6 ms·

I have to say the when Elon Musk correctly schooled him on general AI threats it certainly raised my eyebrows that maybe Pinker wasn't as clever I believed, as

I have to say the when Elon Musk correctly schooled him on general AI threats it certainly raised my eyebrows that maybe Pinker wasn't as clever I believed, as the more simple among us could have appreciated the point Elon made in a tweet.

deleted 9y ago
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ofrzeta 9y ago
Why is it that so many people seem to call Musk by his first name in written discourse? Smells of fanboy/girlism and certainly doesn't add to objectivity. The point being that he can say pretty much anything he wants and gets away with it because he's "Elon".
- fl0wenol 9y ago
  Because Elon is, to American ears, a unique-sounding name with a hint of Bond Villan whereas Musk is a strong smell and is the sort of name a Hollywood hack would give an out-of-touch salesman archetype in a satire.
- consz 9y ago
  Is that uncommon (when referring to other people)? I can't think of anyone where I default to using only their last name.
  - empthought 9y ago
    Obama?
  - haZard_OS 9y ago
    As a rule, I use a person's last name when discussing writings, research, and general academic expression. I make an exception in Elon's case because, as another commenter implied, the word "Musk" in English carries some unfortunate connotations.
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  That's a very American thing. You will hear a lot of people talking about "Angelina" doing something or "Michelle" (Obama). It always sounds weird to me but people do it.
useryournoggin 9y ago
how do you know that musk is "correct" in this instance?
toasterlovin 9y ago
Just want to point out that there are no actual experts on AI threat, just people with very strong opinions. The most expertise that anybody can possibly possess with regard to AI threat is roughly the kind of expertise that carriage makers had about cars at the dawn of the automobile age.
- hndamien 9y ago
  But even non-carriage makers did not expect any carriages to spontaneously sprout an engine and become an automobile. To date, I don't believe that any have.
bobthechef 9y ago
Ah, yes. Proof by Elon Musk. QED.

deleted 9y ago

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ofrzeta 9y ago

Why is it that so many people seem to call Musk by his first name in written discourse? Smells of fanboy/girlism and certainly doesn't add to objectivity. The point being that he can say pretty much anything he wants and gets away with it because he's "Elon".

fl0wenol 9y ago
Because Elon is, to American ears, a unique-sounding name with a hint of Bond Villan whereas Musk is a strong smell and is the sort of name a Hollywood hack would give an out-of-touch salesman archetype in a satire.
consz 9y ago
Is that uncommon (when referring to other people)? I can't think of anyone where I default to using only their last name.
- empthought 9y ago
  Obama?
- haZard_OS 9y ago
  As a rule, I use a person's last name when discussing writings, research, and general academic expression. I make an exception in Elon's case because, as another commenter implied, the word "Musk" in English carries some unfortunate connotations.
maxxxxx 9y ago
That's a very American thing. You will hear a lot of people talking about "Angelina" doing something or "Michelle" (Obama). It always sounds weird to me but people do it.

useryournoggin 9y ago

how do you know that musk is "correct" in this instance?

toasterlovin 9y ago

Just want to point out that there are no actual experts on AI threat, just people with very strong opinions. The most expertise that anybody can possibly possess with regard to AI threat is roughly the kind of expertise that carriage makers had about cars at the dawn of the automobile age.

hndamien 9y ago
But even non-carriage makers did not expect any carriages to spontaneously sprout an engine and become an automobile. To date, I don't believe that any have.

bobthechef 9y ago

Ah, yes. Proof by Elon Musk. QED.