, player characters (PCs) are defined by several key attributes: Race: This determines your character's physical characteristics, ancestry, and innate abilities. Examples include humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, dragonborns, tieflings, etc. Each race has unique traits that affect gameplay. Class: This represents your character's chosen profession and determines their skills, abilities, and progression path. Examples include fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric, bard, etc. Each class has unique features and abilities that define their role in the party. Ability Scores: These six scores represent your character's core physical and mental capabilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They influence almost every action your character takes, from attacking and defending to interacting with the world and casting spells. Skills: These represent specific areas of expertise your character has developed through training or experience. Examples include Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Perception, Persuasion, Arcana, etc. Skills are tied to ability scores and determine your character's success in various tasks. Background: This details your character's history and past experiences before becoming an adventurer. Examples include soldier, criminal, noble, sage, etc. Backgrounds provide additional skills, proficiencies, and roleplaying hooks. Equipment: This includes weapons, armor, tools, and other items your character carries. Equipment affects your character's capabilities in combat and exploration. Personality and Alignment: These define your character's moral compass, beliefs, and behavior. Alignment is a combination of two factors: morality (good, evil, or neutral) and attitude towards society and order (lawful, chaotic, or neutral). Backstory: This is the narrative of your character's life before the game begins, including their motivations, goals, and relationships. A well-developed backstory adds depth and helps you roleplay your character. These attributes work together to create a unique and well-rounded character that you can roleplay and guide through adventures in the D&D world. I'm pretty rusty in D&D, but that surely seems right! (When I shared this in a chat related to Gemini, William Ito skimmed it and said it looks correct for that era - so, I'm taking that as another sign it worked well.) I then asked, "What races are available to player characters?" The most common player character races in Dungeons & Dragons are: Humans: Adaptable and versatile, with no major strengths or weaknesses. Elves: Graceful and long-lived, with a natural affinity for magic and a resistance to charm effects. Subraces include High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves (Drow). Dwarves: Stout and hardy, with a resistance to magic and poison, and proficiency in combat and craftsmanship. Subraces include Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves. Halflings: Nimble and small, with a natural ability to hide and a resistance to fear. Subraces include Lightfoot Halflings and Stout Halflings. The Player's Handbook also introduces several less common races, including: Dragonborn: Proud and draconic humanoids with scales and the ability to breathe fire. Tieflings: Demonic descendants with a natural affinity for magic and resistance to fire. Gnomes: Inventive and curious small creatures with a natural ability to tinker and a resistance to magic. Half-elves: Combining human and elven traits, they are versatile and have a resistance to charm effects. Half-orcs: Combining human and orc traits, they are strong and fierce with a resistance to being knocked unconscious. Additionally, some campaign settings and sourcebooks introduce even more exotic races, such as Aasimar, Firbolg, Goliath, Aarakocra, Genasi, and many others. The availability of these races depends on your Dungeon Master and the specific campaign setting you are playing in. Remember, the most important factor in choosing a race is to pick one that excites you and fits the character concept you have in mind. I have absolutely no clue if those exotic races exist, but I did a quick search on Aasimar, and it looks like it certainly does: Aasimar Alright, now, at this point, I was impressed. But I thought - why not push my luck? "Given the rules to create a character, create one with all the required characters and give it a name" And holy crap - Gemini delivered! Character Name: Lyra Swiftfoot Race: Lightfoot Halfling Class: Rogue (Thief) Background: Entertainer (Dancer) Alignment: Chaotic Good Ability Scores: (Using the standard set) Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 17 (+3) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 13 (+1) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 15 (+2) Hit Points: 10 (8 + 2 from Constitution modifier) Proficiencies: Armor: Light armor Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Tools: Thieves' tools, Disguise kit (from background) Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence Skills: Acrobatics (+5), Perception (+4), Performance (+6), Stealth (+7) (Expertise in Stealth and Performance) Equipment: Rapier Shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows Leather armor Two daggers Thieves' tools Disguise kit Backpack Bedroll Mess kit Tinderbox 10 torches 10 days of rations Waterskin 50 feet of hempen rope Pouch with 15 gp