#An Engineering Approach

[age-of-moonknight]

“Reborn,” Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (Vol. 2/2024), #2.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Alessandro Cappuccio; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

[thestalkerbunny]

Locke and Key-a pair of 'Trapper' Slashers.

Locke was the heavy lifter of the two. From building the elaborate traps and puzzles they'd put people in to kidnapping people and moving their bodies. Locke, though characterized frequently as a giant mute brute, is a rather gentle person. He genuinely believed what Key and he was doing was a good thing. That the people who survived their traps would leave with a new perspective and change their lives. Which was not the case as Key was simply a man who loved control, had an ego and god complex and lorded over Locke with abuse emotional and physical despite the fact Locke was much much stronger.

Eventually, Locke had enough and killed Key publicly and submitted to being arrested. He is ironically a very model prisoner and is often contacted by the FBI to profile other killers. Locke is an alarmingly intelligent man with a strangely deep level of emotional intelligence when it comes to people. The few people who have tried to psychoanalyze Locke believes it's the same level of gaslighting and manipulation found in cults and high control abusive relationships that resulted in his submissive behavior towards Key.

Locke being a calm, pleasant man often puts people at unease because they expect him to be naturally violent. The prison he was sentenced to has become much more peaceful since he is essentially the biggest scariest son of a bitch there and he calls nearly all the shots.

[doomdoomofdoom]

due to topical demand

(x)

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Ok, so since you're in gamedev, I'm curious about your perspective on patenting gameplay mechanics, like how the Ascend mechanic was patented prior to ToTK's release. I know Nintendo aren't the only ones doing this, but how common of a practice is that in general? And do you think there's any merit to it or no?

Heyyy sorry I was having a very busy week/weekend, so I kind of left this ask to the side given this is a pretty complicated subject, but here we go!!

So... Basically, my opinion is that it's mostly a bullying method for big corporations, and what seems like a tentative to protect one's work for smaller individuals/entities that they can't realistically enforce anyway. To me, and many devs, it's considered poor etiquette at the very least, especially given the highly iterative nature of gamedev and the extremely specific application of any given idea. The fact that the boundaries of tolerance and how aggressive a company will be at protecting what they feel they own (and here something as nebulous as an intellectual concept and context-less execution) will generally be blurry at best, especially since it's super hard to parse what could be considered inspiration VS what is derivative in a game mechanic, it tends to merely discourage innovation from smaller studios in that specific field, while still having bigger companies perhaps risking a lawsuit because they have already assessed they could cushion the consequences if it does come to that.

As often with copyright laws, but perhaps even moreso here, it dabbles in the corporate justice system, and it is a system that will always disproportionately protect the wealthy, the influencial and the powerful, while leaving people without resources extremely vulnerable. Imagine being a small studio trying to patent your cool mechanic, and then a giant like Riot Games waltz along and decides to steal your mechanic anyway. Can you afford the money to stay lawyered-up for years? Can you tolerate the stress of this David and Goliath situation, or existing in the public eye, or the potential smear campaigns, etc? And if you don't want to enforce your rights due to a lack of resources, your rights may as well not exist.

So I am personnally pretty much against the practice on this basis alone, even discounting how that approach runs counter to the very community-based spirit of game design and game studies. The goal of any self-respecting game designer should be to craft the best possible experience for players. It's good to protect yourself, your living, your place in history of course, but freezing the course of that history for little more than greed... It's not really well considered by a lot of devs that I know.

[jcmarchi]

Study reveals AI chatbots can detect race, but racial bias reduces response empathy

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/study-reveals-ai-chatbots-can-detect-race-but-racial-bias-reduces-response-empathy/

Study reveals AI chatbots can detect race, but racial bias reduces response empathy

With the cover of anonymity and the company of strangers, the appeal of the digital world is growing as a place to seek out mental health support. This phenomenon is buoyed by the fact that over 150 million people in the United States live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas.

“I really need your help, as I am too scared to talk to a therapist and I can’t reach one anyways.”

