How an artificial intelligence (as in large language model based generative AI) could be better for information access and retrieval than an encyclopedia with a clean classification model and a search engine?

If we add a step of processing -- where a genAI "digests" perfectly structured data and tries, as bad as it can, to regurgitate things it doesn't understand -- aren't we just adding noise?

I'm talking about the specific use-case of "draw me a picture explaining how a pressure regulator works", or "can you explain to me how to code a recursive pattern matching algorithm, please".

I also understand how it can help people who do not want or cannot make the effort to learn an encyclopedia's classification plan, or how a search engine's syntax work.

But on a fundamental level, aren't we just adding an incontrolable step of noise injection in a decent time-tested information flow?

Self-hosting services has been a life-changer. And I thank this community for helping me a lot recently. Not only did I learn a lot more about linux, network and docker, but it helped me understand better how platforms and advertising just f*cked up the internet I grew up with.

But I wonder: do any of you hate how self-hosting services like photo- or document-management systems, or even a simple rss tool, forces you to sort your stuff out, and put your decades old files in order?!

I'm in the process of migrating my web browser bookmarks to linkding because it's a GREAT tool. But I have like 2k websites to manualy check wether they're still there, wonder at how cool they still are, tag properly and archive with SingleFile!

And that's just ONE service...

<3 Premier carnaval populaire et déter <3

Dear colleagues,

Please find attached the call for proposals to our Open Science Devroom.

A conference track about all things "open source in research context" at the Free and Open Source Development European Meeting on 1st and 2nd of February 2025 at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

We are looking forward to your proposals!

See you there, The Open Research Devroom managers

Dear colleagues, open soup is key to fair redistribution of research.

Submit your proposals of open source tools in research to https://research-fosdem.github.io/

See you in Brussels, at the Université LIBRE de Bruxelles, of course.

Call for proposals!

Tout est dans le titre.

Je déménage à Lausanne en famille dans 3 semaines pour venir travailler à l'université. Très heureux et motivé pour faire ça bien.

Des conseils pour un humble déraciné ?