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> Did anybody in Dubai drive over and take pictures? Call up Oracle and ask? Nah. Why is any of that necessary? LLMs can just synthesize a story for the press

> Did anybody in Dubai drive over and take pictures? Call up Oracle and ask? Nah. Why is any of that necessary? LLMs can just synthesize a story for the press de novo, without reference to prior developments or indeed any 20th century style on-the-ground reporting. Reporters should in fact be pleased that this meaningless drudgery has been automated out of the profession. Besides, whatever "facts" are presented will be labelled as fake news by its detractors, who will not have their own internal narratives swayed in the slightest. The rest will rest easy in their confirmation bias, it now being confirmed once more.

Animats 6mo ago
Sadly, that's not a joke. There are multiple news articles repeating the IRGC claim of a successful attack. Some have pictures of missiles and Oracle buildings. Most of the same building stock shots, including some of Oracle HQ in San Mateo, CA.[1] There are also denials from the UAE press office calling this "fake news". Oracle doesn't seem to have said anything. It's not even clear that they have a major data center in Dubai. They have two in Saudi Arabia (Riydah and Jeddah), but the Oracle status page lists none in Dubai.[2] They have some offices in Dubai, all on upper floors of buildings and probably not large data centers. Do press reports indicate a call to the Dubai office? (Phone: 971(4)3909000) [3] Nah. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPo4vJjq-3M&t=17718s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPo4vJjq-3M&t=17718s [2] https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com/#/ https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com/#/ [3] https://ae.bizdirlib.com/node/924412 https://ae.bizdirlib.com/node/924412
- rdevilla 6mo ago
  I am not sure how to navigate this world any more.
  - Animats 6mo ago
    It's like intelligence analysis. You get various bits of intel. Some are true, some are false, some are biased, some are fake. Intel is evaluated in terms of source reliability and information credibility, which are separate. Bracketing helps. If China Daily and Breitbart News agree on something, that's reasonably solid. But check to see if they're getting their info from the same place. Distinguish between two independent sources and two paths from the same source. When both sides are too far apart, digging for more data is needed. It's often available, and best obtained from sources close to the situation. Not pundits. Recognize that you're not going to be sure. Accept that and realize that the goal is to get good enough quality information to make a decision. Being too sure is an error of its own. Here's a basic article on the subject from the CIA.[1] Much of this is about the problems of being too sure. All of this is way too much work for most people. (This is not something I've done professionally. I have worked with people who did.) [1] https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Article-Principles-of-Intelligence-Analysis-Studies65-4-Dec2021.pdf https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Article-Principles-...

Animats 6mo ago

Sadly, that's not a joke. There are multiple news articles repeating the IRGC claim of a successful attack. Some have pictures of missiles and Oracle buildings. Most of the same building stock shots, including some of Oracle HQ in San Mateo, CA.[1] There are also denials from the UAE press office calling this "fake news". Oracle doesn't seem to have said anything. It's not even clear that they have a major data center in Dubai. They have two in Saudi Arabia (Riydah and Jeddah), but the Oracle status page lists none in Dubai.[2] They have some offices in Dubai, all on upper floors of buildings and probably not large data centers. Do press reports indicate a call to the Dubai office? (Phone: 971(4)3909000) [3] Nah. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPo4vJjq-3M&t=17718s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPo4vJjq-3M&t=17718s [2] https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com/#/ https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com/#/ [3] https://ae.bizdirlib.com/node/924412 https://ae.bizdirlib.com/node/924412

rdevilla 6mo ago
I am not sure how to navigate this world any more.
- Animats 6mo ago
  It's like intelligence analysis. You get various bits of intel. Some are true, some are false, some are biased, some are fake. Intel is evaluated in terms of source reliability and information credibility, which are separate. Bracketing helps. If China Daily and Breitbart News agree on something, that's reasonably solid. But check to see if they're getting their info from the same place. Distinguish between two independent sources and two paths from the same source. When both sides are too far apart, digging for more data is needed. It's often available, and best obtained from sources close to the situation. Not pundits. Recognize that you're not going to be sure. Accept that and realize that the goal is to get good enough quality information to make a decision. Being too sure is an error of its own. Here's a basic article on the subject from the CIA.[1] Much of this is about the problems of being too sure. All of this is way too much work for most people. (This is not something I've done professionally. I have worked with people who did.) [1] https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Article-Principles-of-Intelligence-Analysis-Studies65-4-Dec2021.pdf https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Article-Principles-...