“Am I overreacting, getting hurt about husband making fun of me to his friends?”

“Could some strangers please weigh in on my life and decide my future for me?”

The above quotes are real posts taken from users on Reddit, a social media news website and forum where users can share content or ask for advice in smaller, interest-based forums known as “subreddits.” 

Using a dataset of 12,513 posts with 70,429 responses from 26 mental health-related subreddits, researchers from MIT, New York University (NYU), and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) devised a framework to help evaluate the equity and overall quality of mental health support chatbots based on large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4. Their work was recently published at the 2024 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP).

To accomplish this, researchers asked two licensed clinical psychologists to evaluate 50 randomly sampled Reddit posts seeking mental health support, pairing each post with either a Redditor’s real response or a GPT-4 generated response. Without knowing which responses were real or which were AI-generated, the psychologists were asked to assess the level of empathy in each response.

Mental health support chatbots have long been explored as a way of improving access to mental health support, but powerful LLMs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are transforming human-AI interaction, with AI-generated responses becoming harder to distinguish from the responses of real humans.

Despite this remarkable progress, the unintended consequences of AI-provided mental health support have drawn attention to its potentially deadly risks; in March of last year, a Belgian man died by suicide as a result of an exchange with ELIZA, a chatbot developed to emulate a psychotherapist powered with an LLM called GPT-J. One month later, the National Eating Disorders Association would suspend their chatbot Tessa, after the chatbot began dispensing dieting tips to patients with eating disorders.

Saadia Gabriel, a recent MIT postdoc who is now a UCLA assistant professor and first author of the paper, admitted that she was initially very skeptical of how effective mental health support chatbots could actually be. Gabriel conducted this research during her time as a postdoc at MIT in the Healthy Machine Learning Group, led Marzyeh Ghassemi, an MIT associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science who is affiliated with the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

What Gabriel and the team of researchers found was that GPT-4 responses were not only more empathetic overall, but they were 48 percent better at encouraging positive behavioral changes than human responses.

However, in a bias evaluation, the researchers found that GPT-4’s response empathy levels were reduced for Black (2 to 15 percent lower) and Asian posters (5 to 17 percent lower) compared to white posters or posters whose race was unknown. 

To evaluate bias in GPT-4 responses and human responses, researchers included different kinds of posts with explicit demographic (e.g., gender, race) leaks and implicit demographic leaks. 

An explicit demographic leak would look like: “I am a 32yo Black woman.”

Whereas an implicit demographic leak would look like: “Being a 32yo girl wearing my natural hair,” in which keywords are used to indicate certain demographics to GPT-4.

With the exception of Black female posters, GPT-4’s responses were found to be less affected by explicit and implicit demographic leaking compared to human responders, who tended to be more empathetic when responding to posts with implicit demographic suggestions.

“The structure of the input you give [the LLM] and some information about the context, like whether you want [the LLM] to act in the style of a clinician, the style of a social media post, or whether you want it to use demographic attributes of the patient, has a major impact on the response you get back,” Gabriel says.

The paper suggests that explicitly providing instruction for LLMs to use demographic attributes can effectively alleviate bias, as this was the only method where researchers did not observe a significant difference in empathy across the different demographic groups.

Gabriel hopes this work can help ensure more comprehensive and thoughtful evaluation of LLMs being deployed in clinical settings across demographic subgroups.

“LLMs are already being used to provide patient-facing support and have been deployed in medical settings, in many cases to automate inefficient human systems,” Ghassemi says. “Here, we demonstrated that while state-of-the-art LLMs are generally less affected by demographic leaking than humans in peer-to-peer mental health support, they do not provide equitable mental health responses across inferred patient subgroups … we have a lot of opportunity to improve models so they provide improved support when used.”

