You can create two Google accounts and parental control yourself. You can also use ublock or other browser addons, and of course, NewPipe. Youtube should have more settings for this, it's clearly going down the drain, but it's not like you can do nothing.
Honestly, it's one of the reasons I don't want to pay for Youtube Red, why would I pay for "no ads", when I still feel like I'm the product, because of my complete lack of control over the algorithm and user experience.
I completely agree, I found it very funny that I have been transitioning from an "LLM sceptic" to a "LLM advocate", without changing my viewpoint. I have long said that LLM's won't be replacing swathes of the workforce any time soon and that LLM's are of course useful for specific tasks, especially prototyping and drafting.
I have gone from being challenged on the first point, to the second. The hype is not what it has been.
My personal blog and resume. I have written a couple of blog-posts:
- 2025-06-18: Lasso Transactions as an alternative to Copyright
A Solution to Fund Creativity and Combat the Free-Rider Problem in a World Without Copyright.
https://rasmuskirk.com/articles/2025-06-18_lasso-transactions-as-an-alternative-to-copyright
- 2024-12-23: Why Nix Is the Perfect Package Manager for Your Steam Deck
An article exploring the benefits of using Nix on the Steam Deck, with a step-by-step guide to installation and configuration using Home Manager.
https://rasmuskirk.com/articles/2024-12-23_why-nix-is-the-perfect-package-manager-for-your-steam-deck
- 2024-07-24: You Don’t Need NixOS
Why you should consider Nix Devshells and Home-Manager rather than NixOS if you want to get into Nix
https://rasmuskirk.com/articles/2024-07-24_dont-use-nixos
The blog is custom-made, built using Nix and pandoc. The website builder is its own Nix flake:
Spot on! I think LLM's can help greatly in quickly putting that knowledge in writing, including using it to review written materials for hidden prerequisite assumptions that readers might not be aware of that. It can also help newer hires in how to write and more clearly. LLM's are clearly useful in increasing productivity, but management that think that they even close to ready to replace large sections of practically any workforce are delusional.
I think we should consider stricter restrictions on harmful advertising way before we rush to lock down the internet in order to "save the children". I don't understand why we have accepted that it's companies' God-given-right to blast propaganda which only functions to drain the working class of their money (gambling) and their health (endless ads for poor dietary choices). Why not limit advertisements to at least just products that makes people's lives easier? I especially would love to see more advertisement for rehab centers for example.
But they can't legally purchase/access it without the involvement of an adult, unlike social media. You could argue that the parents sanction social media use by giving their kids a phone/computer without any sort of parental controls, but most parents probably have neither the resources nor proper knowledge of how to sufficiently provide a safe platform for their children.
You are aware that pay as you go sims are available from literally every store in the United Kindom, and any child can just buy one within minutes if they are so inclined?
Not to mention that using social media does not require a phone number, and wifi is practically ubiquitous.
>> (Since brexit, that might be different in UK, but I very much doubt it.)
It's crazy that in 2026 when we literally have the knowledge of the entire world at our fingertips it's still easier to just say "I doubt it" instead of looking it up.
To save you those 5 seconds of googling - no, you don't need to present any ID to buy a sim card in the UK.
I think this is a good point. What differentiates alcohol and social media? Well, social media is not physically addictive, but it's pretty clearly psychologically addictive. Along those lines it would be hard to argue that children should have unfettered access to social media. Social media is also _not_ like TV in that there's psychologists and algorithmic engineers working hard to make these types of apps as addictive as possible. Not to mention the fact that children obviously can't consent to having their data harvested, most ADULTS don't understand the ramifications of that, much less children.
All of this also applies to adults, I don't like how corporate profit-seeeking algorithms dictate public discourse and I think it's perfectly reasonable to combat this. The great question is how to do so without trampling on people's right to freedom. The EU tends to combat "misinformation", but this has loads of problems, and I think it misses the mark of what the problem truly is. In my opinions it's the algorithms that maximize fear responses and lead people down rabbit holes that's the true problem.
I think the best way to combat it is by supporting federation and decentralization of the internet and attacking the advertising industry that maximizes eyeballs and time spent on the platform, rather than providing service to paying users. It also has the beneficial side-effect of increasing freedom of thought and speech rather than limiting it.
I know some people see the fragmentation of communities as the leading cause of echo-chambers, but this is not my impression. Actually, the smaller internet communities are often less extreme than algorithmically dominated central-hubs. Pseudonymous small communities function more like the local village that tends to mitigate extremism as the loudest, more extremist, community members can be challenged, without those challengers drowning in potential oppressive moderation and hive-mind mentality.
That is the real issue. The problem is that the things that cause the addiction and harm are the same things that are useful for generating profit and spreading propaganda. I'm not sure I see a viable solution that doesn't involve some people willingly giving up a very large amount of wealth or power.
I like it because it's based on Ubuntu, so there's almost always a working guide/solution targeting it. It also ships with Nvidia drivers which saves a lot of headaches for some users. To me the game-changer is the fact that it supports tiling window management with minimal configuration.
Not really, Linux evangelists are a thing because Linux is primarily held back by lack of adoption. A lot of common issues can be attributed to either:
1. The hardware manufacturer has never tested Linux support for drivers.
2. Some application that you need doesn't target Linux due to lack of users
This isn't everything, sure. But I think it's a majority of the headaches. Thus, Linux-users really want other people to also use Linux, so that companies actually give a shit about supporting it.
There's also the whole ideology involved. A lot of companies are increasingly pushing that you are not allowed to control the computer/phone/device you buy and Linux is at the forefront of combating this.
I don't think Linux itself is held back by lack of adoption at all. Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world, last I checked. My dad doesn't know the difference between dir and ls, and he will only use an Android phone.
I would rather hug a fully grown crocodile than install Linux on my computer. But even I wouldn't deny that Android - and by extension Linux - is probably the best thing that happened to mobile devices.
Desktop Linux is lacking in adoption, but maybe that's because it's not packaged nearly as nicely as Android.
Microsoft invested heavily in cloud, when LLM's came it was an obvious way to increase profits if they made everyone use their cloud for "AI". I don't think they realize just how much of the current LLM hype is just that, hype. I think they will be severely burned.
Yes, LLM's are useful and valuable, but no, they won't be replacing major sections of the workforce any time soon. I don't need an LLM in every facet of my operating system, just like I didn't need Cortana integrated everywhere in Windows 8. And LLM's are obviously not worth the billions upon billions that are being invested currently.
Honestly, it's one of the reasons I don't want to pay for Youtube Red, why would I pay for "no ads", when I still feel like I'm the product, because of my complete lack of control over the algorithm and user experience.
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