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In the near future, our society will face a serious and worrying issue: will we mistakenly bring non sentient things into our circle of empathy, letting big tec

In the near future, our society will face a serious and worrying issue: will we mistakenly bring non sentient things into our circle of empathy, letting big tech companies manipulate us? Will the appearance of sentience affect our behaviour on a mass scale and get us to prioritize the happiness of non-sentient beings that belong to big tech when we have actual sentient beings who need our empathy?

pavel_lishin 3y ago
I remember reading a bit of fiction on Tumblr that was based on the fact that humans will empathize with anything. You don't even have to put googly eyes on a toaster to make people associate feelings with it. So, we already bring non-sentient things into our circle of empathy. You're right that someone out there is going to use our brain wiring against us.
SeanAnderson 3y ago
Oooh. I like this theory. I can definitely see this occurring and then being abused. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi_effect :D
shantara 3y ago
This reminded me of the old World of Warcraft subscription cancellation webpage in all its emotionally manipulative glory: https://imgur.com/DwtpdJm https://imgur.com/DwtpdJm
jerf 3y ago
Near future? Try distant past. Have you ever noticed that no matter how much money is given to African charities, that the same kid has flies buzzing around him as he scrabbles in the dirt? Or, more accurately, no matter how much money is given to them, the same non-sentient video file is played on your TV? Sure, the image backs to a real reality of some sort. It doesn't matter if that same kid is literally doing the same thing you see, it is certainly a reasonable representation of something that is true. But the video itself is in essence a non-sentient thing that is not responding to you in any way whatsoever as it is used to manipulate you and your beliefs about your agency in the world. And that is just one example. It is good to notice the manipulation, but it is also helpful to then leverage that into realizing that this is a continuation of existing trends and you've actually been getting manipulated this way all your life.

pavel_lishin 3y ago

I remember reading a bit of fiction on Tumblr that was based on the fact that humans will empathize with anything. You don't even have to put googly eyes on a toaster to make people associate feelings with it. So, we already bring non-sentient things into our circle of empathy. You're right that someone out there is going to use our brain wiring against us.

SeanAnderson 3y ago

Oooh. I like this theory. I can definitely see this occurring and then being abused. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi_effect :D

shantara 3y ago

This reminded me of the old World of Warcraft subscription cancellation webpage in all its emotionally manipulative glory: https://imgur.com/DwtpdJm https://imgur.com/DwtpdJm

jerf 3y ago

Near future? Try distant past. Have you ever noticed that no matter how much money is given to African charities, that the same kid has flies buzzing around him as he scrabbles in the dirt? Or, more accurately, no matter how much money is given to them, the same non-sentient video file is played on your TV? Sure, the image backs to a real reality of some sort. It doesn't matter if that same kid is literally doing the same thing you see, it is certainly a reasonable representation of something that is true. But the video itself is in essence a non-sentient thing that is not responding to you in any way whatsoever as it is used to manipulate you and your beliefs about your agency in the world. And that is just one example. It is good to notice the manipulation, but it is also helpful to then leverage that into realizing that this is a continuation of existing trends and you've actually been getting manipulated this way all your life.