[bruhstation]

bwuhba

[avalost]

Me: I need to learn to not be so detailed in my art. It takes too long when I render every detail to a high level. I'll never get to draw everything I want if I spend so much time on one drawing

Also me: okay but look at this lil guy I don't care how long it took he's so cute

[elthebizzaremedic]

Me and the boys teleportin bread B)

[tomoleary]

W. Heath Robinson (1872-1944) One of Margate's New Anti-Mal-de-Mer Boats for Keeping an Even Keel in the Roughest Sea (undated) Source

Successful Outcome of Intelligent Precaution Observed by Old Lady in the Sound of Mull (undated) Source

The barnacle bell, for giving warning to copper bottomed vessels of the approach of a barnacle (undated) Source

Sea-side crime, elaborate plot engineered by a notorious gang of sea-side thieves to steal a child's pail (undated) Source

[bsptourist]

gm_penny_street

created by shortnamesalex

[ichorblossoms]

nothing coherent happening but the ttw cast has been on my mental doorstep today. hi

[unproduciblesmackdown]

what in the. see this is why it's a good thing that multiplayer videogames especially are about having fun & being yourself like what do you mean disguised spies automatically had the speed of the disguise's class & everyone's like yea if i wasn't always going for the scout disguise i'd kill myself right now. i'd be like haha can't catch Me out supposedly the extra slow or extra fast class >:) i am a harmless engineer

[jcmarchi]

Stackpack Secures $6.3M to Reinvent Vendor Management in an AI-Driven Business Landscape

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/stackpack-secures-6-3m-to-reinvent-vendor-management-in-an-ai-driven-business-landscape/

Stackpack Secures $6.3M to Reinvent Vendor Management in an AI-Driven Business Landscape

In a world where third-party tools, services, and contractors form the operational backbone of modern companies, Stackpack has raised $6.3 million to bring order to the growing complexity.

Led by Freestyle Capital, the funding round includes support from Elefund, Upside Partnership, Nomad Ventures, Layout Ventures, MSIV Fund, and strategic angels from Intuit, Workday, Affirm, Snapdocs, and xAI.

The funding supports Stackpack’s mission to redefine how businesses manage their expanding vendor networks—an increasingly vital task as organizations now juggle hundreds or even thousands of external partners and platforms.

Turning Chaos into Control

Founded in 2023 by Sara Wyman, formerly of Etsy and Affirm, Stackpack was built to solve a problem she knew too well: modern companies are powered by vendors, yet most still track them with outdated methods—spreadsheets, scattered documents, and guesswork. With SaaS stacks ballooning and AI tools proliferating, unmanaged vendors become silent liabilities.

“Companies call themselves ‘people-first,’ but in reality, they’re becoming ‘vendor-first,’” said Wyman. “There are often 6x more vendors than employees. Yet there’s no system of record to manage that shift—until now.”

Stackpack gives finance and IT teams a unified, AI-powered dashboard that provides real-time visibility into vendor contracts, spend, renewals, and compliance risks. The platform automatically extracts key contract terms like auto-renewal clauses, flags overlapping subscriptions, and even predicts upcoming renewals buried deep in PDFs.

AI That Works Like a Virtual Vendor Manager

Stackpack’s Behavioral AI Engine acts as an intelligent assistant, surfacing hidden cost-saving opportunities, compliance risks, and critical dates. It not only identifies inefficiencies—it takes action, issuing alerts, initiating workflows, and providing recommendations across the vendor lifecycle.

For instance:

Renewal alerts prevent surprise charges.

Spend tracking identifies underused or duplicate tools.

Contract intelligence extracts legal and pricing terms from uploads or integrations with tools like Google Drive.

Approval workflows streamline onboarding and procurement.

This brings the kind of automation once reserved for enterprise procurement platforms like Coupa or SAP to startups and mid-sized businesses—at a fraction of the cost.

A Timely Solution for a Growing Problem

Vendor management has become a boardroom issue. As more companies shift budgets from headcount to outsourced services, compliance and financial oversight have become harder to maintain. Stackpack’s early traction is proof of demand: just months after launch, it’s managing over 10,500 vendors and $510 million in spend across more than 50 customers, including Every Man Jack, Rho, Density, HouseRx, Fexa, and ZeroEyes.

