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Some points : duplex... the verge article linked (https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/5/18123785/google-duplex-how-to-use-reservations https://www.theverge.com/201
by sgt101 8y ago
Some points : duplex... the verge article linked (https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/5/18123785/google-duplex-how-to-use-reservations https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/5/18123785/google-duplex-ho...) is very interesting about the constraints on the roll out and also the work that is required to get duplex to do what you want it to do; including covering off contingencies (like unavailability) that may not arise. This means it's actually more work to get duplex to do an average reservation than it is to do it yourself.
Also it's evil (disinter-mediating people preventing human contact, gathering more data, closing options, preventing plurality of opportunity), but never mind ehh?
Second point; they aren't "self driving cars" they are not driving driving is a human thing that requires agency that no AI has at the moment. Autonomous vehicles are environmentally responsive guided robots or something like that. This confusion is important because many people see something that is "self driving" and impute many characteristics and capabilities to "it" that "it" just doesn't have; and this colours their expectations about what it can and can't do and what autonomy and responsibilities to ceed and delegate to that thing.
Most perniciously both Duplex and Autonomous Vehicles are parts of systems, they are not "your assistant" they are an interface to a collection of machines and people who's function is not to help you, but instead is there to enrich someone else and constrain your ability to choose and act as you would if you didn't interact with them.
Stalin would have loved this - the citizens go where they are taken, they can't even think of an alternative. They choose the food we say they can. The pictures that they take a manipulated and managed by us.
At any time your photos of your friend who's no longer in favour might morph over night to be landscapes only, or to contain just the friends who remained loyal to the party/government, you might wonder what's happened, but how will you know?
- planktonite 8y agoStalin would be much more excited about replacing humans with technology than controlling them with technology. Why do you think Stalin goes to such enormous lengths to not only control and manipulate but also house, feed and educate all the little people? It’s because human beings are critical cogs in his vehicle of power. Stalin would ruthlessly automate everything he possibly could and the greater the degree of automation, the less important human beings become to Stalin and the fewer resources he allocates to controlling them. Technology might actually loosen the grip of stalins secret police on ordinary people.
- dforrestwilson 8y agoHacker News should require anyone who downvotes to post a rebuttal. I don’t think things are quite as distopian as envisioned above but would love to see the counter argument.
- sgt101 8y agoYeah - it's more that I think that the potential for misuse exists, and the harm could be very great.
- ohum 8y agoenvironmentally responsive guided objects, ERGO It's always possible to imagine bad and worse scenarios. Fear is always available, and can be applied to any situation. Believing that technology is the tool of an "evil" system, or that it facilitates "evil" is not healthy for the believer or anyone else. Naturally, we are all aware of the power of tools and especially modern "smart" systems. How can we trust anything? We can imagine how things could be as bad as we can imagine! I've decided, even at the risk of being naive, that I must not fear the machine, fear the network, fear anything. We living beings all basically want the same outcome- happiness. Having convenient tools help us actualize that outcome is a good thing. Just because we can imagine some deep dark conspiracy of "evil", behind the scenes, deceiving and manipulating us, doesn't mean that there is any such thing. Nor, of course, that there isn't. Since we can't know, let's just enjoy all of our cool gadgets while being happy... Although, I'm also beginning to feel as though the best decision will be exiting the information super-highway :) If y'all haven't read it, The Joy Makers is a pretty fun sci-fi exploration of technological routes to happiness, and possible downsides to "plugging in".
- sgt101 8y agoI'm of the view that Google, Facebook (et-al), many governments and assorted other groups are not evil, not deliberately in any organized way at any rate. But, the mechanisms that are being developed have huge potential for very insidious application, and it's important that we get ahead of this as soon as we can.