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True, and for another thought: I'm here doing my part for the environment, recycling, reducing packaging, and saving emissions where I can, and people in the fi

by fph 2y ago

True, and for another thought: I'm here doing my part for the environment, recycling, reducing packaging, and saving emissions where I can, and people in the first world of first worlds haven't even been using electric trains this whole time?!?

pavlov 2y ago
America largely invented the modern world, but then it never took the next steps because it didn’t need to. So a lot of things are stuck in a “version 1.x” endlessly patched over. Infrastructure was built in 1920 or 1950. People still regularly pay with paper checks. Federal and state governments seem to operate mostly with paper files. And so on. (If Elon Musk were serious about improving government efficiency, he would marshal his considerable software experience to bring departments like the IRS into the digital age supported by AI tools. That would amply pay for itself in reduced overhead and improved tax collection. But of course that’s not the kind of efficiency he wants — he’s looking to punitively fire bureaucrats perceived as leftists, not improve government revenue.)
- ulfw 2y ago
  Besides buzzword bingo and investor hard ons, please explain why something like a tax return (IRS) would need "AI tools". I'd love to know. It's a straightforward calculation that needs accuracy. The opposite of what AI does.
  - pavlov 2y ago
    Well, call it machine learning if you prefer. Audits are currently performed manually, but the patterns of tax evasion are often obvious. Seems like a textbook case for AI automation.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
  - PopAlongKid 2y ago
    >It's a straightforward calculation that needs accuracy. If only that is all it was. It's not calculations and linking entries on one form to another that is the problem, it is interpreting the law. Suppose there is an allowed deduction for a certain type of expense. But the law doesn't provide a precise, actionable definition, it relies instead on "facts and circumstances". Did you know, for example, that in U.S. income tax law there is no universal definition of a "trade or business", yet that distinction has a huge impact on how certain items of income are treated. So what do you do if you think you have a trade/business, but can't be certain given the information at your disposal. IRL, such disputes often must end up in a court of law to be decided.
- sschueller 2y ago
  I noticed this when I visited in the 90s with appliances. Most looked like they were made in the 50s. Like vacuum cleaners or top loading washing machines which I had never seen growing up in Europe.
  - pavlov 2y ago
    In New York, having a washing machine in your home at all is considered a special luxury. Most apartments apparently don’t even have the necessary electrical outlets.
    - dragonwriter 2y ago
      The necessary electrical outlets for a washing machine are standard 110V outlets, every apartment in New York has them. They might not have convenient water hookups for them,though. Clothes dryers usually usually take 220V outlets, which an apartment might not have.
      - Symbiote 2y ago
        Heat pump dryers, now common in Europe, use about 800W which is within the 1500W maximum for a normal American outlet. Maybe these will become more popular in New York apartments? They are more expensive to purchase, and take longer to dry the clothes, but use much less electricity.
      - fph 2y ago
        Yet another example of shitty infrastructure, having to juggle different voltages and power outlets.
        Symbiote 2y ago
        In fairness, my modern Danish apartment has a different voltage and power outlet in the place for the tumble dryer: 400V and probably one of these [1] though I've never pulled the machines out to look. In practise, the massively power-hungry dryers of decades ago aren't very common, so my dryer is connected to a normal 220V outlet. (Three-phase power in an apartment is now only used for the oven and hob, but is used in the building for the lift and the EV charging points in the basement.) [1] https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Danish_3hd.html https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Danish_3hd.html
- thrwwy95fab9d1 2y ago
  You don’t need musk to bring the IRS into the digital age, you need investment. And people with actual software experience.
  - pavlov 2y ago
    Musk is in a unique position to recommend that investment and have the president and Congress actually listen. He won't do it, but he could.
    - dragonwriter 2y ago
      Musk expended significant effort to get the Presidential candidate most fanatically opposed to investment in any government functions in modern history; he not only isn't in a position to have anyone listen to him on positive investment, he worked very hard to not be in that position.

by fph 2y ago

pavlov 2y ago

America largely invented the modern world, but then it never took the next steps because it didn’t need to. So a lot of things are stuck in a “version 1.x” endlessly patched over. Infrastructure was built in 1920 or 1950. People still regularly pay with paper checks. Federal and state governments seem to operate mostly with paper files. And so on. (If Elon Musk were serious about improving government efficiency, he would marshal his considerable software experience to bring departments like the IRS into the digital age supported by AI tools. That would amply pay for itself in reduced overhead and improved tax collection. But of course that’s not the kind of efficiency he wants — he’s looking to punitively fire bureaucrats perceived as leftists, not improve government revenue.)

ulfw 2y ago
Besides buzzword bingo and investor hard ons, please explain why something like a tax return (IRS) would need "AI tools". I'd love to know. It's a straightforward calculation that needs accuracy. The opposite of what AI does.
- pavlov 2y ago
  Well, call it machine learning if you prefer. Audits are currently performed manually, but the patterns of tax evasion are often obvious. Seems like a textbook case for AI automation.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- PopAlongKid 2y ago
  >It's a straightforward calculation that needs accuracy. If only that is all it was. It's not calculations and linking entries on one form to another that is the problem, it is interpreting the law. Suppose there is an allowed deduction for a certain type of expense. But the law doesn't provide a precise, actionable definition, it relies instead on "facts and circumstances". Did you know, for example, that in U.S. income tax law there is no universal definition of a "trade or business", yet that distinction has a huge impact on how certain items of income are treated. So what do you do if you think you have a trade/business, but can't be certain given the information at your disposal. IRL, such disputes often must end up in a court of law to be decided.
sschueller 2y ago
I noticed this when I visited in the 90s with appliances. Most looked like they were made in the 50s. Like vacuum cleaners or top loading washing machines which I had never seen growing up in Europe.
- pavlov 2y ago
  In New York, having a washing machine in your home at all is considered a special luxury. Most apartments apparently don’t even have the necessary electrical outlets.
  - dragonwriter 2y ago
    The necessary electrical outlets for a washing machine are standard 110V outlets, every apartment in New York has them. They might not have convenient water hookups for them,though. Clothes dryers usually usually take 220V outlets, which an apartment might not have.
    - Symbiote 2y ago
      Heat pump dryers, now common in Europe, use about 800W which is within the 1500W maximum for a normal American outlet. Maybe these will become more popular in New York apartments? They are more expensive to purchase, and take longer to dry the clothes, but use much less electricity.
    - fph 2y ago
      Yet another example of shitty infrastructure, having to juggle different voltages and power outlets.
      - Symbiote 2y ago
        In fairness, my modern Danish apartment has a different voltage and power outlet in the place for the tumble dryer: 400V and probably one of these [1] though I've never pulled the machines out to look. In practise, the massively power-hungry dryers of decades ago aren't very common, so my dryer is connected to a normal 220V outlet. (Three-phase power in an apartment is now only used for the oven and hob, but is used in the building for the lift and the EV charging points in the basement.) [1] https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Danish_3hd.html https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Danish_3hd.html
thrwwy95fab9d1 2y ago
You don’t need musk to bring the IRS into the digital age, you need investment. And people with actual software experience.
- pavlov 2y ago
  Musk is in a unique position to recommend that investment and have the president and Congress actually listen. He won't do it, but he could.
  - dragonwriter 2y ago
    Musk expended significant effort to get the Presidential candidate most fanatically opposed to investment in any government functions in modern history; he not only isn't in a position to have anyone listen to him on positive investment, he worked very hard to not be in that position.