Mia Heidenstedt

Opportunities for Ai in Accessibility

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 19:27:49 +0000

# Personal Note:

I think this article falls short in capturing the full impact AI will have on accessibility, not only for people with disabilities but also for those who, despite not having recognized disabilities, face accessibility issues. This includes tasks ranging from reading cursive handwriting to understanding non-native speakers who use dialects.

Moreover, I believe there are numerous additional areas of accessibility that the article didn’t address or mention. For example, the sound recognition feature of iOS saves lives by alerting users to critical sounds they can’t hear, like a smoke detector alarm. Likewise, large language models (LLMs) are incredibly useful for people with ADHD (this was indirectly mentioned int the article (props)) by transforming texts into bullet points or adding better text breaks for improved readability. People with dyslexia also benefit significantly from LLMs like GPT-4, which can correct typos and grammar errors in ways far superior to any non-AI solution.

There are many more examples like these, and we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible and how AI is being used to make the world more accessible in unexpected ways.

# TLDR:

The author acknowledges Joe Dolson’s skepticism towards AI, particularly in the realm of accessibility, but aims to highlight where AI can positively impact people with disabilities (PwD) without disputing Dolson’s concerns.
The discussion includes the potential for AI in generating alternative text for images, emphasizing the need for improvement in contextual understanding and human-in-the-loop systems for better alt text authoring.
The article suggests AI’s future capabilities could revolutionize access for PwD by enabling interactive queries on images, simplifying complex charts for better understanding, and even converting visual data into more accessible formats.
It addresses the significant issue of bias in algorithms, proposing that increased diversity in algorithm development could mitigate harm and benefit PwD, with examples like the employment platform Mentra designed for neurodivergent individuals.
The author argues for the importance of diverse teams and data in creating more inclusive AI systems, underscoring the potential of AI to empower PwD while acknowledging the ongoing risks and advocating for responsible development and use.

Don't Die by Zero (Bryan Johnson)

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 15:29:21 +0000

Book Don’t Die

# Personal Note:

Since Bryan has started selling food replacement products aimed at promoting longevity, I am inclined to interpret his statements as being influenced by his interest in selling these products. In my view, all food replacement products are scams, and none can match the health benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet.

Despite this, I believe the book offers valuable insights. I’m open to opportunities for personal growth, so I’m curious to understand his perspective and see if it contributes to my own development.

# TLDR:

The book “DON’T DIE_by Zero” by Bryan Johnson seems to focus on a few major themes and actionable goals, as evident from the selected excerpts:

Self-Improvement Through Science: The author emphasizes the importance of not accepting the status quo, especially regarding health and well-being. This is evident in his approach to combatting the effects of aging and depression through scientific means, such as tracking biomarkers and experimenting with gene therapy.
Reassessment of Basic Assumptions: The book encourages questioning basic life assumptions and societal norms. It promotes a scientific reassessment of everyday queries like sleep, diet, and health, moving beyond traditional folk wisdom to a more data-driven approach.
Embracing Technological Advancements: The author discusses humanity’s potential at an “unprecedented inflection point” due to technological advancements. He suggests that these advancements could allow us to reprogram the basic building blocks of our environments and ourselves, indicating a belief in the potential for self-directed evolution.
The Importance of Purpose and Facing Mortality: A key moment in the book is when the narrator, aware of his impending death, asks his friends what they would do if they were dying. This reflects the theme of confronting mortality and the importance of finding purpose and meaning in one’s actions.

In summary, the actionable goals extracted from this book are:

Utilize scientific and technological advancements for personal health and self-improvement.
Reassess and question traditional beliefs and norms in light of modern scientific understanding.
Embrace the potential of technological evolution to improve humanity’s future.
Reflect on one’s mortality to find deeper meaning and purpose in life.

The book appears to blend personal narrative with a call for a broader societal and technological revolution, focusing on self-improvement, scientific inquiry, and the significant potential of technological advancements.

The quality of your life is the quality of the people you get to know

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 13:13:37 +0000

The quality of your life is the quality of the people you get to know: Illuminating the David Brooks way

TLDR:

The article discusses the importance of social connections and interpersonal skills, aligning with the ideas presented in David Brooks’ book “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.” The main argument is that life’s purpose revolves significantly around our relationships with others. It emphasizes that modern society often neglects teaching essential social skills, like active listening, showing empathy, and effective communication, leading to increased loneliness and disconnection.