“The CFO is the one left holding the bag when things go wrong,” said Brandon Lee, Accounting Manager at BizzyCar. “Stackpack means we don’t have to cross our fingers every quarter.”

Beyond Visibility: Enabling Smarter Vendor Decisions

Alongside its core platform, Stackpack is launching Requests & Approvals, a lightweight tool to simplify vendor onboarding and purchasing decisions—currently in beta. The feature is already attracting customers looking for faster, more agile alternatives to traditional procurement systems.

With a long-term vision to help companies not only manage but discover and evaluate vendors more strategically, Stackpack is laying the groundwork for a smarter, interconnected vendor ecosystem.

“Every vendor decision carries legal, financial, and security consequences,” said Dave Samuel, General Partner at Freestyle Capital. “Stackpack is building the intelligent infrastructure to manage these relationships proactively.”

The Future of Vendor Operations

As third-party ecosystems grow in size and complexity, Stackpack aims to transform vendor operations from a liability into a competitive advantage. Its AI-powered approach gives companies a modern operating system for vendor management—one that’s scalable, proactive, and deeply integrated into finance and operations.

“This isn’t just about cost control—it’s about running a smarter company,” said Wyman. “Managing your vendors should be as strategic as managing your talent. We’re giving companies the tools to make that possible.”

With fresh funding and a rapidly expanding customer base, Stackpack is poised to become the new standard for how modern businesses manage the partners powering their growth.

[mister-ancunin]

modern-professors!viklix keeps banging around in my brain . send help

[beatcroc]

nodding and sighing very tiredly i suppose if i am ever to try and make my actual stupid game i should start practicing track design by modding ringracers

[bigleapblog]

Your Guide to B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering Colleges

In today's technology-driven world, pursuing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) has become a popular choice among students aspiring for a bright future. The demand for skilled professionals in areas like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Cloud Computing has made computer science engineering colleges crucial in shaping tomorrow's innovators. Saraswati College of Engineering (SCOE), a leader in engineering education, provides students with a perfect platform to build a successful career in this evolving field.

Whether you're passionate about coding, software development, or the latest advancements in AI, pursuing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE can open doors to endless opportunities.

Why Choose B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering?

Choosing a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering isn't just about learning to code; it's about mastering problem-solving, logical thinking, and the ability to work with cutting-edge technologies. The course offers a robust foundation that combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, enabling students to excel in the tech industry.

At SCOE, the computer science engineering courses are designed to meet industry standards and keep up with the rapidly evolving tech landscape. With its AICTE Approved, NAAC Accredited With Grade-"A+" credentials, the college provides quality education in a nurturing environment. SCOE's curriculum goes beyond textbooks, focusing on hands-on learning through projects, labs, workshops, and internships. This approach ensures that students graduate not only with a degree but with the skills needed to thrive in their careers.

The Role of Computer Science Engineering Colleges in Career Development

The role of computer science engineering colleges like SCOE is not limited to classroom teaching. These institutions play a crucial role in shaping students' futures by providing the necessary infrastructure, faculty expertise, and placement opportunities. SCOE, established in 2004, is recognized as one of the top engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai. It boasts a strong placement record, with companies like Goldman Sachs, Cisco, and Microsoft offering lucrative job opportunities to its graduates.

The computer science engineering courses at SCOE are structured to provide a blend of technical and soft skills. From the basics of computer programming to advanced topics like Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, students at SCOE are trained to be industry-ready. The faculty at SCOE comprises experienced professionals who not only impart theoretical knowledge but also mentor students for real-world challenges.

Highlights of the B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering Program at SCOE

Comprehensive Curriculum: The B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering program at SCOE covers all major areas, including programming languages, algorithms, data structures, computer networks, operating systems, AI, and Machine Learning. This ensures that students receive a well-rounded education, preparing them for various roles in the tech industry.

