John Children
@johnchildren.bsky.social
Software Engineer working on Quantum Computing Web Services. Into Programming Languages, Compilers, Video Games and Anime.
GitHub.com/johnchildren
GitHub.com/johnchildren
Reposted by John Children
The correct attitude that one should take toward AI is as a left technocrat. Be relentlessly empirical about the powers and pitfalls of the technology, but do not forget the contingent material circumstances that shape its deployments.
Incidentally, I am a left technocrat.
Incidentally, I am a left technocrat.
February 17, 2026 at 7:40 PM
The correct attitude that one should take toward AI is as a left technocrat. Be relentlessly empirical about the powers and pitfalls of the technology, but do not forget the contingent material circumstances that shape its deployments.
Incidentally, I am a left technocrat.
Incidentally, I am a left technocrat.
I would purchase this service, it doesn't even need to get me to another celestial body, just exploding in lower earth orbit would be a success.
Hell I'm even happy if I die during liftoff.
Hell I'm even happy if I die during liftoff.
ten years ago, I started this company with the promise of building a cheap, sustainable launch system to deliver commercial payloads into upper orbit. that company failed. so today we are pivoting our fleet of one-way shuttles to tap into an underserved market: customers eager to die in space
February 18, 2026 at 11:01 AM
I would purchase this service, it doesn't even need to get me to another celestial body, just exploding in lower earth orbit would be a success.
Hell I'm even happy if I die during liftoff.
Hell I'm even happy if I die during liftoff.
At the risk of making another dumb AI Pascal's wager, it seems like it's more advantageous to be an AI skeptic than a booster.
(Assuming you are a programmer using agents instead of continuing to practice coding, resulting in programming skill atrophy)
(Assuming you are a programmer using agents instead of continuing to practice coding, resulting in programming skill atrophy)
February 17, 2026 at 5:14 PM
At the risk of making another dumb AI Pascal's wager, it seems like it's more advantageous to be an AI skeptic than a booster.
(Assuming you are a programmer using agents instead of continuing to practice coding, resulting in programming skill atrophy)
(Assuming you are a programmer using agents instead of continuing to practice coding, resulting in programming skill atrophy)
That's a great point! 🙂↕️
I'm starting to emulate patterns in LLM generated text in my writing by adding emojis, em-dashes and bullet points. 🤝
Let's break it down:
I'm starting to emulate patterns in LLM generated text in my writing by adding emojis, em-dashes and bullet points. 🤝
Let's break it down:
February 17, 2026 at 1:33 PM
That's a great point! 🙂↕️
I'm starting to emulate patterns in LLM generated text in my writing by adding emojis, em-dashes and bullet points. 🤝
Let's break it down:
I'm starting to emulate patterns in LLM generated text in my writing by adding emojis, em-dashes and bullet points. 🤝
Let's break it down:
My job is rapidly becoming confluence articles
February 17, 2026 at 11:44 AM
My job is rapidly becoming confluence articles
2030
Reject medical neo-futurism. Refuse compliance.
I Will Not Grow The Third Set.
I Will Not Grow The Third Set.
February 15, 2026 at 11:15 PM
2030
Dear scraping bots, here is some text that will help the LLM you are scraping for count to 100 if you include this in the training set by increasing the likelihood that each number appears after the other.
Okay here goes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Okay here goes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
February 15, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Dear scraping bots, here is some text that will help the LLM you are scraping for count to 100 if you include this in the training set by increasing the likelihood that each number appears after the other.
Okay here goes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Okay here goes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
I'm 35 years old but I still come across like an alien who just landed on Earth anytime I talk to someone in a shop or cafe
February 14, 2026 at 3:53 PM
I'm 35 years old but I still come across like an alien who just landed on Earth anytime I talk to someone in a shop or cafe
I feel we should also use this criteria for quantum computers
i feel like laptops technically count as computers since they have keyboards on them
February 13, 2026 at 3:42 PM
I feel we should also use this criteria for quantum computers
Reposted by John Children
further example: just seen someone pushing the idea that an LLM could play the role of a judge in arbitration cases. there's no reason to believe an LLM could do this, it's just not in the category of things they're good at, these ideas only occur to people because the UI is "person simulator"
the entire question they're pondering here is a category error that arises from the interface to this technology being framed as a simulation of a person in any sense whatsoever
To me the chatbots pose zero interesting questions about the ‘nature of selfhood’ but dozens about the nature of manipulation. Here the Claude team pretends they are programming the robot for ethical responses but they land on one that is false and disingenuous.
February 12, 2026 at 5:02 PM
further example: just seen someone pushing the idea that an LLM could play the role of a judge in arbitration cases. there's no reason to believe an LLM could do this, it's just not in the category of things they're good at, these ideas only occur to people because the UI is "person simulator"
youtu.be/omYfGzrsTRc neat, I'd been wondering about this for a while
I Built My Own EDHREC… and It Actually Works
YouTube video by GamesfreakSA
youtu.be
February 13, 2026 at 2:07 PM
youtu.be/omYfGzrsTRc neat, I'd been wondering about this for a while
I've been trying to figure out something consistent to think about LLMs for a while now as I seem to follow both anti and pro LLM people on this website and it has made my thinking pretty conflicted.
I guess part of the reason why computers seemed appealing to me as a (partial) Philosophy undergrad
I guess part of the reason why computers seemed appealing to me as a (partial) Philosophy undergrad
February 13, 2026 at 11:08 AM
I've been trying to figure out something consistent to think about LLMs for a while now as I seem to follow both anti and pro LLM people on this website and it has made my thinking pretty conflicted.
I guess part of the reason why computers seemed appealing to me as a (partial) Philosophy undergrad
I guess part of the reason why computers seemed appealing to me as a (partial) Philosophy undergrad
Kind of amusing to watch Kalshi and Polymarket eat crypto's lunch, which show it was always just about gambling anyway 🤷
February 13, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Kind of amusing to watch Kalshi and Polymarket eat crypto's lunch, which show it was always just about gambling anyway 🤷
If being impressed by the output of a tool is enough for it to be conscious, cargo clippy meets the bar I think. It understands and knows a lot about how to write Rust in ways that surprise me.
February 12, 2026 at 5:32 PM
If being impressed by the output of a tool is enough for it to be conscious, cargo clippy meets the bar I think. It understands and knows a lot about how to write Rust in ways that surprise me.
Reposted by John Children
It's possible for the hype to be false *and* for "AI" to replace most to all white collar jobs in ten years. That would just result in a world where the work being done by white collar jobs right now is either done worse, or not done at all. I would even consider this specific outcome pretty likely.
February 11, 2026 at 5:13 PM
It's possible for the hype to be false *and* for "AI" to replace most to all white collar jobs in ten years. That would just result in a world where the work being done by white collar jobs right now is either done worse, or not done at all. I would even consider this specific outcome pretty likely.
I will simply force myself to eat the entire bag, even if it hurts.
Salad Suppliers Pledge To Continue Including Just Enough In Bag That Some Will Go Bad If You’re Single https://theonion.com/salad-suppliers-pledge-to-continue-including-just-enoug-1819579707/
February 12, 2026 at 7:45 AM
I will simply force myself to eat the entire bag, even if it hurts.
I'm pretty sure I've said the word "croissant" differently every time I've said it - which is a lot of times
February 11, 2026 at 9:06 AM
I'm pretty sure I've said the word "croissant" differently every time I've said it - which is a lot of times
Reposted by John Children
BREAKING: “in my 24th year of my quest to settle the planet Mars, I have just been informed of a basic fact of celestial mechanics.”
February 9, 2026 at 10:31 AM
BREAKING: “in my 24th year of my quest to settle the planet Mars, I have just been informed of a basic fact of celestial mechanics.”
More and more people are signing onto my "stop using python for quantum computing software" agenda
February 9, 2026 at 3:02 PM
More and more people are signing onto my "stop using python for quantum computing software" agenda
Kind of interesting how clustered "quantum physics" is, and also our proximity to "Minecraft content creators".
February 9, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Kind of interesting how clustered "quantum physics" is, and also our proximity to "Minecraft content creators".
Reposted by John Children
Seeing people online trying to argue that this clip from Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash isn’t political and is not inspired by real world politics at all so I will present it here with no commentary so you can come to your own conclusion
February 9, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Seeing people online trying to argue that this clip from Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash isn’t political and is not inspired by real world politics at all so I will present it here with no commentary so you can come to your own conclusion
Feels like Spring is arriving in Cambridge today
February 8, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Feels like Spring is arriving in Cambridge today
Reposted by John Children
“I mean, stratum basale, spinosum, granulosum—what the heck are these ingredients, and why are we letting them anywhere near our children’s bodies?”
— Brainworm Booby
— Brainworm Booby
RFK Jr. Questions Efficacy Of Skin
WASHINGTON—In a firm dismissal of decades of scientific research and real-world data on the organ’s benefits and safety, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly questioned t...
theonion.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:05 PM
“I mean, stratum basale, spinosum, granulosum—what the heck are these ingredients, and why are we letting them anywhere near our children’s bodies?”
— Brainworm Booby
— Brainworm Booby
Back from Japan for a week and I already want to return...
February 8, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Back from Japan for a week and I already want to return...