No, opposing LLMs isn't "purity culture." I've seen this now from quite a few different people, and I disagree vehemently. It is good, actually, to have moral principles and hold to them, even when people with more money than you find said principles annoying.

Hell, if you disagree with me and think I'm wrong on the merits, then by all means make that argument! (Preferably not in my mentions, I'm tired of this whole debacle and am not personally open to changing my mind on LLMs right now.)

But "purity culture" isn't an argument, it's an appeal to the idea that holding principles is *bad*.

(What do I mean when I say I'm not open to changing my mind on the issue at the moment? I mean that when I've tried to be open minded, I get flooded with bad-faith bullshit and outright propaganda. My being closed-minded here is a temporary and reasoned position about conserving my own energies, and not letting people DDoS my rationality. I don't think that the Discourseā„¢ around LLMs is *currently* at a place where opposition to boosterism benefits from open-mindedness.)
I wouldn't be saying all this if it was just Doctorow, I'm even fine disagreeing with people I deeply respect. But he's not the only one saying shit like this, and I think it's worth calling out the broader rhetorical point.
@xgranade guessing I missed something Doctorow said... and it sounds like I'm glad I did, because I like that my eyes have not currently rage melted out of my skull.
@aud @xgranade you should probably skip this one. White man in tech said white man in tech shit in a very "never meet your role models" kind of way.

@dave @aud I'm not personally sure I'd go quite that far. Someone I respect said something I vehemently disagree with, it happens. I don't think it'd be reasonable of me to insist that my heroes, as it were, agree with me on even all the important things.

I'm only being as pointed with the above because what he said is *also* something a lot of far worse people have said, and now they have more ammo.

@xgranade @dave it would be really nice if highly visible people quit it with the, "you know, you gotta hand it to the nazis on this one..."
@xgranade @dave also: imagine, if you will, using the term "purity culture" to refer to people (including many LGBTQ people) taking a stand against one of the major tools of christofascists

ffs
@xgranade @dave the current speaker of the house keeps tab on how often his son fucking masturbates

fuck off with "purity culture" to refer to people who are trying to keep culture alive... while many of the same people are also castigated by the actual purity culture fuckers for "sexual deviancy".

@aud @xgranade @dave

Guys, is it normal for a parent to track how much their son makes himself cum?

@burnoutqueen

No, it's twisted, invasive, and gross. Even for a conservative Christian household, that's weird and puritanical AF. The highly conservative Christians I grew up around would have objected, been icked out, and said it's between that person and their god.

And to be clear: I am talking about a full on climate denialist, evolution denialist, abusive and controlling, almost-church-deacon dad, and a mom who literally screamed like a tea kettle and then broke plates, ripped out her own hair, and tore her clothes while scream-chanting "no child of mine, no child of mine" after I told her I didn't believe anymore.

@aud @xgranade @dave