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What do we do when reality is a distant second to digital simulation? We're just seeing sparks of AI starting and it's already beating out people for tasks whi

What do we do when reality is a distant second to digital simulation? We're just seeing sparks of AI starting and it's already beating out people for tasks which were thought to be innately unautomatable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uE96qUlJ_4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uE96qUlJ_4

mrinfinitiesx 2y ago
> What do we do when reality is a distant second to digital simulation? We don't do anything. People already have phones in their faces and screens as their main source of light all day. We go outside. Hang out with people. Form meaningful relationships. Biking. Hiking. Have fun. Enjoyment. Fulfillment. Loneliness and stress are killers. Digital simulation aint no solution.
- llm_trw 2y ago
  So your argument against digital simulation is that currently digital simulation isn't good enough today so it will never be good enough? May I introduce you to the exponential function? It's a little something that's been carrying the whole field of digital computers on it's back since the 1970s.
  - haswell 2y ago
    I’m not convinced that a more perfect simulation can meet the needs of a human psyche in the long run. I think we vastly underestimate our own complexity in this regard. Whatever the case, we’re certainly nowhere close at the moment.
xivzgrev 2y ago
Then it’s basically porn. A short term “better” solution that undermines longer term satisfaction. Porn, junk food, etc The thing about people is they’re people. They’re different. It can be hard. They’re selfish. But there can be joy in our differences, and real meaning when someone actually cares. Vs a chatbot who is centered around you. It might feel good but it’s not a real relationship of give and take.
- llm_trw 2y ago
  Funny you should mention porn: ai generated porn is now better than the real thing for images and >5s clips. At current rates for Moore's Law we're going to have 5 minute clips of anything you desire within the next decade on the equivalent of a 4090. I wonder if we will start having people demand we go back to real human porn like in the good old days because it's just not natural to jack it to photo realistic catgirl dominatrices.
  - nothal 2y ago
    TBH, Porn is very clearly one of those things that there's basically no intrinsic added value to your life by consuming. Think cigarettes or fentanyl. Something, that, if most people could press a button to make themselves never ever use it again, they would. > I wonder if we will start having people demand we go back to real human porn like in the good old days because it's just not natural to jack it to photo realistic catgirl dominatrices. All that to say that, in the future, I think the more likely option is that people begin to treat it as a harmful, addictive substance and, that, hopefully, it becomes much more acceptable to seek out public treatment and support for using it.
    - llm_trw 2y ago
      Only if you're an oppressed puritan. I can make the case much more convincingly that food gives basically no intrinsic added value to your life and if most people could press a button to make themselves never eat again, they would. Or to quote someone who said it much better than I: If only it were as easy to banish hunger by rubbing my belly. -Diogenes on public masturbation.
      - andersa 2y ago
        > I can make the case much more convincingly that food has basically no intrinsic added value to your life and if most people could press a button to make themselves never eat again, they would. What nonsense is this? Do you only eat beans? Eating good food feels fantastic. Why would you want to give it up? Give me a button that lets me eat unlimited amounts of it without consequences, and I'll press that one instantly. Good-tasting food is one of the most addictive things we have (also evidenced by the ever increasing percentage of people that are obese...)

mrinfinitiesx 2y ago

> What do we do when reality is a distant second to digital simulation? We don't do anything. People already have phones in their faces and screens as their main source of light all day. We go outside. Hang out with people. Form meaningful relationships. Biking. Hiking. Have fun. Enjoyment. Fulfillment. Loneliness and stress are killers. Digital simulation aint no solution.

llm_trw 2y ago
So your argument against digital simulation is that currently digital simulation isn't good enough today so it will never be good enough? May I introduce you to the exponential function? It's a little something that's been carrying the whole field of digital computers on it's back since the 1970s.
- haswell 2y ago
  I’m not convinced that a more perfect simulation can meet the needs of a human psyche in the long run. I think we vastly underestimate our own complexity in this regard. Whatever the case, we’re certainly nowhere close at the moment.

xivzgrev 2y ago

Then it’s basically porn. A short term “better” solution that undermines longer term satisfaction. Porn, junk food, etc The thing about people is they’re people. They’re different. It can be hard. They’re selfish. But there can be joy in our differences, and real meaning when someone actually cares. Vs a chatbot who is centered around you. It might feel good but it’s not a real relationship of give and take.

llm_trw 2y ago
Funny you should mention porn: ai generated porn is now better than the real thing for images and >5s clips. At current rates for Moore's Law we're going to have 5 minute clips of anything you desire within the next decade on the equivalent of a 4090. I wonder if we will start having people demand we go back to real human porn like in the good old days because it's just not natural to jack it to photo realistic catgirl dominatrices.
- nothal 2y ago
  TBH, Porn is very clearly one of those things that there's basically no intrinsic added value to your life by consuming. Think cigarettes or fentanyl. Something, that, if most people could press a button to make themselves never ever use it again, they would. > I wonder if we will start having people demand we go back to real human porn like in the good old days because it's just not natural to jack it to photo realistic catgirl dominatrices. All that to say that, in the future, I think the more likely option is that people begin to treat it as a harmful, addictive substance and, that, hopefully, it becomes much more acceptable to seek out public treatment and support for using it.
  - llm_trw 2y ago
    Only if you're an oppressed puritan. I can make the case much more convincingly that food gives basically no intrinsic added value to your life and if most people could press a button to make themselves never eat again, they would. Or to quote someone who said it much better than I: If only it were as easy to banish hunger by rubbing my belly. -Diogenes on public masturbation.
    - andersa 2y ago
      > I can make the case much more convincingly that food has basically no intrinsic added value to your life and if most people could press a button to make themselves never eat again, they would. What nonsense is this? Do you only eat beans? Eating good food feels fantastic. Why would you want to give it up? Give me a button that lets me eat unlimited amounts of it without consequences, and I'll press that one instantly. Good-tasting food is one of the most addictive things we have (also evidenced by the ever increasing percentage of people that are obese...)