"Eat your brocolli" - Daniel Murfet

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1993614328256422125

this twitter account shares a whole host of Safe-for-work on the ground footage 

Have you been following the Ukraine war closely? The reality on the ground in terms of drone warfare is now far beyond that Anduril advertisement. You can find videos if you search for them. It's quite terrifying. 

Thanks Daniel, you bring up some good points. 
 

On the airforce issue I would be inclined to agree with you but the following video is doing the rounds on twitter right now: https://x.com/teortaxesTex/status/1993637089900900540

Not sure what to make of it, but some concerning claims: only 750 out of 2000 jet fighters in US airforce are combat ready. Average number of flights hour per pilot has dropped to 110 a year, where previously anything below 150 would be considered not combat-ready. Chinese fighter pilots average 200 hours a year. 

Fairly confident this is not the case with small first-person view drones. 

It is not easy to produce in secret. There is no good reason for it. No other NATO country has built them at any scale. China owns most of the supply chain currently. And perhaps most importantly: a stockpile of fpv drones mean nothing if you dont have experienced drone operators to fly them. These would have to be trained en masse, further complicating any secrecy.

Additionally, Western (small) drones are massively overpriced and inferior to Ukrainian and Russian made drones. This is incongruent. 

Apparently, even Anduril's drones are considered inferior and are not deployed much in Ukraine.

I understand and verified to the best of my ability the information contained in the post. If a LW moderator want to take action, I welcome their correction. 

EDIT: I checked and the post contains about a 1000 words. At a 1 minute per 50 words this would be about 20 min. I have probably spent at least 3 hours on drafting this post, plus additional edits and engagement. 

Quite frankly, the concerns raised here seem to be more originating from a ludditist denial and an intuitive dismissal of AI stylistic choices rather than genuine issues with the content -- A stubborn attachment to the weakness of the flesh if you will. This post has generated quite a lot of content-level engagement so seemingly the style is only an issue for a loud minority. 

>> " Even more recently, I've decided that I can bet on my research taste most effectively by simply hiring research assistants to work for me. " 

This seems right to me - plausibly a massive multiplier.

For example, John Wentworth told me he found a large productivity boost when he started working David Lorell.

Why walk when you can bike ?

Eg for the china stuff I wrote the following earlier: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tDkYdyJSqe3DddtK4/alexander-gietelink-oldenziel-s-shortform?commentId=LQtg5EtEKKpYJJJfP

You retracted your request for additional sources but let me say that there is an enormous amount of background sourcing I could have added. I have added a little bit and cpuld his is a bunch of extra work; currently unsure whether there is enough demand for it. If there is, I can do some more digging.