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While it makes sense for SO to do this, I can't help but feel uneasy about the consolidation of all these resources. Microsoft, `Open`AI, Github, LinkedIn, Sta

While it makes sense for SO to do this, I can't help but feel uneasy about the consolidation of all these resources. Microsoft, `Open`AI, Github, LinkedIn, Stackoverflow .. Feels like it will end badly.

DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
It can be argued that having a nice big consolidated target makes it easier to regulate, though.
- bilekas 3y ago
  Maybe, and I hope so, but the cynic in me feels it would act as a higher incentive to invest far more into lobbying against any meaningful regulation.
  - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
    A single giant organization, or a single-digit number of megacorps in the space, will have lobbyists who are on a first-name basis with every member of the appropriate congressional committees and relevant executive agencies.
- syndicatedjelly 3y ago
  Why is “easy to regulate “ a good thing?
  - DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
    I come from a background of high-trust societies where regulation serves the public good; whereas distrust of "big government" hurts everyone. To quote Francis Fukuyama: "Widespread distrust in a society, in other words, imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity, a tax that high-trust societies do not have to pay.".
    - mrd3v0 3y ago
      I understand, and even agree with the notion that deep societal distrust is unhealthy and problematic, however, that doesn't necessarily answer the question of needing that trust in the first place [to regulate]. Having a company with that much power is in fact harder to regulate, which in turn means we are going to have to trust the public institutions even more to do their jobs. I don't see why we should put ourselves in a position where we need that kind of trust. Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? OpenAI is a for-profit private corporation with a commercial service to offer that has no bearing on the most important concerns the government is elected each year to tackle.
      - bilekas 3y ago
        >I don't see why we should put ourselves in a position where we need that kind of trust. Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? I'm not sure I follow this exactly, isn't regulation supposed to aid in preventing an `unsustainable uncompetitive market` ? The market has shown over and over that left to it's own devices, things will not balance out.
      - DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
        > Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? Because the societal costs of certain industries' unregulated activities do more harm than the economic cost of doing that regulation. Despite what the Libertarian Party's pamphlet might say, regulation is invariably reactive rather than proactive; the saying is "safety-codes are written in blood", after-all. Note that I'm not advocating we "regulate AI" now; instead I believe we're still in the "wait-and-see" phase (whereas we're definitely past that for social-media services like Facebook, but that's another story). There are hypothetical, but plausible, risks; but in the event they become real then we (society) need to be prepared to respond appropriately. I'm not an expert in this area; I don't need to be: I trust people who do know better than me to come up with workable proposals. How about that?
        3y ago
  - deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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- indymike 3y ago
  Regulation and innovation rarely make good business partners.
blantonl 3y ago
Consolidation of information resources is a feature of AI models. A model trained on commits, a resume and past experience, along with answers to technical questions. That's a feature of an AI model
rmorey 3y ago
An acquisition, yes that would be concerning. A partnership, however, I can get behind
deleted 3y ago
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DaiPlusPlus 3y ago

It can be argued that having a nice big consolidated target makes it easier to regulate, though.

bilekas 3y ago
Maybe, and I hope so, but the cynic in me feels it would act as a higher incentive to invest far more into lobbying against any meaningful regulation.
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  A single giant organization, or a single-digit number of megacorps in the space, will have lobbyists who are on a first-name basis with every member of the appropriate congressional committees and relevant executive agencies.
syndicatedjelly 3y ago
Why is “easy to regulate “ a good thing?
- DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
  I come from a background of high-trust societies where regulation serves the public good; whereas distrust of "big government" hurts everyone. To quote Francis Fukuyama: "Widespread distrust in a society, in other words, imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity, a tax that high-trust societies do not have to pay.".
  - mrd3v0 3y ago
    I understand, and even agree with the notion that deep societal distrust is unhealthy and problematic, however, that doesn't necessarily answer the question of needing that trust in the first place [to regulate]. Having a company with that much power is in fact harder to regulate, which in turn means we are going to have to trust the public institutions even more to do their jobs. I don't see why we should put ourselves in a position where we need that kind of trust. Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? OpenAI is a for-profit private corporation with a commercial service to offer that has no bearing on the most important concerns the government is elected each year to tackle.
    - bilekas 3y ago
      >I don't see why we should put ourselves in a position where we need that kind of trust. Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? I'm not sure I follow this exactly, isn't regulation supposed to aid in preventing an `unsustainable uncompetitive market` ? The market has shown over and over that left to it's own devices, things will not balance out.
    - DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
      > Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what? Because the societal costs of certain industries' unregulated activities do more harm than the economic cost of doing that regulation. Despite what the Libertarian Party's pamphlet might say, regulation is invariably reactive rather than proactive; the saying is "safety-codes are written in blood", after-all. Note that I'm not advocating we "regulate AI" now; instead I believe we're still in the "wait-and-see" phase (whereas we're definitely past that for social-media services like Facebook, but that's another story). There are hypothetical, but plausible, risks; but in the event they become real then we (society) need to be prepared to respond appropriately. I'm not an expert in this area; I don't need to be: I trust people who do know better than me to come up with workable proposals. How about that?
      - 3y ago
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 3y ago
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indymike 3y ago
Regulation and innovation rarely make good business partners.

blantonl 3y ago

Consolidation of information resources is a feature of AI models. A model trained on commits, a resume and past experience, along with answers to technical questions. That's a feature of an AI model

rmorey 3y ago

An acquisition, yes that would be concerning. A partnership, however, I can get behind

deleted 3y ago

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