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I think an assumption that a lot of people make about people with power is that they say what they actually believe. In my experience, they do not. Public speec

by madrox 2y ago

I think an assumption that a lot of people make about people with power is that they say what they actually believe. In my experience, they do not. Public speech is a means to an end, and they will say whatever is the strongest possible argument that will lead them to what they actually want. In this case, OpenAI wants look like they're going to save the world and do it in a noble way. It's Google's "don't be evil" all over again.

sourcepluck 2y ago
I'll sleep easier tonight after reading this! I know other people know what you say there, but at times reading HN one would suspect that it's not that commonly known around these parts. Maybe public figures were "saying what they meant" in, I don't know, the mid-1800s. People who grew up with "modern" communications and media infrastructure (smartphones, brain rot, streaming garbage 24/7, ads everywhere, etc) do not have the capacity to act in a non-mediatic fashion in public space anymore. So that's the reality, I think. Not only is Sam Altman "fake" in public, so is everyone else (more or less), including you and I. Nonetheless, it's a national sport at least in massive chunks of the English-speaking world now to endlessly speculate about the real intentions of these pharaonic figures. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: what a very peculiar timeline.
- imiric 2y ago
  It's human nature to assume honesty and good will. Societies couldn't function if that wasn't the case. Lies and deception are only common in interactions outside of our immediate tribe and community. They're the primary tools of scammers, politicians, and general psychopaths, who seek to exploit this assumption of honesty that most people have, and they're very successful at it. The problem is that technology has blurred the line between close communities and the rest of the world, and forced everyone to accept living in a global village. So while some of us would want the world to function with honesty first, the reality is that humans are genetically programmed to be tribal and deceitful, and that can't change in a few generations. It's hilariously easy to be "successful" in the modern world. It's so easy that a dumb person following a playbook of "deny, divert, discredit" can become president.
pxmpxm 2y ago
This. All this bullshit about "AI will kill us all" is purely a device to ensure regulatory capture for the largest players, ie the people saying said bullshit. Pretend your meme pic generator is actually a weapon of mass destruction and you can eliminate most of your competition by handwaving about "safety".

by madrox 2y ago

sourcepluck 2y ago

I'll sleep easier tonight after reading this! I know other people know what you say there, but at times reading HN one would suspect that it's not that commonly known around these parts. Maybe public figures were "saying what they meant" in, I don't know, the mid-1800s. People who grew up with "modern" communications and media infrastructure (smartphones, brain rot, streaming garbage 24/7, ads everywhere, etc) do not have the capacity to act in a non-mediatic fashion in public space anymore. So that's the reality, I think. Not only is Sam Altman "fake" in public, so is everyone else (more or less), including you and I. Nonetheless, it's a national sport at least in massive chunks of the English-speaking world now to endlessly speculate about the real intentions of these pharaonic figures. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: what a very peculiar timeline.

imiric 2y ago
It's human nature to assume honesty and good will. Societies couldn't function if that wasn't the case. