Ben Fulton
@benfulton.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy
Research Software Engineer at Imperial College Earth Sciences Department. Research Applications, AI, HPC
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://fosstodon.org/@benfulton, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://fosstodon.org/@benfulton, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I was recently reminded of this.
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
Original post on federate.social
federate.social
December 29, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I was recently reminded of this.
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
A couple decades ago, I wrote a short paper that described how the basic approaches of cryptography and computer security lead to an efficient and practical privilege escalation attack against master-keyed mechanical lock, which I published in IEEE Security and […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books.
December 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books.
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I offer Cassandra's Complete Class Theorem¹.
All "good use cases for AI" break down into one of four categories:
I. Bad use case.
II. Good use case, but not something AI can do.
III Good use case, but it's already been done without AI.
IV. Not AI in the LLMs and GANs sense, but in the machine […]
All "good use cases for AI" break down into one of four categories:
I. Bad use case.
II. Good use case, but not something AI can do.
III Good use case, but it's already been done without AI.
IV. Not AI in the LLMs and GANs sense, but in the machine […]
Original post on wandering.shop
wandering.shop
December 24, 2025 at 5:23 AM
I offer Cassandra's Complete Class Theorem¹.
All "good use cases for AI" break down into one of four categories:
I. Bad use case.
II. Good use case, but not something AI can do.
III Good use case, but it's already been done without AI.
IV. Not AI in the LLMs and GANs sense, but in the machine […]
All "good use cases for AI" break down into one of four categories:
I. Bad use case.
II. Good use case, but not something AI can do.
III Good use case, but it's already been done without AI.
IV. Not AI in the LLMs and GANs sense, but in the machine […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I'm heavily using #obsidian and wanted to re-vamp how I manage my tasks (currently mainly using the excellent Tasks plugin) - I wanted tasks to be full notes instead.
Turns out the obvious plugin to use for this had a bug, so I investigated said bug, and ... Sigh.
I wonder if Obsidian needs a […]
Turns out the obvious plugin to use for this had a bug, so I investigated said bug, and ... Sigh.
I wonder if Obsidian needs a […]
Original post on mastodon.online
mastodon.online
December 23, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I'm heavily using #obsidian and wanted to re-vamp how I manage my tasks (currently mainly using the excellent Tasks plugin) - I wanted tasks to be full notes instead.
Turns out the obvious plugin to use for this had a bug, so I investigated said bug, and ... Sigh.
I wonder if Obsidian needs a […]
Turns out the obvious plugin to use for this had a bug, so I investigated said bug, and ... Sigh.
I wonder if Obsidian needs a […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I put together a detailed collection of useful patterns I've collected after vibe-coding 150 different single-file HTML tools over the past couple of years https://simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/10/html-tools/
Useful patterns for building HTML tools
I’ve started using the term HTML tools to refer to HTML applications that I’ve been building which combine HTML, JavaScript, and CSS in a single file and use them to …
simonwillison.net
December 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I put together a detailed collection of useful patterns I've collected after vibe-coding 150 different single-file HTML tools over the past couple of years https://simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/10/html-tools/
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@malwarejake/115695789576148295
Now how did they manage to create a shared chat on ChatGPT's own site that has a question about clearing disk space and a response with malware instructions? 🤨
Now how did they manage to create a shared chat on ChatGPT's own site that has a question about clearing disk space and a response with malware instructions? 🤨
infosec.exchange
December 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@malwarejake/115695789576148295
Now how did they manage to create a shared chat on ChatGPT's own site that has a question about clearing disk space and a response with malware instructions? 🤨
Now how did they manage to create a shared chat on ChatGPT's own site that has a question about clearing disk space and a response with malware instructions? 🤨
I need an app that handles "Stuff I mean to look at later when I have some free time"
December 9, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I need an app that handles "Stuff I mean to look at later when I have some free time"
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I would not have guessed this was possible!
Vladan Majerech has found a one-dimensional spaceship in the Game of Life: a pattern just one cell high and 3,707,300,605 cells wide that, after 133,076,755,768 generations (during which it is not confined to the one-dimensional line, of course) […]
Vladan Majerech has found a one-dimensional spaceship in the Game of Life: a pattern just one cell high and 3,707,300,605 cells wide that, after 133,076,755,768 generations (during which it is not confined to the one-dimensional line, of course) […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
December 3, 2025 at 3:54 AM
I would not have guessed this was possible!
Vladan Majerech has found a one-dimensional spaceship in the Game of Life: a pattern just one cell high and 3,707,300,605 cells wide that, after 133,076,755,768 generations (during which it is not confined to the one-dimensional line, of course) […]
Vladan Majerech has found a one-dimensional spaceship in the Game of Life: a pattern just one cell high and 3,707,300,605 cells wide that, after 133,076,755,768 generations (during which it is not confined to the one-dimensional line, of course) […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
I wrote up my notes from #SC25. Have a look: https://blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/12/sc25-recap.html
I’ll keep picking away at the editing, but would love to hear more from others about what stood out to them. I wasn’t at the conference itself as much this years as in the past, so I know I […]
I’ll keep picking away at the editing, but would love to hear more from others about what stood out to them. I wasn’t at the conference itself as much this years as in the past, so I know I […]
Original post on mast.hpc.social
mast.hpc.social
December 1, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I wrote up my notes from #SC25. Have a look: https://blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/12/sc25-recap.html
I’ll keep picking away at the editing, but would love to hear more from others about what stood out to them. I wasn’t at the conference itself as much this years as in the past, so I know I […]
I’ll keep picking away at the editing, but would love to hear more from others about what stood out to them. I wasn’t at the conference itself as much this years as in the past, so I know I […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Our Good First Issues for #HPC software is a great way to get involved to improve your skills and start contributing to the tools we all use to make things better. It’s curated nightly and new repositories are reviewed weekly for inclusion. Get started at hpc.social/good-first-i...
Good First Issues
hpc.social
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Our Good First Issues for #HPC software is a great way to get involved to improve your skills and start contributing to the tools we all use to make things better. It’s curated nightly and new repositories are reviewed weekly for inclusion. Get started at hpc.social/good-first-i...
Reposted by Ben Fulton
The Huffpost AI Trojan horse history lecturer... I'm in two minds. Like, I agree with him that university is about learning to think critically, and that young people are being told AI is the future, so why wouldn't they assume they can use it for assignments. Heck, I have a history doctorate […]
Original post on ohai.social
ohai.social
November 23, 2025 at 10:19 AM
The Huffpost AI Trojan horse history lecturer... I'm in two minds. Like, I agree with him that university is about learning to think critically, and that young people are being told AI is the future, so why wouldn't they assume they can use it for assignments. Heck, I have a history doctorate […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
"Arduino wasn’t valuable because it was just a microcontroller company. It was valuable because it was a commons. And you can’t apply enterprise legal frameworks to a commons without destroying it"
You also can't buy a #commons, at least without destroying it as a commons. The key point about a […]
You also can't buy a #commons, at least without destroying it as a commons. The key point about a […]
Original post on mastodon.scot
mastodon.scot
November 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"Arduino wasn’t valuable because it was just a microcontroller company. It was valuable because it was a commons. And you can’t apply enterprise legal frameworks to a commons without destroying it"
You also can't buy a #commons, at least without destroying it as a commons. The key point about a […]
You also can't buy a #commons, at least without destroying it as a commons. The key point about a […]
TIL that the science of informatics as applied to geology, seismology, geophysics, etc. is called "geoinformatics". Maybe obvious, but I never put it together!
#geoinformatics
#geoinformatics
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
TIL that the science of informatics as applied to geology, seismology, geophysics, etc. is called "geoinformatics". Maybe obvious, but I never put it together!
#geoinformatics
#geoinformatics
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Yesterday I wrote some things in reply to a thread on contributing changes to FOSS, unsolicited PRs, and the social and trust dynamics thereof.
But this made me realize something that's probably affecting my mental relationship with working on musl.
🧵
But this made me realize something that's probably affecting my mental relationship with working on musl.
🧵
November 21, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Yesterday I wrote some things in reply to a thread on contributing changes to FOSS, unsolicited PRs, and the social and trust dynamics thereof.
But this made me realize something that's probably affecting my mental relationship with working on musl.
🧵
But this made me realize something that's probably affecting my mental relationship with working on musl.
🧵
RE: https://mast.hpc.social/@AlanSill/115587277073068139
Wow, I wonder what this is about. Is the DoE giving Oracle a free supercomputer? 🤨
Wow, I wonder what this is about. Is the DoE giving Oracle a free supercomputer? 🤨
This is theft of national resources at a massive scale. It’s a disaster for supercomputing in the United States and a harmful step for the world. https://www.hpcwire.com/2025/11/19/new-world-order-coming-with-new-doe-supercomputers/
November 21, 2025 at 11:54 AM
RE: https://mast.hpc.social/@AlanSill/115587277073068139
Wow, I wonder what this is about. Is the DoE giving Oracle a free supercomputer? 🤨
Wow, I wonder what this is about. Is the DoE giving Oracle a free supercomputer? 🤨
Aurora: A Foundation Model for the Earth System
"Trained on vast amounts of data, it’s tuned to model the Earth’s systems. Aurora has already shown promise across multiple scenarios, including predicting the weather, tracking hurricanes and air quality, and modeling ocean waves and energy flows […]
"Trained on vast amounts of data, it’s tuned to model the Earth’s systems. Aurora has already shown promise across multiple scenarios, including predicting the weather, tracking hurricanes and air quality, and modeling ocean waves and energy flows […]
Original post on fosstodon.org
fosstodon.org
November 15, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Aurora: A Foundation Model for the Earth System
"Trained on vast amounts of data, it’s tuned to model the Earth’s systems. Aurora has already shown promise across multiple scenarios, including predicting the weather, tracking hurricanes and air quality, and modeling ocean waves and energy flows […]
"Trained on vast amounts of data, it’s tuned to model the Earth’s systems. Aurora has already shown promise across multiple scenarios, including predicting the weather, tracking hurricanes and air quality, and modeling ocean waves and energy flows […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Just getting back from two day teaching #snakemake programming on #hpc clusters. And I have several observations:
- the education level everywhere else seems way better, than on my home cluster. It is still a good idea, to assume the worst.
