Paul CantrellOct 9, 2024

This Schmidt Shit is going to go down in history as emblematic of…however our present era is viewed in hindsight, and it won’t be kind.

“We can’t stop the planet from dying, so society should dump all its money into my Ouija board business!”

It’s crap on the level of “I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half,” Nero fiddling as Rome burns, “We must join with Sauron.” Just willful self-immolation. 🧵

From @breadandcircuses: https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/113277705558752831

Bread and Circuses (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image THIS is what passes for brilliance in the US Capitalist Empire... ________________________________ Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says it's time to fully invest in AI infrastructure because climate goals are too lofty to reach. Schmidt's comments came at an AI summit in Washington DC on Tuesday, where he addressed the crowd and gave his thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence. "All of that will be swamped by the enormous needs of this new technology," Schmidt said. "Because it's a universal technology, and because it's the arrival of an alien intelligence… we may make mistakes with respect to how it's used, but I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation." Schmidt said he thinks "we're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it." "Yes, the needs in this area will be a problem, but I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem than constraining it and having the problem," Schmidt said. ________________________________ If this view holds sway, we are truly doomed. FULL STORY -- https://archive.ph/jzlfB #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

Climate Justice Social
Show threadPaul CantrellOct 9, 2024

Agree with @dave_andersen, it really is — and I think my Ouija board comparison is not off the mark: the SV billionaires locked in a small room sniffing each others’ farts are strongly reminiscent of the way the wealthy of the 19th century got sucked into the rise of “spiritualism” (seances, etc).

https://hachyderm.io/@dave_andersen/113278218256574603

David Andersen (@[email protected])

@inthehands @[email protected] the silicon valley billionaire echo chamber is a really frightening thing to watch.

Hachyderm.io
Show threadPaul CantrellOct 9, 2024

I’m not the first person to notice the connection between spiritualism and AI mania. I remember seeing a thoughtfully worked out blog post on how LLMs exploit some of the same cognitive traps as magic tricks, but I’m now struggling to find it. I did find this interesting-looking book, though:

https://academic.oup.com/book/35192

Especially relevant:

https://academic.oup.com/book/35192/chapter-abstract/299570171

Believing in Bits: Digital Media and the Supernatural

Abstract. Situated at the theoretical interface between the fields of media studies and religious studies, Believing in Bits advances the idea that religio

OUP Academic
Show threadPaul CantrellOct 9, 2024

Aha! This is the one I was thinking of:
https://softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llmentalist/

Note that one section is titled “Many psychics fool themselves.”

The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models rep…

The new era of tech seems to be built on superstitious behaviour

Out of the Software Crisis
Show threadDavid FyhrieOct 9, 2024

@inthehands

AI being perceived as intelligent implies we could be doing the same with certain people. Maybe they're just rules based response engines--like the most annoying internet trolls appear to be.

Show threadPaul Cantrell

@dpfyhrie
“What is intelligence?” and “How do we know that any entity, including ourselves, is ‘intelligent?’” are both fascinating philosophical question, and both don’t have a clear answer. “Intelligence” doesn’t even have a widely accepted definition.

I’m displeased that people are certain they’ve created an artificial version of something when we can’t even agree on what the original, natural version is.

Oct 9, 2024 at 5:01pmWeb
Show threadmadopalOct 9, 2024

@inthehands @dpfyhrie I'm still gobsmacked that the basic definition of the thing attempting to be replicated isn't understood, and it's been that way for DECADES.

In the early 90s while studying CS, I was interested in AI, so I went to the psych department to take an IQ test to attempt to glean more about knowledge vs. intelligence.

They treated me like a criminal for asking to take it, and even after explaining why, I got rudely escorted out. It's gotten no better since.