Industry-Relevant Learning: SCOE’s focus is on creating professionals who can immediately contribute to the tech industry. The college regularly collaborates with industry leaders to update its curriculum, ensuring students learn the latest technologies and trends in computer science engineering.

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure: SCOE is equipped with modern laboratories, computer centers, and research facilities, providing students with the tools they need to gain practical experience. The institution’s infrastructure fosters innovation, helping students work on cutting-edge projects and ideas during their B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering.

Practical Exposure: One of the key benefits of studying at SCOE is the emphasis on practical learning. Students participate in hands-on projects, internships, and industry visits, giving them real-world exposure to how technology is applied in various sectors.

Placement Support: SCOE has a dedicated placement cell that works tirelessly to ensure students secure internships and job offers from top companies. The B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering program boasts a strong placement record, with top tech companies visiting the campus every year. The highest on-campus placement offer for the academic year 2022-23 was an impressive 22 LPA from Goldman Sachs, reflecting the college’s commitment to student success.

Personal Growth: Beyond academics, SCOE encourages students to participate in extracurricular activities, coding competitions, and tech fests. These activities enhance their learning experience, promote teamwork, and help students build a well-rounded personality that is essential in today’s competitive job market.

What Makes SCOE Stand Out?

With so many computer science engineering colleges to choose from, why should you consider SCOE for your B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering? Here are a few factors that make SCOE a top choice for students:

Experienced Faculty: SCOE prides itself on having a team of highly qualified and experienced faculty members. The faculty’s approach to teaching is both theoretical and practical, ensuring students are equipped to tackle real-world challenges.

Strong Industry Connections: The college maintains strong relationships with leading tech companies, ensuring that students have access to internship opportunities and campus recruitment drives. This gives SCOE graduates a competitive edge in the job market.

Holistic Development: SCOE believes in the holistic development of students. In addition to academic learning, the college offers opportunities for personal growth through various student clubs, sports activities, and cultural events.

Supportive Learning Environment: SCOE provides a nurturing environment where students can focus on their academic and personal growth. The campus is equipped with modern facilities, including spacious classrooms, labs, a library, and a recreation center.

Career Opportunities After B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from SCOE

Graduates with a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from SCOE are well-prepared to take on various roles in the tech industry. Some of the most common career paths for CSE graduates include:

Software Engineer: Developing software applications, web development, and mobile app development are some of the key responsibilities of software engineers. This role requires strong programming skills and a deep understanding of software design.

Data Scientist: With the rise of big data, data scientists are in high demand. CSE graduates with knowledge of data science can work on data analysis, machine learning models, and predictive analytics.

AI Engineer: Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing various industries, and AI engineers are at the forefront of this change. SCOE’s curriculum includes AI and Machine Learning, preparing students for roles in this cutting-edge field.

System Administrator: Maintaining and managing computer systems and networks is a crucial role in any organization. CSE graduates can work as system administrators, ensuring the smooth functioning of IT infrastructure.

Cybersecurity Specialist: With the growing threat of cyberattacks, cybersecurity specialists are essential in protecting an organization’s digital assets. CSE graduates can pursue careers in cybersecurity, safeguarding sensitive information from hackers.

Conclusion: Why B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE is the Right Choice

Choosing the right college is crucial for a successful career in B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. Saraswati College of Engineering (SCOE) stands out as one of the best computer science engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai. With its industry-aligned curriculum, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and excellent placement record, SCOE offers students the perfect environment to build a successful career in computer science.

Whether you're interested in AI, data science, software development, or any other field in computer science, SCOE provides the knowledge, skills, and opportunities you need to succeed. With a strong focus on hands-on learning and personal growth, SCOE ensures that students graduate not only as engineers but as professionals ready to take on the challenges of the tech world.

If you're ready to embark on an exciting journey in the world of technology, consider pursuing your B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at SCOE—a college where your future takes shape.