Personality Traits: I have a quick wit and a fondness for pranks. I am fiercely loyal to my friends and always look out for their safety. Ideal: Freedom: Everyone should be free to live their life as they see fit. (Chaotic) Bond: I will do anything to protect my younger sister, who is the only family I have left. Flaw: I have a weakness for shiny objects and can't resist the urge to steal them, even if it means putting myself at risk. Backstory: Lyra grew up on the streets, using her nimbleness and charm to survive. She learned to dance for coins and honed her skills in stealth and deception to pilfer from unsuspecting onlookers. After her sister was kidnapped by slavers, Lyra vowed to do whatever it takes to find and rescue her, even if it means venturing into the darkest corners of the world. This is just a basic example, and you can further customize Lyra by adding details to her appearance, personality, and backstory. You can also choose different skills, proficiencies, or equipment based on your preferences and the campaign setting. By the way, the formatting above is a bit off, but that came from me copying and pasting from Gemini and being a bit lazy about sprucing it up. I figured I'd push my luck and try again: "do that again please" Character Name: Falion Sunstrider Race: High Elf Class: Wizard (Evocation) Background: Sage (Researcher) Alignment: Neutral Good Ability Scores: (Using the standard set) Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 13 (+1) Intelligence: 17 (+3) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 10 (+0) Hit Points: 8 (6 + 1 from Constitution modifier) Proficiencies: Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows Tools: None Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom Skills: Arcana (+6), History (+6), Investigation (+4) (Expertise in Arcana and History) Equipment: Quarterstaff Arcane focus (crystal) Scholar's pack Spellbook with six 1st-level wizard spells (Burning Hands, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield) Backpack Bedroll Mess kit Tinderbox 10 torches 10 days of rations Waterskin 50 feet of hempen rope Pouch with 10 gp Personality Traits: I am deeply curious about the world and always eager to learn new things. I am absent-minded and often lost in my own thoughts. Ideal: Knowledge: The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (Neutral) Bond: I am searching for the lost library of a legendary archmage, rumored to contain powerful spells and forgotten lore. Flaw: I am overconfident in my abilities and sometimes underestimate the dangers I face. Backstory: Falion spent his youth studying in a prestigious academy of magic, quickly surpassing his peers with his thirst for knowledge and natural talent for evocation magic. After hearing rumors of a lost library containing powerful spells and forgotten lore, Falion set out on a journey to find it, hoping to unlock its secrets and further his magical abilities. This is just a basic example, and you can further customize Falion by adding details to his appearance, personality, and backstory. You can also choose different skills, proficiencies, or equipment based on your preferences and the campaign setting. So, at this point, I was blown away. Like, I don't even care if it broke any particular D&D rules; that was just fun. But... yeah, I pushed my luck ... ... ... one last time "Of the two characters you just made, who do you think would be a better party leader?" Between Lyra Swiftfoot and Falion Sunstrider, Lyra would likely be the better party leader for several reasons: : Lyra has a higher Charisma score, which is important for inspiring and motivating others. Her background as an entertainer also suggests she is comfortable in front of crowds and skilled at interacting with people. Charisma : Lyra's skillset is more suited to leadership. Her expertise in Persuasion and Deception allows her to negotiate effectively and navigate social situations, while her proficiency in Perception and Stealth makes her a good scout and strategist. Skills : Lyra's personality traits suggest she is quick-witted and loyal, both valuable qualities in a leader. Her flaw, while potentially problematic, can be mitigated by her other strengths and the support of her party. Personality : While wizards can be powerful, their focus on spellcasting and relative lack of social skills often makes them less effective leaders. Class Falion, on the other hand, excels in knowledge and magical power, making him a valuable asset to the party in terms of strategy and information gathering. However, his lower Charisma and lack of social skills might hinder his ability to effectively lead and inspire others. Additionally, his absent-mindedness and overconfidence could lead to poor decisions in critical situations. Of course, the effectiveness of a party leader also depends on the specific campaign setting, the party composition, and the players' roleplaying preferences. In some situations, Falion's knowledge and magical prowess might be more valuable than Lyra's social skills. Ultimately, the best party leader is the one that the players and the Dungeon Master agree upon and who can effectively guide the party through their adventures. My god. That's just... perfect. And honestly, it feels like the right choice for the right reasons. Anyway, this isn't necessarily a deep look at this particular feature, but it was so fun I had to share!

