Interesting Links for 10-07-2022

[andrewducker]

1. Markov Chat Bot Disaster Story

(tags:language communication AI technology viaPatrickHadfield )

2. 60 per cent of Brits on £80,000-100,000 say they're "about average" (median household income is about 30k)

(tags:salary UK belief )

Comments

[mtbc]

I've been ongoingly puzzled by that I don't feel as if I spend freely, I don't frequent pubs, cinemas, etc., I've never even seen the Mediterranean, I see all these people with shiny cars, eating in restaurants, etc. I know my income's good, I just don't know where everybody else gets the money for the lifestyles they seem to have!

[naath]

theyy don't have whatever it is you do have... shiny tech aaybe?
We have a house in Cambridge, and we never have to care about the ocade bill... we could have a shinycor but instead i have a shy wheelcaha;r

[cellio]

Are you, perhaps, saving for retirement and avoiding credit-card debt? (Two questions to which I wish the common answer were "duh, yes", but so many people don't that it might be part of what's going on there.)

[channelpenguin]

Since even on a very decent income reachin the figures suggested for retirement "pot" through pension/savings/investments are laughably far out of reach, and returns on anything safe abysmally woeful, I gave up on "pensions" long ago. My other investments did ok ... until I fell foul of a swindle.

They change retirement ages and NI rules on us with less than 20 years to go ... how can that be planned ?

Also - massive uncertainty of lifespan - how can anyone plan? My grandmothers lived to 51 and over 100! It's just not at all possible to allow for accumulating enough if I live as long as the upper end, and on the lower end you never see any of your pension!

I am trying to get into a position (knowledge, skills, land,possessions) where I have the minimum bills and hope that apart from that, nobody will let an old lady starve ir freeze. If I fuck it up, I suppose I could shoplift food until I get arrested :-). [If there's society collapse and no shops or police I'd be long gone anyway! ]. Hypothermia is a peaceful way to go anyway.

[mtbc]

I do try to avoid debt, e.g., I just bought a car for cash, and I've done the more minimal things, like making sure I always did whatever got me maximum employer match on 401(k). Also, right now's awkward in that I've self-funded our move to Scotland (shipping, immigration, etc., probably over $25k). I certainly won't have enough saved in pensions, I expect to work as long as possible. I guess that at least some of the explanation must be my having kids, they cost money ongoingly, in everything from larger house in decent school district, to extra food, two from my first marriage, two from my second.

[andrewducker]

25k would easily fund eating out regularly and the occasional holiday. And four kids is enough to suck anyone's bank account dry!

[fyre]

Every time I see mention of "average" wages and things, I have to sigh heavily and remember I live in a city where there are a lot of high-income earners bringing up that average as well. So many people are so far below that average and people on the high end act like they're hard done by

[andrewducker]

Oh yeah. Which is one reason I'd much rather use median than mean - adding a few billionaires doesn't bring up the middle point significantly.

[cellio]

Or, at the very least, report standard deviation alongside mean. But median would be more helpful, as you say.

[naath]

we are 6 figure household income, but *so are most people we know* so we all see the different choices we all made and feel we are missing out, and frex I am significantly disabled, so 'everyone else has more fun' might even be true, but at least I'm not poor aswell, and I can buy the mobility aids I want

Bot

[cellio]

I guess in a hackathon context you don't think of things like restricting privileges. Oops!

Re: Bot

[andrewducker]

Yeah. Should *everyone* in the chat be able to push new versions of things, tear down servers, etc? Doesn't sound like they had good controls!

[conuly]

2. 60 per cent of Brits on £80,000-100,000 say they're "about average" (median household income is about 30k)

It's just as bad with the wealthy here, those even richer than that.

[anef]

This headline made me blink somewhat: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10975573/City-law-firm-Herbert-Smith-Freehills-hands-junior-solicitors-24-pay-rise-salary-120-000.html

[andrewducker]

Seems like a reasonable percentage. I wouldn't settle for less myself.