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Been noticing the same. There's this very unique flavor of comment, happening even on HN, where people downplay the level of impact of AI/MI/ML (whatever you're

Been noticing the same. There's this very unique flavor of comment, happening even on HN, where people downplay the level of impact of AI/MI/ML (whatever you're more comfortable with) not whether or not it will have any impact at all. Mind you, there are always a variety of possibilities that people see, that is true, but this unique flavor of comment is unique because I haven't seen it expressed before. Not during crypto (as others are bringing it up). It feels like there's a much more serious... insecurity? Maybe that's too aggressive of a word, but it's one that describes how this downplaying partially is rooted in this idea of a replacement, and lack of job security, and an uncertainty about what you should be spending your time on. All of this is so unique, nobody was feeling this way during crypto, not a single person. If you hated crypto, you were hating it because it sounds redundant, the "fans" were annoying, the environmental impact, etc - not a single one of these reasons came from this assumption that crypto will be the new norm. So I think that's what a lot of the other comments are missing right now. The downplaying feels totally different now. As if even the people who are downplaying realize what's happening, but don't want it to be true. I did like this blog post though, outside of what we're talking about.

pixl97 4y ago
>and lack of job security, A fair number of HN'ers are the "pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "We don't need to stinking unions", "Social safety nets are for the weak" types. The potential for AGI causes a cognitive dissonance with them. They are intelligent enough to realize that AGI would nearly completely destroy their ability to make money, but at the same they don't want to release their ideals that "rugged individualism" is why they are better than everyone else, and they would need a more fair system to survive.
atleastoptimal 4y ago
They are coping. Crypto hate is based on facts. AI hate is based on what you said, insecurity.
- chrisco255 4y ago
  Neither of these statements are true and time will show the ignorance of it. I'm a crypto and AI optimist, but a tempered optimist. I don't think either tech is imminently going to disrupt everything, but I think both technologies have their use cases. They are far more modest than their most ardent supporters would believe. However, over the course of decades, the tech can transform society, I still think that. However, as with the internet itself, which never did live up to its loftiest, most optimistic ambitions, it's not to downplay the impact at all. Just thay eventually you do find a point where you grapple with the tradeoffs inherent in the technology and those are often sticky and intractable.
- waboremo 4y ago
  Coping sounds like exactly the term I was looking for. Maybe ChatGPT would have suggested that had I ran the comment through it prior instead of sounding like a bumbling fool lol

pixl97 4y ago

>and lack of job security, A fair number of HN'ers are the "pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "We don't need to stinking unions", "Social safety nets are for the weak" types. The potential for AGI causes a cognitive dissonance with them. They are intelligent enough to realize that AGI would nearly completely destroy their ability to make money, but at the same they don't want to release their ideals that "rugged individualism" is why they are better than everyone else, and they would need a more fair system to survive.

atleastoptimal 4y ago

They are coping. Crypto hate is based on facts. AI hate is based on what you said, insecurity.

chrisco255 4y ago
Neither of these statements are true and time will show the ignorance of it. I'm a crypto and AI optimist, but a tempered optimist. I don't think either tech is imminently going to disrupt everything, but I think both technologies have their use cases. They are far more modest than their most ardent supporters would believe. However, over the course of decades, the tech can transform society, I still think that. However, as with the internet itself, which never did live up to its loftiest, most optimistic ambitions, it's not to downplay the impact at all. Just thay eventually you do find a point where you grapple with the tradeoffs inherent in the technology and those are often sticky and intractable.
waboremo 4y ago
Coping sounds like exactly the term I was looking for. Maybe ChatGPT would have suggested that had I ran the comment through it prior instead of sounding like a bumbling fool lol