Google Gemini: Your New Dungeon Master?

গুগল মিথুন: আপনার নতুন অন্ধকূপ মাস্টার?

Google Gemini: Ihr neuer Dungeon-Meister?

Google Gemini: ¿tu nuevo maestro de mazmorras?

Google Gemini : votre nouveau maître de donjon ?

गूगल जेमिनी: आपका नया कालकोठरी मास्टर?

Google Gemini: あなたの新しいダンジョンマスター?

Google Gemini: 새로운 던전 마스터?

Google Gemini: seu novo mestre de masmorras?

Google Gemini: ваш новый мастер подземелий?

Google Gemini: Yeni Zindan Ustanız mı?

Google Gemini: Chủ nhân ngục tối mới của bạn?

谷歌双子座：你的新地下城主？

We all remember the good old days of waiting the whole day for Scooby Doo telecast on Cartoon Network, The Late Late Toy Show on RTE and Hannah Montana on Disney Channel. The television sets, though bulky, promised us endless hours of entertainment. The excitement of flipping through channels, waiting for my favorite show to air, and the family gatherings around the TV for movie nights are etched in my memory. But as we stand at the crossroads of technological evolution, I'm torn between the emotional attachment to cable TV and the undeniable convenience of streaming services. This internal debate leads me to ponder: in our rush to embrace the new, are we too quick to dismiss the value of the old? The Magic of Old-School TV There's an indescribable nostalgia tied to television sets. Scheduled programming meant that you had to plan your day around your favorite show, creating a sense of anticipation that's somewhat lost in today's on-demand culture. Channel surfing led to unexpected discoveries and by chance stumbling upon shows or movies that would become new favorites. Often, I recall the joy of finding a classic film on a lazy Sunday afternoon or the entire family gathering to watch a live broadcast of a major event, moments that felt like shared adventures. Cable TV was simple and reliable. There were no buffering issues, no need for a strong internet connection, just instant access to entertainment. In contrast, streaming can sometimes feel like a chore—deciding what to watch from thousands of options can be overwhelming, and technical glitches can disrupt the streaming experience. The Rise of Streaming Services Despite my fondness for cable, the allure of streaming services is undeniable. The convenience of watching anything at any time, without commercial interruptions, is a game-changer. My journey of adapting to streaming was met with resistance at first. The idea of letting go of the familiarity of TV for a digital platform felt like betraying a lifelong friend. Yet, I couldn't ignore the benefits. Streaming services have introduced me to shows and movies from around the world, broadening my horizons and becoming part of my personal and cultural lexicon. The statistics speak volumes about the streaming revolution. As of 2023, over to at least one streaming service, with the average subscriber spending more on streaming than on traditional cable subscriptions. This shift highlights the growing preference for the flexibility and variety that streaming offers. 80% of U.S. households have a subscription The Emotional Tug-of-War The transition from cable to streaming hasn't been without its emotional conflicts. There are moments when I miss the simplicity of cable TV, the ritual of sitting down at a specific time to watch a show, and the element of surprise that came with channel surfing. It's akin to saying goodbye to an old friend, a staple of my daily life that's slowly fading into the background. Yet, I recognize the practicality of streaming services. The ability to pause, rewind, or binge-watch a series fits seamlessly into the hectic pace of modern life. It's a convenience that, once experienced, is hard to give up. The Social Aspect One of the most significant changes brought about by streaming is how it has altered our viewing habits. Cable TV was a communal experience, a reason for family and friends to come together. Streaming, on the other hand, tends to be more individualized, with each person diving into their personal preferences, often in isolation. I've made efforts to recreate the communal aspect of old-school TV with streaming services, organizing virtual watch parties or sharing recommendations with friends and family. While it's not quite the same, it's a testament to how we're adapting our social interactions around the new ways we consume media. Can We Find a Middle Ground? As I reflect on my journey from cable TV to streaming, I wonder if it's really necessary to choose one over the other. Perhaps there's a way to balance the nostalgia for cable with the advantages of streaming. I've found joy in dedicating specific nights to movie watching, akin to the scheduled programming of old, and exploring classic shows available on streaming platforms. Conclusion The shift from cable TV to streaming services is more than just a change in how we access entertainment; it's a reflection of our evolving relationship with technology. While I cherish the memories and simplicity of television programming, I also appreciate the innovation and convenience that streaming brings to our lives. It's not about saying goodbye to the past but learning to blend the old with the new, creating new memories and experiences in this digital age. As we navigate these changes, it's comforting to know that at the heart of it all, it's the stories we watch and the people we share them with that truly matter.

Should We Really Adapt to Streaming Services and Say Goodbye to Old School TV?

Stories, News & Mentions about FONDUE

Fondue’s Stories on HackerNoon