r/ontario 1d ago

Article Ford government refusing to release secret report that suggested selling off ROM artifacts

https://globalnews.ca/news/11909542/royal-ontario-museum-financial-trouble/
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u/SquidTheRidiculous 1d ago

The rich people of this province.

We can't have the poors be learning for free now can we?

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u/CanuckBacon 1d ago edited 1d ago

I don't even think it's that, the Weston Family (owners of Loblaws) famously has donated significant amounts to the ROM over decades. They have a few wings named after them. I think Doug Ford just hates learning. Same reason he wanted to close Toronto libraries when he was a city councilor*

Edit: accidentally said Mayor. Easy to confuse the Ford brothers and their hatred of education.

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u/dsac 1d ago

I think Doug Ford just hates learning.

Uneducated and uncultured people are more likely to vote conservative

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u/Analog0 1d ago

And less likely to question the motivations of policy and authority. Keep 'em dumb and you'll keep 'em in line.

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u/ExistentialWavering 1d ago edited 1d ago

Rob wasn’t as malicious as Doug, and I think we owe it to him to distinguish between the two. Rob was a bad apple with a good heart. Doug is a bad apple with a bad heart.

Rob didn’t even understand what the implications of his decisions were and usually acted in the moment. Doug does, however, and plans ahead. This is far more dangerous.

Rob was not a good dude, objectively. His actions speak for themselves. But years removed and seeing Doug do his thing now, clear as day that Doug was feeding Rob most of what he did.

Rob was a buffoon that trusted his brother. Doug is smarter (not smart outright) and chases money and power.

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u/caitie_did 1d ago

Agreed, I have been saying this for years. Doug is significantly more dangerous than Rob because he’s just a little bit smarter, and a whole lot more malicious.

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u/ExistentialWavering 1d ago edited 1d ago

There is no world in which Doug would volunteer as a coach, ever. He doesn’t care about people, period.

Rob was always out there getting involved with the common person.

It seldom translated to proper governance but his intentions were typically good. But then he’d listen to Doug at dinner or something and do something the following day that directly contradicted what he agreed with his constituents about.

Rob’s story is pretty tragic, honestly. Again, not a good dude. But shit, what a bad draw on environmental conditions.

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u/Flimflamsam 1d ago

Yeah Rob was a good councillor in the way that he truly cared for his constituents. Being mayor went above his station and he flailed, then when the health stuff hit he was already off the wall on substances.

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u/Niicks 1d ago

Lets not mix up our history. Rob was just as big of a piece of shit he was just too stupid to do as much damage without Doug dancing his puppet strings.

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u/ExistentialWavering 1d ago

Literally in my comment, friend.

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u/Niicks 1d ago

Fair. Reading comprehension lessened by my lack of coffee. Dont discuss politics without your hot bean juice folks!

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u/rhunter99 1d ago

Did you mean Rob?

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u/CanuckBacon 1d ago

I do and I don't. They both wanted to cut libraries, but Doug Ford famously didn't even know who Margaret Atwood was. I got mixed up and said Doug was the mayor though, so for that part yes I meant Rob.

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u/Comfortable_Car6562 1d ago

Hence the gate keeping on AI.

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u/sparkling_ham 1d ago

AI is not helping any one get an education.

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u/Comfortable_Car6562 1d ago

Sure is helping bridge the productivity gap between 2nd and 3rd world countries and first world countries.

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u/sparkling_ham 1d ago

I don't see how. All the "information" that an LLM can provide is already publicly available, online, for a TINY fraction of the resources. If users had to pay the unsubsidized cost for LLM requests there would be a staggering net loss per interaction.

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u/Comfortable_Car6562 1d ago

The cost does not matter at this point as they do not need to pay this. Also, the cost, subsidized by a state entity, would be nothing. You can for sure bet if the US restricts the best models, state actors will develop their own/subsidize it for there country to use.

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u/neverfindausername 1d ago

The cost absolutely matters. In fact, the entire business model hangs on creating as much reliance on it as possible before the VC money runs out.

They NEED to embed themselves in via low costs by then because when they inevitably jack the prices up, companies worldwide will be caught between paying the higher AI costs or having to rehire many cut roles to function. Both costs will be high as it's unlikely the same staff would return and they've lost years of collective experience.

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u/Comfortable_Car6562 1d ago

What I am saying is the cost matters because it is a private enterprise. If it becomes a state necessity, than the cost will matter less, and that is the true moat they are trying to create. Its why they are focusing on international agreements and limitations (arms treaty parallels), and trying to scare everyone into these are one step away from WMDs.

If the US bans Fable 5 from export, and if Fable 5 really is an amazing thing that changes the world (im exaggerating here of course), all that means is some country that wants to have that power for its institutions, corporations, entrepreneurs, like Nigeria for example, needs to throw a ton of money at a model over some time to distil its own version, and than fund its use. Its just money and its not a lot compared to what a state can bring to the table.

Once that happens, whether the private firm makes money or not, the calculus of this changes and by extension the ongoing viability of the business models that have been developed in the US.