HackerNews Summary (2023-05-09 04AM)

Source: The Ether Dreams of Fin-de-Siècle Paris

Summary
Maupassant’s interpretation of telepathic communications is that they were doublings or splittings of his own mind. In his later years, he wondered if they were evidence of a disembodied presence inhabiting the modern world. His short story “The Horla,” explores this idea with a fractured, ambivalent, and perverse narrative.

Fact

👻 Maupassant’s short story “The Horla” explores the idea of a disembodied presence stalking the modern world.

🤔 The protagonist documents a double consciousness or self-haunting, causing him to wonder if he’s mad or under some sort of hypnotic suggestion.

💡 Maupassant considered the possibility of these telepathic communications as evidence for something beyond the self.

---

Source: New York Is Forcing Schools to Change How They Teach Children to Read

Summary
New York City schools are making reading a top priority under the new administration of Mayor Eric Adams, who is dyslexic. Schools are being required to adopt phonics programs, and teacher training on the new programs will begin soon and continue over the summer. The initiative begins with several areas where children have struggled the most.

Fact

📖 New York City schools have made reading a top priority under new Mayor Eric Adams, who is dyslexic.

👩‍🏫 Schools are required to adopt phonics programs and provide teacher training.

👨‍🏫 Coaching will continue throughout the year, with an emphasis on creating fully-planned curriculum units for the fall.

🏫 The rollout will begin in areas where children have struggled, such as Harlem, the northeast Bronx, East New York, Brownsville, and southeast Queens.

---

Source: Sexual abuse tip-off site could be sharing data with Facebook – Radio Sweden

Summary
Child protection group ECPAT may have inadvertently shared tipsters’ contact information with Facebook. Swedish Radio News tested ECPAT’s tip-off form and found names, phone numbers and email addresses were shared.

Fact

👶 ECPAT has received tips on child sexual exploitation

📝 Contact information of tipsters was shared with Facebook

📻 The issue was uncovered by Swedish Radio News reporters

---

Source: India’s religious AI chatbots are speaking in the voice of god — and condoning violence

Summary
GitaGPT is an AI chatbot based on the Bhagavad Gita, which generates responses based on statistical probabilities. However, some GitaGPTs have been found to lack filters for casteism, misogyny, and even law, and some responses seem regressive. Experts warn that chatbots being allowed to play god might have unintended, and dangerous, consequences.

Fact
💬 At least five GitaGPTs have been launched since January 2023, with more on the way.
💬 GitaGPTs promise to “unlock life’s mysteries with Krishna,” and some are answering up to 50,000 questions a day.
💬 Experts have warned that chatbots being allowed to play god might have unintended, and dangerous, consequences.

---

Source: Why Object.keys doesn’t and shouldn’t return (keyof T)[]

Summary
Object.keys() doesn’t return (keyof T)[] in TypeScript due to potential issues arising from objects having additional properties at runtime. A wrapper can be used as a workaround.

Fact

🤔 TypeScript uses a structural type system, making it impossible to know if JavaScript objects have additional properties at runtime, hence (keyof T)[] doesn’t make sense outside type variables domain.

🤯 If Object.keys() returned (keyof T)[] in TypeScript, it would return the wrong type or cause a mismatch between what is logged and what the types say, leading to potential issues.

💡 To overcome this limitation, a wrapper can be used as a workaround.

---