Cabel SasserJun 20, 2024

If it were up to me, Apple would create the world’s first “Do Not Train” registry. Enter your domain or web page, get a TXT record or meta tag to prove ownership, prevent Apple from using your content to train any LLM.

Only a small percentage of sites would do it, I think, so the training impact would be low, but it’d be extremely meaningful for those people. And it’d be a valuable PR tool, brand-booster, and competitor-shamer. (Bonus: make it open and encourage competitors to follow it.)

Show threadphi1997Jun 20, 2024
@cabel
That still assumes your information and creations being used for training data should be opt-out, when it needs to be opt-in.
Show threadCabel SasserJun 20, 2024
@phi1997 I agree with this 100% philosophically, while also understanding that an entire class of interesting tools would simply vaporize if this was all opt-in — none of it would exist, 0.0001% would do it. On one hand, maybe that says something — none of it should probably exist if that’s the case. On the other hand, some (some! Not all) of it is interesting and will potentially really help people and the genie is out. I struggle with this back-and-forth basically every day
Show threadphi1997Jun 20, 2024
@cabel
Yeah, they shouldn't exist, and considering how expensive these tools are to keep running due to how much energy they use, I think it's only a matter of time before this genie is rebottled.
Show threadCabel SasserJun 20, 2024
@phi1997 I think there’s too much money — and dare I say it, “shareholder value” barf — at stake to go back now, and capitalism will ensure it’ll absolutely never roll back — it’s all here to stay. So the realistic question becomes: how to do the best we can with where find ourselves now. I don’t like it any more than you do but here we are. 😌
Show threadphi1997Jun 20, 2024
@cabel
There was a ton of money at stake with the blockchain, and it has almost entirely been abandoned. The sunk cost fallacy will sink some companies, while others will ditch it to cut costs. Don't assume it is inevitable or you'll feed into the narrative pushed by the people marketing LLMs.
Show threadCabel SasserJun 20, 2024
@phi1997 Nah, blockchain was always fringe — weirdos and rogues. Apple never bet on blockchain, nor did Microsoft. Put it this way: both Blockchain and LLM’s rely on good GPUs, but which one of them just propelled Nvidia to be the largest company in the world? It’s over 😌
Show threadphi1997

@cabel
That's revisionist history. Blockchain used to be everywhere. Nobody wants to admit they were building around it. Also, Microsoft did bet on blockchain, they just aimed at businesses more than consumers, offering support for it in Azure. I recall that Apple talked about it too.

Right now, we are somewhere around the peak of the AI bubble. LLM innovation has slowed and venture capital money won't last forever. I expect enshittification to arrive soon for AI and for the bubble to pop.

Jun 20, 2024 at 4:33pmFedilab
Show threadMayoJun 20, 2024
@phi1997 @cabel IBM bet on blockchain and Amazon went in as well (AMB, which according to Amazon is used by number of large corps, and 25% of worldwidecethereum loads). Apple filed patents around blockchain, so they definitely thought about it.