Carl T. Bergstrom

When I was five my father brought home a little store-bought plastic magic trick that appeared to convert one silver dollar into two.

The magic trick was cool, but my thoughts immediately went to more practical matters. We were going to be immeasurably wealthy! I just needed some time with the magic box and we've be rolling in silver.

Generative AI feels like magic, too, and a lot of people seem to think it'l be an endless font of epistemic wealth.

By five, I had already learned the hard way.

May 15, 2023 at 4:35amWeb
Show threadmjfgatesMay 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom it's like all software; if you can make it work, you can eliminate people's jobs. Realizing that is a lot of why I stopped working in the software industry.
Show threadLaureMay 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom literally the post above yours in my timeline
Show threadGrant CanterburyMay 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom I think I was about 9 when I learned about siphons, and spent an afternoon trying various configurations of bent straws and glasses of water in the attempt to create a perpetual motion machine. Good times! Sadly, my engineering breakthrough did not function as planned.
Show threadanubis2814May 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Like how my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said a checkbook unaware that writing a check required money in the bank first lol.
Show threadKris Sargent, MDMay 15, 2023

@ct_bergstrom At least when your magic trick fails, you still have your silver dollar (though sadly not two).

"AI", like many such tech fads of the moment, seems to turn your silver dollar into zero dollars.

Show threadEscarpmentMay 15, 2023

@ct_bergstrom Not all magic tricks are created equal. Consider the child in the 1800s whose parent comes home with an electric lightbulb. The light shines due to some invisible, apparently magical force.

I don't think electricity has disappointed or fizzled out since its initial "magic trick" stage.

Show threadRiley NormanMay 15, 2023

@ct_bergstrom When you put it that way...

It makes me think that, like any individual artist, an AI artist could obtain a level of notoriety but become passé as their generative art lacks sufficient input to generate necessary variability, ultimately becoming repetitive and stale...

Show threadAlicePaulMay 15, 2023

@ct_bergstrom

Forget about AI, your story is so endearing.
I only hope reality wasn’t too jolting. You were much too young.

Thanks for sharing!

Show threadB.I.L.L. the AlienMay 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom
Show threadDean Baratta بطبطبطMay 15, 2023
@ct_bergstrom If only you sold the secret to two other kids and promised them a cut if each of them sold to two additional kids, ad infinitum, you *could* have been rolling in silver! 😜