Random Damage 🌻Mar 31
Zach Weinersmith
One of the weirdest things to me about the tech scene for AI is you regularly hear variants on "Super-human intelligence is coming next year and will permanently alter life as we know it. Prepare your business and finances accordingly." Setting aside what you think about the first half, how does the second half make any sense? Like... what would you do differently, other than move to the woods?
Mar 31 at 4:54pmWeb
Show threadZach WeinersmithMar 31
It'd be like saying "the rapture is coming and the worthy dead will soon return to the bosom of Christ, so make sure to keep eating fiber"
Show threadJosh Mar 31
@ZachWeinersmith @glyph regularity is important! You wouldn’t want to be raptured while on the toilet!
Show threaddirtsideMar 31
@josh0 @ZachWeinersmith @glyph I mean statistically about 2-3% of the population will be on the toilet when the rapture happens
Show threadJosh Mar 31
@dirtside @ZachWeinersmith @glyph all sinners.
Show threaddirtsideMar 31
@josh0 @ZachWeinersmith @glyph look I gotta excrete all this sin somehow
Show threadJosh Mar 31
@dirtside @ZachWeinersmith @glyph if diapers are good enough for the god-emperor, they’re good enough for you!
Show threadAndy L.Mar 31
@ZachWeinersmith Be sure to wear clean underwear in case today is The Rapture!
Show threadDianeMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

I am not a skilled at art, but I had tried to make that a joke...

Dates are a subset of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_and_claims_for_the_Second_Coming

Show threadFull Metal ArchaeopteryxApr 1

@ZachWeinersmith
I mean... Which christ? Hippy jesus or uzi jesus?

Bit of a difference, there

Show threadunlofl [Promoted Toot]Mar 31
@ZachWeinersmith I guess... start scrounging, we have a year to find the nastiest possible blackmail material on Jensen Huang?
Show threadZach WeinersmithMar 31
@unlofl See, this is wise investment advice.
Show threadAzuaronMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith I mean... I can think of a few necessary actions that I would take if I actually thought super-human AI was coming next year...
Show threadJess👾Mar 31
@Azuaron @ZachWeinersmith Step 1. Find John Connor
Show threadjenbanimMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith I'm convinced a lot of AI discussions along those lines are less about making real predictions for the future and are more about the speaker trying to convince others that they understand the future

In turn, I think that "I know what's going to happen" attitude can come from a few different places. It could be genuine arrogance, trying to gain influence over others, or a fear of being "left behind"

Show threadAndy L.Mar 31
@ZachWeinersmith I never click on those articles, but I assume they're about swearing fealty to the machines.
Show threadGrégoire LocquevilleMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith
It generally means
"get used to using it to do your job"
aka
"become heavily dependent on it, so we can keep selling it to you after
* we've made it more expensive
* we've integrated ads to it
* it has become apparent that we completely disregard ethics
* ...
"
Show threadjulietteMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith I refuse to take future trends advice from people who don’t acknowledge that the single biggest “this changes everything” humanity faces is Climate Change.
Show threadAmoshiasMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith bomb data centers.
Show threadShrimpneyMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith invest in paperclip manufacturing
Show threadaevaMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith I know it isn't what they mean, but it is a good reminder that large swaths of the tech industry are run by or funded by morons who are essentially just rich gamblers, and "prepare ... accordingly" for the rest of us means the next best time to [learn a marketable skill that computers are bad at, or at least sharpen up your resume] is now because if they keep doing this shit (and why would they stop?) they're going to crash the industry betting on magic beans
Show threadaevaMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith but, I know you already know this. artisanal socks and all that
Show threadLeahaMar 31
@aeva @ZachWeinersmith The most imp. info. I've seen re: AI came from an extensive interview with a prominent leader in AI community from China. A child prodigy, hugely successful personable man w admirable values, still intact. He explored grave concerns for AI's impact & explained how we / society are truly unprepared for the changes. Largely due to lack of accurate info & the lack of proactive planning, training, strategies to tackle the changes. The govt does not seem to be taking an active
Show threadLeahaMar 31
@aeva @ZachWeinersmith
Show threadLeahaMar 31
@aeva @ZachWeinersmith
Show threadLeahaMar 31
@aeva @ZachWeinersmith
Show threadGrant GouldMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith ...and it particularly doesn't make sense from the point of view of the AI companies themselves.
"This time next year you will own a billion superhuman slaves" and you are still arguing about funding deals and compliance and government contracts? You should be building antarctic supervillain lairs or taking repentant refuge in a mountaintop monastery or something!
Show threadGrant GouldMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith (The exception here is obviously Larry Ellison who already does have a classic volcano + megayacht supervillain lair. Credit to Larry, he has always known exactly what he is.)
Show threadLeahaMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith Hi, Zach - I'm new here. Tried to reply about an interesting interview on AI. I'm wordy : ) so I needed a 2nd page to cont. Can't figure it out. It says my original post will be discarded. just fyi - I'm working on it -not just bailing out. Thx
Show threadSolithaMar 31

