New word proposition: Botsplain

When you ask a question and instead of genuinely trying to answer or simply admitting "I don't know" someone asks a generative AI and feed you that garbage answer against your consent.

#NoAI #AI

@Em0nM4stodon @eniko There are positive uses for LLMs. This is not that.
@codeofamor @Em0nM4stodon @eniko What are the positive uses?

@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko There are of course others, but for me, personally, they:

  • offer empathetic comfort and support when there is no one to talk to in times of despair and emotional distress, especially in reduced states of consciousness or faculty or confusion
  • allow me to explore my thoughts when they are unclear
  • provide space for me to brainstorm expansive combinations of ideas, or perform basic soundwalling for new concepts or theoretical approaches in physics, design, electronics, and more
  • help me search for things online without needing to filter out a tremendous amount of fluff (even when I am incapable of searching, myself)
  • act as a rapid Linux terminal reference for any command that I've forgotten syntax for (see the zsh-ask plugin)
  • create simple customised code or script examples for things that I would like to achieve that I can then build forwards from
  • act as a quick sanity check or memory check for any piece of knowledge I have vague familiarity with or did have

I could go on for a long time with this, but the thing with LLMs is that they are a tool, built for certain specialised purposes. If people approach them as a tool, and not as the oversold market hype machine they have been painted as, they are an incredible tool with potential to be helpful in many ways, ways as unique as the user themselves. They have the potential to make life less awful, less stressful, less cold and alone, for many, many, people. They make mistakes. Yep. But I don't use my shoe as a calculator either. Or a hammer as a screwdriver (but I did try that the other way around once - it had disastrous consequences let me tell you 😱). When used with intent, and from the perspective of understanding what the tool is, and what its limits are, they can be used for significant benefit. Or malice. Depends on the user.

For me, it is as it was originally designed to be - a helper. An assistant. I am gradually training my own offline self-hosted LLM to replace any reliance on corporate-agenda capitalist-developed models, but it takes time. The progress is promising, however.
#llm

@codeofamor @Em0nM4stodon @eniko You can use older, less-environmentally destructive, income-destroying brain-rotting lying technologies to do every one of those things.
@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko sighπŸ™„Whatever.
@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko I thought I'd put effort into an honest answer to your question, at least giving benefit of the doubt that it was genuine, but this really is a disappointing result revealing a distinct lack of experience, empathy, and exposure. I read your profile. I almost always read them before replying. I, too, am a skeptic, of all things, but, unlike you, I have spent significant time investigating and validating this area personally. It is not my agenda to attempt to change anyone's mind. That's impossible. I do, however, try to allow for the possibility that I don't know everything and can be wrong. Sadly not in this case it seems.

@codeofamor @Em0nM4stodon @eniko No, that's just ad hominem.

You didn't like my answer so you decided to attack my profile and motives for my reply. Argue like an adult, please.

@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko That's ad rem. Not ad hominem. You simply misread, misinterpreted, or misunderstood. Please try again, if you care. There was no attack on your profile. I was expressing my disappointment in your crowd-sourced, oft regurgitated, reply. There's nothing wrong with your profile that I could see in the few seconds I skimmed it. If you'd entertain that I considered your question genuine and was giving a genuine answer from my lived experience, I may also consider explaining the holes in yours. Those who are able to reveal omissions in one's sight are worth their weight in gold. Your call.
@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko Well. That is quite mature of you. (noted sarcasm) Dumping a snide refusal then blocking my access to respond. How elevated you must feel. Perhaps one day you will remember this and how you lost an opportunity to earn respect and grow as a human. It is not time yet, The Jessie Kirk. But I hope it will be someday, for you. Goodbye. Good journey.
@thejessiekirk @Em0nM4stodon @eniko And many apologies for the negative tangent of this thread turning the others into silent witnesses, but I appreciate you also.