Key insights include:

Social Skills Deficiency: The lack of training in vital social skills in educational systems contributes to a disconnect in society.
Impact of Technology: Technology, while making solitude more bearable, also hinders the development of meaningful connections.
Importance of Deep Conversations: Engaging in profound discussions is crucial for meaningful relationships, yet modern society often avoids such interactions.
Brooks’ Typology: The concept of “Diminishers” and “Illuminators” is introduced, where Diminishers make people feel unseen and used, while Illuminators actively work to understand and uplift others.
Practical Application: The article suggests that actively working on social skills can improve one’s ability to connect deeply with others.

Actionable takeaways:

Develop Interpersonal Skills: Focus on enhancing skills like empathy, active listening, and clear communication.
Engage in Meaningful Conversations: Seek and initiate deeper conversations beyond superficial topics.
Be Aware of Social Dynamics: Understand the difference between Diminishers and Illuminators in social interactions and strive to be an Illuminator.
Utilize Relationships for Growth: Use relationships as a means to understand oneself better and grow personally.

The article intertwines personal experiences and observations with the book’s concepts, providing a comprehensive view of the importance of interpersonal skills and deep connections in leading a fulfilling life.

The Evolution Of What It Means To Be Human

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 07:13:37 +0000

The Evolution Of What It Means To Be Human

TLDR:

The article “The Evolution Of What It Means To Be Human” by Nathan Gardels, editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine, explores the concept of human identity in the context of our interactions with the natural cosmos and the environment we have formed through technology and culture. The author argues that what it means to be human is not a constant, but is continually constituted, altered, and re-constituted through our interface with an open and evolving world.

The article features insights from Benjamin Bratton, a philosopher of technology, who suggests that technology and science do not erase ’the Human’ but rather reveal what humans have always been. He argues that instead of leading to a ‘post-human’ condition, science and technology might lead to a slightly more human condition. Bratton suggests that our understanding of ourselves is enhanced, not diminished, by scientific and technological advancements.

Bratton also discusses the idea of anthropo-technogenesis, the process by which humans and technology evolve together. He suggests that this process should not be seen as a threat to human agency or autonomy. Instead, it reveals the nature of subjectivity and the qualities of being a human body. He argues that we are not separate from the world, but are embedded in it, and this shapes our identity.

The article concludes by discussing the implications of these ideas for politics and governance. It suggests that we need a theory of governance that recognizes the promise of scientific and technological advances while affirming the autonomy of humans, albeit reconfigured through a new awareness. This would involve a balance between the capacity to act and the ability to amend or arrest action that could lead to harmful consequences.

Blog Infrastructure Update 2

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 21:17:10 +0200

Sadly i did’t saved measurements form before the migration to the new Infrastructure. I will do better next time ;)

My blog has experienced a major infrastructure update.
Previously this blog was served by a tiny but highly optimized server at a Hetzner datacenter.
Since this blog is static it was for example possible to pre-compress the files, which shaved a massive 1-0.5ms from a cold TTBF.

Sadly this approach was a bit flawed because outside of germany the cold TTBF times weren’t exactly good.
Surprisingly CloudFlare did nothing to these times, since the cache of CloudFlare is short lived and not prefetched.

My solution to this problem, to make a global low cold TTBF possible, was BunnyCDN which provides a Service that can store and server static file, these files are replicated Globally to user-selectable locations.
At my case (i use all locations), the price per GB per month is 0.28$ which is very good if you consider that all content is replicated and served from SSDs in 14 locations.

Here you can see where these locations are, green is the “main storage zone”, which is not configurable.

The switch to BunnyCDN gave me a immense performance boost around the world, and surprisingly also in germany.
BunnyCDN dose not allow for rsync or something usable to transfer the Files to them.

I use lftp to transfer the files via FTP, which takes about 9 min each time. This is tbh shitty, and i don’t like it a bit.

# DNS and Peering

Sadly BunnyCDN dose not allow to use them as a nameServer, also i have to use a c-name to hook up to their CDN.
Cloudflare on the other side acts as a nameservers and returns direct IPv4s and IPv6s on the DNS-query, this will save 1 DNS-Request and is therefore faster, especially since most users using the DNS-Server from their ISP which are often very slow.

