>>523
Lots to answer anon.
> Advice for meeting friends like that?
If you are good at something and if its known, you attract like minded people. Can be something as simple as being a good runner/musician or an original thinker.
Work on yourself, you will attract good people.
This regardless of the blackpill. A lot of based people are fugly, short, bald etc but attract lot of good people and things in life due to their exceptional nature.
> -10 here right now. Pretty chilly but a few years ago it was absolutely brutal, -30 often
I have only expirienced Calgary and Edminton and the cold was different kind of brutal. It was dry but if you didn't take care it would get to your bones.
> I've been meaning to ask, what is your opinion on the advancements of AI?
Those who learn to work with it have a good future,
those who don't will earn less or eventually be replaced for the worst.
India and Indians in particular will be really screwed, although I see resistance, it is weak.
The main question is, is it cheaper for AI to do ones job or not ? Depending on that answer, a lot will change.
> Now it's just a faceless algorithm.
AI can regurjitate only what has been fed to it, it can create new combinations. But it also has a counter effect. The value of analogue and non digital , of what has not been digitized or fed to AI's will increase a lot, as will real originality, but it will be domain of the elites, while the masses will get low level lew effort resources.
This will be the case for few decades. As populations fall, quality of life will increase, Independence will decrease as we depend more and more on AI.
This should honestly be a dedicated thread, a very important topic.
> Also, do you have any career advice for someone in academia? I think the whole field is about to get fucked (politics and automation) and I have no idea what to do anymore.
Well, I can give some possible scenario's
1. Structured and predictable topic with a position in University
You earn well, you work a lot so less time for PhD , your topic and its end result is predictable, therefore so is your career, but depending on your alignment with political goals, you will get social acceptance and "success" but your research will only add to existing narratives.
i.e. no academic indepdence
2. Independent PhD with Scholarship and/or job
You fund your own PhD with no garuntee of job or acceptance upon finishing it, therefore your work has to be exceptionally good, you will be working a lot therefore little to no time for parties, social life etc. You will have to prove yourself every step of the way.
Not easy, but gives you independence, working on the side means you have experience i.e. a backup in case academia does not work out.
There are more side effects of working in academia. Imagine you are at a family dinner. Your sisters husband Santosh Kumar is bragging about a promotion he got, marketing for some randumb IT company. Everyone gives social approval. Your work is too complex to explain to them and they are not interested in something that requires too much thinking.
So while others have gamified goals and upgrades in life, yours is just chipping away at a mountain, with predictable salary and relatively same lifestyle.
So think about these carefully.
These are massive topics, with lot of detail needed for each.