- it is never a good idea to accept […]
- the education level everywhere else seems way better, than on my home cluster. It is still a good idea, to assume the worst.
- it is never a good idea to accept […]
Original post on fediscience.org
fediscience.org
October 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Just getting back from two day teaching #snakemake programming on #hpc clusters. And I have several observations:
- the education level everywhere else seems way better, than on my home cluster. It is still a good idea, to assume the worst.
- it is never a good idea to accept […]
- the education level everywhere else seems way better, than on my home cluster. It is still a good idea, to assume the worst.
- it is never a good idea to accept […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
@julian is working on a way to follow ORCID accounts via the fediverse!
My ORCID fedi handle is: @0000-0001-6000-4722
This is in the early stages, but it looks really cool! I can imagine following the work of a bunch of researchers and seeing new publications appearing in a timeline.
My ORCID fedi handle is: @0000-0001-6000-4722
This is in the early stages, but it looks really cool! I can imagine following the work of a bunch of researchers and seeing new publications appearing in a timeline.
October 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
@julian is working on a way to follow ORCID accounts via the fediverse!
My ORCID fedi handle is: @0000-0001-6000-4722
This is in the early stages, but it looks really cool! I can imagine following the work of a bunch of researchers and seeing new publications appearing in a timeline.
My ORCID fedi handle is: @0000-0001-6000-4722
This is in the early stages, but it looks really cool! I can imagine following the work of a bunch of researchers and seeing new publications appearing in a timeline.
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Whenever I see "GenAI basically can do the work of a junior dev", I assume that those people are using junior devs very differently from me. To me, the value of a junior developer is maybe like 20% the code they write, and 80% is a down payment to a future where they no longer are a junior. I […]
Original post on infosec.exchange
infosec.exchange
October 14, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Whenever I see "GenAI basically can do the work of a junior dev", I assume that those people are using junior devs very differently from me. To me, the value of a junior developer is maybe like 20% the code they write, and 80% is a down payment to a future where they no longer are a junior. I […]
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Professional at work
[Video] Original post on mstdn.social
mstdn.social
September 5, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Professional at work
Reposted by Ben Fulton
"So, you're saying a third of the stock market is tied up in seven AI companies that have no way to become profitable and that this is a bubble that's going to burst and take the whole economy with it?"
pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse
pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse
October 5, 2025 at 6:42 AM
"So, you're saying a third of the stock market is tied up in seven AI companies that have no way to become profitable and that this is a bubble that's going to burst and take the whole economy with it?"
pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse
pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse
I suspect that LLM's reach their peak usefulness with HuggingFace, and everything beyond those models is just incremental improvements.
#ai
#ai
September 30, 2025 at 5:52 AM
I suspect that LLM's reach their peak usefulness with HuggingFace, and everything beyond those models is just incremental improvements.
#ai
#ai
Reposted by Ben Fulton
Amazes me that people can claim to be an expert, regurgitate what others have said, and have audiences actually believe they are visionary. Do they truly drink their own kool aid, or do they know that they are actors on a stage? Genuinely curious what it takes to be that kind of person.
September 20, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Amazes me that people can claim to be an expert, regurgitate what others have said, and have audiences actually believe they are visionary. Do they truly drink their own kool aid, or do they know that they are actors on a stage? Genuinely curious what it takes to be that kind of person.
Forget Pi Day. Today is Pythagorean Triple Square Day
"Today marks a special occasion that only occurs once this century. Not only is each number in today’s date (9/16/25) a perfect square—their consecutive square roots are also an example of a Pythagorean triple. While an official name has yet […]
"Today marks a special occasion that only occurs once this century. Not only is each number in today’s date (9/16/25) a perfect square—their consecutive square roots are also an example of a Pythagorean triple. While an official name has yet […]
Original post on fosstodon.org
fosstodon.org
September 16, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Forget Pi Day. Today is Pythagorean Triple Square Day
"Today marks a special occasion that only occurs once this century. Not only is each number in today’s date (9/16/25) a perfect square—their consecutive square roots are also an example of a Pythagorean triple. While an official name has yet […]
"Today marks a special occasion that only occurs once this century. Not only is each number in today’s date (9/16/25) a perfect square—their consecutive square roots are also an example of a Pythagorean triple. While an official name has yet […]