this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2025
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Programmer Humor

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[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 17 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (3 children)

I have to admit, PDF parsing being such a hot and profitable topic in computer science was really something I never saw coming.

PDFs? The things you can select text from? And when not, there's decent OCR? And when not, you just ask the person to send you an email or a word doc?

It sounds like LLMs are looking for a new unpolluted source of historical data that they can learn from, and this source exists in the form of old scanned-in paper documents. That's the only reason I can fathom as to why this is such a big thing now.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 hour ago

Selecting text doesn't work in most multi-column pdfs and good OCR cost money. And if the original source is lost and you want an exact copy in word, the OCR tools need to be really good at guessing whitespace-to-line ratio, because pdf is only an output format and not a processing format.

For most other converting needs, there's pandoc, imagemagick and ffmpeg.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Every time I try to convert a PDF to epub or something, or OCR one that doesn't actually have selectable text, it turns out shit. I assume the real reason people would want to get LLMs involved is that there is actually a lot of ambiguity in what a correct conversion would be, and there are a lot of PDFs out there.

[–] JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 1 points 10 minutes ago* (last edited 9 minutes ago)

I self host sterling-pdf and I haven't had an issue with file conversion in... When did I set this thing up?

To be truthful, the machine I had it running on has been sent to the grave (I sold it) so I don't actually have this service running right now

[–] sudo@programming.dev 4 points 16 hours ago

Training the most insane AI model on classified federal documents.

[–] NicolaHaskell@lemmy.ml 40 points 19 hours ago

This is that special blend of Tablet Kid "I don't need to know things I can google them" and Rich Kid "I don't need to do things I can crowdsource them" that makes for that Distinctively VP "I don't know what I'm doing and nobody can tell 👈😎👉"

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 17 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Ah yes, the famed document <-> JSON converter.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 12 points 16 hours ago

It's so easy! Watch:

{"contents": "<garbled .docx contents goes here>"}
[–] HStone32@lemmy.world 85 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The secret to success in software engineering:

  1. Lie and say that there is
  2. Write or use a conversion algorithm
  3. Boss won't know the difference
  4. Collect bonus at performance evaluation
  5. Put "AI engineer" on resume
[–] pastel_de_airfryer@lemmy.eco.br 30 points 20 hours ago (1 children)
  1. Boss thinks AI can code at senior developer level and fires you and the entire team
[–] HStone32@lemmy.world 13 points 19 hours ago
  1. Never plan on staying at a SE job for longer than a few years. Not in a market that volitile.
[–] LGTM@discuss.tchncs.de 118 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

No need, there's an unmaintained javascript library for that (written by a 12-yr old)

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 39 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Omg, sign me up! I'm gonna put that script in production for a server used by millions of customers around the world!

[–] ogeist@lemmy.world 16 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Oh no, now there is a security audit and the pdf generated is insecure, the unpaid developer that has not logged in since 2015 has to fix this ASAP

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 12 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

what? invest money to pay for open source software? are you nuts?

[–] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 4 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

"Just replace it with AI!!!"

[–] Opisek@lemmy.world 50 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

Technically OCR is an application of machine learning.

Not an LLM, though.

[–] SwordInStone@lemmy.world 16 points 20 hours ago

A world of difference

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 3 points 19 hours ago

regularizing the OCR'd form into a json/html file might be a good application of an LLM though. Perhaps this is what they were asking about.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 57 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Initially, I didn't think these kids were fall guys.

Now I think they're fall guys.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 53 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

That was my thought. Young kids fresh out of school are really easy to manipulate into delusions of grandeur, especially when said delusions are offered by the richest person in the world. He's gonna leave them out for the wolves.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Either that or Musk himself is truly so incompetent he thinks these kids are true geniuses. Honestly, with how things are going, that's a fiddy-fiddy chance, because Musk is somehow almost as unbelievably stupid as Trump.

[–] BartyDeCanter@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 22 hours ago

Why not both?

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 9 points 21 hours ago

You're probably not wrong, what with him awkwardly hopping around onstage at multiple trump rallies.

[–] traches@sh.itjust.works 63 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Yes it’s an LLM called pandoc, you can run it locally

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 41 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

You don't need a private nuclear plant to run it? Wow very efficient.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

Black magic software.

[–] mesamunefire@lemmy.world 45 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

Imagine getting a job like this and now half the nation knows your name...thats terrifying. being an intern may mean you have no idea of the true scope of what they are asking you to do.

[–] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 20 hours ago

They are public employees who are changing things at the core of our government. Why wouldn’t we know their names?

Government employees names aren’t secret (asides from a few exceptions) nor is their pay

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 13 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, seems that’s the point. Old enough to competently perform what they’re told, but too young to realize the gravity of the situation and how wrong it is to partake in it.

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 15 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

that's why we have 18 year soldiers ....

[–] ChapulinColorado@lemmy.world 8 points 19 hours ago

It’s ok, with the experienced gained from being forced to grow up, some will come home and use their savings to buy a dodge ram on a 7 year loan at 18% apr.

[–] GrumpyDuckling@sh.itjust.works 17 points 21 hours ago

We know that his dad is an engineering professor at university of Nebraska too. Really calls into question his credentials. I checked the other day and they had already removed his contact info from their website.

[–] sudo@programming.dev 6 points 16 hours ago

Like opening source code in Word.

[–] tsiad_mordecai_miktros@lemmy.world 48 points 1 day ago (1 children)

yes me send me what you want me to parse and i will get back to you in 3-4 business days

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

be sure to include the metadata too. lol

[–] OwlPaste@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (5 children)
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[–] CapriciousDay@lemmy.ml 24 points 23 hours ago

Oh yeah the hosted DeepSeek has that

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 18 points 23 hours ago (6 children)

Is this fake?

For context, this is the guy who figured out how to see what's written on some ancient Greek Scrolls without destroying them. It seems slightly far-fetched that he wouldn't know better.

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[–] cmgvd3lw@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Actually this is what they do.

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