Justin PotNov 6, 2023

"Grok" being the name for an AI chatbot is just the latest example of tech bros not understanding science fiction. In "Strangers In a Strange Land", the famous 1950's novel the term comes from, to "grok" something is to understand it on a deep level. AI chatbots, as we all know by now, do not grok—they bullshit.

I'm really tired of sci-fi terms being used by people who read the books and got nothing from them beyond “lol this word sounds cool”. (See also: “metaverse”.)

Show threadMalakitNov 6, 2023
@jhpot Or an asshole tech bro reading Iain M Banks and and taking absolutely nothing from the books except “Cool starship names, bro!”
Show threadBensGreenGamingAcNov 6, 2023
@malakit @jhpot Oh, he gets more but assumes the Culture is the end point of capitalism rather than being a Fully Automated Space Communism.
Show threadMalakitNov 6, 2023
@green_bens @jhpot I think he’s missing a bit here and there.
Show threadMalakit
@green_bens @jhpot Especially about how the Culture isn’t necessarily the perfect utopian society that it likes to think that it is.
Nov 6, 2023 at 8:55pmWeb
Show threadMalakitNov 6, 2023
@green_bens @jhpot For reference, see about every book that features Special Circumstances.