So, condemning everyone who uses AI is the new purity test for some bubbles now. And it this binary approach makes me sad and scared.
I have seen so many of these rules to define in-groups. You are eating animal products? How can you, killing the climate. You are not using the exact expected set of content warnings? How can you be so ignorant. You are shaving your legs as a woman? How antifeminist of you. You are using a car? How can you justify all the bad impact of this.
Don’t get me wrong, I have quite radical positions about many of these topics. Including the use of AI.
But I’m also part of disability communities where people rely on AI for medical help and even emotional support, knowing very well that these are symptoms of a broken medical system and society.
I have seen too often, that purity test are hitting the most marginalized, which are literally fighting for their survival.
@sophie You know what I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring here and agree with you and other folks like @gloriouscow and @volpeon. It's honestly exhausting and the amount of toxicity and vitriol I see about AI, and is making me seriously consider taking a break from Mastodon. (https://www.librepunk.club/@gloriouscow@oldbytes.space/116224004631865768)
There are good aspects to AI. It is a tool. Folks are building new medical technology, tools to help navigate phone trees, etc.
The real problem is not AI. the tool. It's the billionare tech bros and their companies that are exploiting every resource this planet has (water, artists, electricity, RAM, etc) to fuel their delusional projects. I worry not about the existence of AI, but instead about what happens when the VC money runs out.
@will @gloriouscow @volpeon WRT to medical technology: We are mostly talking about generative AI like chatbots here. I don't think they should be used in the medical field if avoidable.
Machine learning has been used for a long time in the field of medicine and research. That's something that can be properly trained for certain things. We don't need large language models for that.
@sophie @gloriouscow @volpeon I can mostly agree with that, but I know some folks who are using Gen AI to help people navigate the nightmare that is American health insurance with great success. That kind of work is extremely beneficial.
I'd also argue that using GenAI for political activism is beneficial as well. The force multiplication potential is huge. Of course with everything it's a matter of degree (furthering the general theme of this thread that we should avoid absolutist positions because they aren't constructive).
Sophie
Roland \ Willard