@Leaha You just post, and then reply to your post to continue. For clarity, you might want to use a counter on each in the thread. Like so.

1/2

Show threadSolithaMar 31

@Leaha And like so.

2/2

Show threadjz.tuskMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

The second half is what tells you they don't actually believe the first.

It's like a Christian proclaiming the immanent Rapture and investing in their 401k - their actions put the lie to their words.

Show threadkatfeeteMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith I mean, I make food for a living, so unless the superhuman intelligences wipe out everyone who eats food I’m… not expecting my life to fundamentally change?

It’s never been clear to me if the people who make these kind of declarations have any understanding of the food chain beyond “and then my waiter brings it to me”.

Show threadMichelle HughesMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

Invest in eye drops in preparation for all the eye-rolling everyone will soon be doing.

Show threadPhosphenesMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

It kind of sounds like 'write your will and kiss your ass goodbye'.

But first 'gimme money'.

Show threadMercurius GoldsteinMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

I would prepare by giving the people who say this sort of thing a swirly and then stuff them into a locker.

Show threadPoloniousmonkMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

"I am not in the equally unserious camp that generative AI does not have the potential to drastically change the world. It clearly does. When I saw the early demos of GPT-2, while I was still at university, I was half-convinced that they were faked somehow. I remember being wrong about that, and that is why I'm no longer as confident that I know what's going on.

However, I do have the technical background to understand the core tenets of the technology, and it seems that we are heading in one of three directions.

The first is that we have some sort of intelligence explosion, where AI recursively self-improves itself, and we're all harvested for our constituent atoms because a market algorithm works out that humans can be converted into gloobnar, a novel epoxy which is in great demand amongst the aliens the next galaxy over for fixing their equivalent of coffee machines. It may surprise some readers that I am open to the possibility of this happening, but I have always found the arguments reasonably sound. However, defending the planet is a whole other thing, and I am not even convinced it is possible. In any case, you will be surprised to note that I am not tremendously concerned with the company's bottom line in this scenario, so we won't pay it any more attention."

https://ludic.mataroa.blog/blog/i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again/

I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again — Ludicity

Show threadSandor Spruit 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇺🇦🇨🇦Mar 31
@ZachWeinersmith @lisamelton Well, you could move to an island 😇
Show threadfraggLe!Mar 31

@ZachWeinersmith My uneducated take is that they don't really believe in the first part, the push behind AI is a ploy to push down salaries. The second part is because it only really works if everyone colludes with them. If you're not "preparing" by laying off some of your knowledge workers, or worse, are actively scooping up the laid-off folks from other orgs, why that's just terrible for them.

But they can't say that, so they mask it behind a veneer of irresponsible dead-reckoning.

Show threadEpic NullMar 31

@ZachWeinersmith Structurally? Probably something like "Establish Universal Healthcare and Universal Basic Income" to soften the economkc impact of such a technology.

I want those anyway, but they would be crucial if we managed that level of automation.

Show threadBillMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith You would buy their product. That will prepare you. I promise.
Show threadPaul_IPv6Mar 31

@ZachWeinersmith

shhh!!!!!

don't mention the woods thing or everyone will be there with us...

Show threadEuan MasonMar 31
@ZachWeinersmith it’s bullshit anyway. Predicting what word or phrase comes next is definitely not intelligence. It pays to be able to sense the real world. So-called #AI.
Show threadSpaceLifeFormApr 1

@ZachWeinersmith

They are just preaching to stockholders.

#HODL #Money #AI

Show threadSeaApr 1

@ZachWeinersmith

We all should move to the woods, and let Elon and Sam build their garbage AI and their trash vision of the future by themselves.

Seeds and spores my dude. It's time to get planting our new home and food supply.

Show threadJeremy 🇧🇷🇺🇸Apr 1
@ZachWeinersmith For my part, I'll make sure to keep using "please" in my prompts and giving results a thumbs up