So i tried to put CloudFlare in front of BunnyCDN, which had a negative impact on the TTFB, although not a great one.
In same cases it is faster to get a uncached page on BunnyCDN through CloudFlare because CloudFlare has a lot and very good peering to ISPs and exchanges.

Sadly CloudFlare TTBF behaves a unpredictable.
It can be that you get in one request 20ms TTFB and the next one takes 300ms.

I think i will run CloudFlare anyway in front of BunnyCDN in hope to better mitigate Attacks and big page visit numbers.
I hope that CloudFlare will cache such surges for me… they can become expensive.

# Costs

This entire setup cost me less then 1$ per Month (without the Domain), which is very very cheap for something this fast.
I think it is amazing how cheap and easy you can distribute your ideas and thoughts today, without relining on a platform that appropriates your content.

# Conclusion

Costs less then 1$ per Month.
Scales amazingly.
Very fast global latency.
I don’t have to keep a server updated.

Poverty and Financial Goals with Inflation

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 11:17:10 +0000

A while ago, I decided to work towards certain financial goals in order to have a buffer for bad times. Through some friends and acquaintances, I’ve seen very clearly how difficult it is to get back on your feet from a financially challenging situation. Being poor is incredibly expensive. Here, the relative impact on the basis for existence is particularly visible. If I overlook a bill and have to pay a 5€ reminder fee, I don’t even notice it in my daily life… not even a Starbucks coffee… In a difficult financial situation, this can mean a day without food.

This extends to dimensions such as “I can’t get an account with a bank and have to find an employer who can pay me with a physical wage packet,” to “I am forced to go to jail because my wage garnishment takes so much money that I can no longer afford the DB (Deutsche Bahn) ticket and I can’t possibly pay the court fine for ‘fare evasion’ in addition.”

Being poor is very, very expensive and incredibly unfair, and you are subject to massive arbitrariness.

One of my biggest fears is to get into such a practically hopeless situation, from which there is very rarely an escape.

So I’ve decided to save a certain amount of money that can keep me afloat for a while and afford investments like “I need a car for this job because the job is in the countryside.”

I thought that about 50,000€ should suffice to survive pretty much any financial blow, at least in the short and medium term.

Note: This is purely an arbitrary estimate of mine, a gut feeling. I think this value is very dependent on the risk you carry in life. So, for example, “Do I absolutely need a car”, “Is my house well insured”, “Do I have a child”, “How many long-term contracts do I have?”, etc. These are all risks that need to be cushioned in the event of job loss or the loss of work capacity. You should plan at least enough money so that you are able to reduce your expenses to fit into basic security, and that can take quite a long time, as with expensive mobile phone contracts, for example.

# Inflation

Now we have the problem that the counter value of, for example, 50k€ decreases with inflation. Since we don’t just set a number and that’s enough, we’re essentially saving for performance that is available to us in case of need, we want to include inflation in these 50k€. After some searching, I came across the “HICP(2005-06)” index, which indicates the value development of the euro in relation to 06.2005. Today, on June 8, 2022, the last determined HICP is at 136.8. So we have to provide 136.8% of the money value of 2005 to get the same performance. To make the calculation faster and to have a simple, good source for the HICP, I built a small tool and pre-calculated some values: https://i5heu.github.io/HICP-calculator/index.html

50k€ in 2005 are today 68,400€.

Book summary: 2k to 10k

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 20:29:21 +0000

Book summary: 2k to 10k

TLDR:

“2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love” by Rachel Aaron provides practical tips and advice for writers. It’s divided into two parts: writing process and background work.

Part one discusses a process for writing quickly and efficiently, which is based on three factors: knowledge, time, and enthusiasm. It encourages understanding what you’re going to write before you start, optimizing your writing sessions based on when/where you’re most productive, and writing content that you’re enthusiastic about.

Part two shares advice on plotting, character development, and editing. It provides a five-step process for plotting a story and emphasizes the importance of well-developed characters with agency. It also breaks down the traditional three-act structure, the concept of scenes serving multiple purposes, and provides a practical approach to editing.

