3 ms·

Kind of a tangent, but I've noticed a recent tendency to compare people's writing to GPT-3 output as a way of saying something like "I didn't understand that" o

Kind of a tangent, but I've noticed a recent tendency to compare people's writing to GPT-3 output as a way of saying something like "I didn't understand that" or "I found the style hard to follow". I gotta say, I find it rude. It's one short step away from calling someone a name, eh? "You sound like a inanimate algorithm imitating a human." Mean. Consider that the unpredictability of a message is a measure of it's information content, eh? In this case, sure, the language is flowery, but the underlying meaning is clear, and the subject is, arguably, important. (So, not to put too fine a point on it, in this case, saying it sounds like GPT-3 kinda makes you sound, um, less sophisticated than you might be going for?)

perpetualpatzer 6y ago
>Consider that the unpredictability of a message is a measure of it's information content, eh? Yes, in the "information as irreducible data" sense. No in the "information as non-obvious truths about the world" sense. A message's unpredictability seems independent, or possibly anti-correlated with its truthiness (as the recipient may already have the true information, or be able to predict it from other knowledge). The rudeness is an interesting point. It is rude, or would be a at a party. At the same time, if the goal of internet forums is to exchange information (as in truths), honest efforts to distill information from noise could be accepted as good faith effort at public service in the way that identifying shill reviews is. It will be interesting to see how internet culture evolves as the ubiquity and awareness of widespread GPT-3 noise grow (or if forums are just doomed).
- carapace 6y ago
  Honestly, I was just trying to point out without being rude myself that, if something someone says here on HN seems difficult to understand, it might be because one is just too stupid, not that the poster is a robot. In any event, the point about the unpredictability of a message comes from Shannon's Information Theory. Although, see also Robert Anton Wilson's writing about W. Burroughs' "cut ups". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-up_technique https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-up_technique
  - stingraycharles 6y ago
    I think the criticism is more that the way things are being articulated is the same kind of language that’s being used by people to make things sound more interesting than they actually are. At least, that’s how I interpret it. I don’t think at all it has anything to do with being stupid. On the contrary, it’s usually the smarter people that can see through the smoke screen and realize “oh he’s just talking about 3D printed wood”.
    - carapace 6y ago
      It's a fair criticism IMO just done in a rude way (again, IMO.) - - - - To me "just" in that sentence would be (IMO) a signal that the speaker hadn't thought things through deeply enough. The jargon word "circular" is the clue. It's not just about the 3D printing of wood, or biodegradable glue, it's about a sea change in our economy and technology to be in harmony with (for lack of a better word) Nature (and therefore durable on large (10K to 1M years) timescales.)
  - glial 6y ago
    OK, I’ll bite: what’s a “circular technosphere”?
    - carapace 6y ago
      Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy The "technosphere" is the thing with the lights that you see from orbit when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth.

perpetualpatzer 6y ago

>Consider that the unpredictability of a message is a measure of it's information content, eh? Yes, in the "information as irreducible data" sense. No in the "information as non-obvious truths about the world" sense. A message's unpredictability seems independent, or possibly anti-correlated with its truthiness (as the recipient may already have the true information, or be able to predict it from other knowledge). The rudeness is an interesting point. It is rude, or would be a at a party. At the same time, if the goal of internet forums is to exchange information (as in truths), honest efforts to distill information from noise could be accepted as good faith effort at public service in the way that identifying shill reviews is. It will be interesting to see how internet culture evolves as the ubiquity and awareness of widespread GPT-3 noise grow (or if forums are just doomed).

carapace 6y ago
Honestly, I was just trying to point out without being rude myself that, if something someone says here on HN seems difficult to understand, it might be because one is just too stupid, not that the poster is a robot. In any event, the point about the unpredictability of a message comes from Shannon's Information Theory. Although, see also Robert Anton Wilson's writing about W. Burroughs' "cut ups". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-up_technique https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-up_technique
- stingraycharles 6y ago
  I think the criticism is more that the way things are being articulated is the same kind of language that’s being used by people to make things sound more interesting than they actually are. At least, that’s how I interpret it. I don’t think at all it has anything to do with being stupid. On the contrary, it’s usually the smarter people that can see through the smoke screen and realize “oh he’s just talking about 3D printed wood”.
  - carapace 6y ago
    It's a fair criticism IMO just done in a rude way (again, IMO.) - - - - To me "just" in that sentence would be (IMO) a signal that the speaker hadn't thought things through deeply enough. The jargon word "circular" is the clue. It's not just about the 3D printing of wood, or biodegradable glue, it's about a sea change in our economy and technology to be in harmony with (for lack of a better word) Nature (and therefore durable on large (10K to 1M years) timescales.)
- glial 6y ago
  OK, I’ll bite: what’s a “circular technosphere”?
  - carapace 6y ago
    Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy The "technosphere" is the thing with the lights that you see from orbit when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth.