rynling: (Gators)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-07-02 10:43 am

Re: I want to roundhouse kick GenAI into the sun

I bitch and moan about GenAI, but I think it’s important to emphasize that it’s not all one thing, and that many applications of these programs can be super useful. Like in language learning, for instance, or in helping researchers in STEM fields organize and present data. Just because some people are evil and stupid and lazy doesn’t mean the technology is “bad” by default.

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For me at least, that really hammered down the point that the “enemy” isn’t necessarily the technology itself. Rather, it’s how institutions use the technology to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities related to labor.
rynling: (Ganondorf)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-07-01 08:43 am

I want to roundhouse kick GenAI into the sun

Just for shits and giggles (and also inspired by the brilliant fanwork of a friend), I decided to write a few quick stories about Tenna, the villain (sort of) of the recently released Chapter 3 of Deltarune. I thought the idea of shipping him with Spamton, the villain (definitely) of Chapter 2 was funny for a hot second before actually becoming intrigued by the dynamic. What if they were both awful and made each other worse, that sort of thing.

The problem I had initially was how to write Tenna, who we only ever see speaking to an audience. How would his voice translate to a more intimate situation? To get a sense of fandom tastes, I pulled up fic for the ship on AO3 as sorted by the number of bookmarks, which I hoped would filter out most of the slop.

But alas. There is. A whole lot of slop. Very clearly written by GenAI. And people love it. Apparently.

I don't understand this at all. These stories all follow the same beats and use the same vocabulary, and the characters don't speak in their distinctive voices. There's no attempt to engage with the story or lore of the original game, and there's no specificity at all. Why would so many people bookmark fic like this?

Meanwhile, my university has been aggressively integrating GenAI into its software licenses and digital infrastructure, which has been causing huge problems for everyone. To give an example, many incoming students from East Asia or with East Asian heritage can't upload their photos to their university profiles because the software flags them for using AI-generated images. Because all Asians look fake to the algorithm I guess?? At the same time, the East Asian language teachers have been asking the university to pay for licenses for region-specific GenAI tools that might potentially make huge advances in language learning, but the university (which has more money than God) has been ignoring them. Because why would a university want to use GenAI for actual education and pedagogical innovation amirite.

TLDR: This is dystopian and I hate it.
alierak: (Default)
alierak ([personal profile] alierak) wrote in [site community profile] dw_maintenance2025-06-30 03:18 pm

Rebuilding journal search again

We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.
rynling: (Terra)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-29 08:29 am
Entry tags:

June Happiness

This is what’s been making me happy this month:

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rynling: (Mog Toast)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-28 07:55 am
Entry tags:

2025 Writing Log, Part 25

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My department has a lot of foreign students; and, as you might imagine, the current federal administration’s policies have made everything difficult in terms of visas and funding. It’s been an ongoing mess, and this week was especially hectic. I don’t mind doing the work, but I wish it weren’t five times more difficult than it needs to be. These days I take my joy where I can find it.

This week’s joy was that an Aldi grocery store opened three blocks away from my house. What Aldi is known for is its “center aisle,” which functions a bit like Costco in that it features limited quantities of discount seasonal items. Since it was a special occasion, I decided to embrace consumerism and spend $12 on an inflatable plastic splashy pool specifically designed for dogs. My corgi was frightened (as she is of most things), but the Pomeranian absolutely lost her shit. I have never seen a living creature so happy.
rynling: (Default)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-23 02:45 pm

Ready for Prime Time

deltarune mettaton doesn’t get the amount of love he deserves
https://planetamarte.tumblr.com/post/786897660910125056/for-being-such-a-beloved-character-in-undertale-i

This is an interesting post about reading Mettaton as trans (among other things). I remember that this was a popular interpretation of the character in Undertale, and it's always good to see people finding trans joy in stories that speak to them.

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Anyway I think he and Tenna should kiss.
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-22 12:36 pm

Vacuous Spiderposting

Rom is one of the more mysterious characters in Bloodborne, so I want to try to summarize what we actually know about her. Content warning for body horror.

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Anyway, TLDR, this is my theory:

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And that’s essentially what happened to Rom.
rynling: (Mog Toast)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-21 07:42 am
Entry tags:

2025 Writing Log, Part 24

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Happy Summer Solstice ☀️

Please enjoy this light-filled painting of my dogs:

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rynling: (Gators)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-20 07:14 am
Entry tags:

Deltarune Chapter 3

After two weeks, I finally finished Chapter 3 of Deltarune. It will probably surprise no one to learn that I got really into the secret Zelda-style minigames that you can access by getting an S-Rank on the first two sections of the main story. That hole was made for me.

Here's how you know I'm enjoying the game: (a) I'm writing an essay about Chapter 3's theme of "having fun" for Sidequest, and (b) I'm writing toxic old man yaoi about Tenna and Spamton.

ETA: Do you ever wonder, like. Why this??????
rynling: (Terra)
Rynling R&D ([personal profile] rynling) wrote2025-06-19 08:50 am

Escaped Chasm

Escaped Chasm
https://tuyoki.itch.io/escaped-chasm

Escaped Chasm is a 25-minute dark fantasy narrative adventure game created in RPG Maker with a mix of retro Game Boy graphics and anime-style cutscenes. Originally released in 2019, it’s the first stand-alone project of Temmie Chang, a longtime friend and collaborator of Toby Fox who contributed character designs and graphics to Undertale and Deltarune.

You play as a young teenage “Lonely Girl” who doesn’t leave the house and lives vicariously through her dreams and art. Her parents appear to have gone missing, and she doesn’t know what to do. To make matters worse, she’s tired all the time, and a strange man has started appearing in her house.

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