The book underlines that writing is an enjoyable process, characters should be designed to drive their stories, and editing is a skill that can be mastered. It encourages authors to shift their thinking and approach to writing, making it both an enjoyable and efficient process. The final objective of editing, according to the book, is to enhance the reader experience.

What Should You Do with Your Life? Directions and Advice

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:41:31 +0000

What Should You Do with Your Life? Directions and Advice

TLDR:

The article “What Should You Do with Your Life? Directions and Advice” by Alexey Guzey provides guidance for people who are unsure about their life plans. Here’s a summary:

What to work on: Guzey suggests several resources for finding interesting problems to work on, including Y Combinator’s Requests for Startups, OpenAI’s Requests for Research, and various lists of research ideas and project ideas.
How to work on the problem you like: Guzey advises writing down a shortlist of exciting problems, selecting the most exciting and tractable ones, and then learning everything you need to start working on the problem. This could involve taking MOOCs, auditing classes at a local university, or finding a tutor. Once you’ve gained sufficient knowledge, start working on a project related to the problem, produce a minimal public impressive result, and share it with people working in your area.
Cold emails and Twitter: Guzey emphasizes the effectiveness of cold emails and Twitter for connecting with people who can help you. He shares examples of his own successful cold emails and provides tips for writing them.
Finding funding: For projects that require funding, Guzey lists several resources, including Nadia Eghbal’s list of microgrants, the Thiel Fellowship, and Emergent Ventures.
General advice: Guzey shares advice from various sources, such as Paul Graham’s essay “How to Do What You Love”, Patrick Collison’s advice for ages 10-20, and Patrick McKenzie’s “Don’t End The Week With Nothing”. The common theme is to be proactive, produce tangible work, and take advantage of opportunities.
More projects to work on: Guzey ends the article by suggesting more projects to work on, like Jacob Trefethen’s Vigilante accountability project.

A Project of One's Own

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 05:10:37 +0000

A Project of One’s Own

TLDR:

The article, titled “Own”, is written by Paul Graham and was published in June 2021. It discusses the concept of working on a project of one’s own and how it differs from ordinary work. Here are the key points:

Working on a project of one’s own is compared to skating, which is more fun and productive than ordinary work (walking). This kind of work is often exciting and engaging, even though it may not always lead to happiness due to the challenges and problems encountered.
The author argues that a significant proportion of great work has been done by people who were “skating” in this sense. He emphasizes the importance of autonomy and the sense of ownership in work.
The article also discusses the disconnect between the work children do (like building a treehouse) and the work adults do. It criticizes the school system for not making it clear to children that their playful projects could lead to serious work in adulthood.
The author prefers his children to work on ambitious projects of their own rather than focusing on getting good grades. He argues that such projects have more predictive value for future success.
The article also explores the concept of collaboration and how it fits into the idea of owning a project. It suggests that collaboration can either involve sharing a single project or working on separate projects that fit together.
The author concludes by encouraging adults to recapture the carefree confidence they had as children when starting new projects. He suggests that adults can have the best of both worlds: being deliberate in choosing to work on projects of their own and carelessly confident in starting new ones.

Ask HN: Favorite Blogs by Individuals?

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 21:50:00 +0000

Ask HN: Favorite Blogs by Individuals?

TLDR:

The discussion on the provided Hacker News link revolves around various topics, primarily focusing on the appreciation of a historian’s blog that frequently appears on Hacker News. The blog is praised for its detailed and technical descriptions of mechanical processes, which some users liken to the work of a programmer. The author’s approach to discussing topics such as archery, which includes elements of physics, empirical studies, historical anecdotes, and comparisons to modern video games and TV, is also appreciated.

There’s also a discussion about a blog post on medieval medicine, which is praised for its insightful exploration of the topic. Some users express their appreciation for the writer’s style, which includes the use of parentheses, italics, and bolding to clarify the structure of thoughts.

The thread also includes a discussion about a blog called “A half-hour to learn Rust,” which is recommended for those interested in learning Rust with a good programming background but no specific Rust knowledge.

There are also mentions of other blogs and resources, such as diff.blog, a platform for discovering new developer blogs, and a discussion about the cost of domain names. Some users share their favorite blogs and discuss the benefits of using an RSS feed reader.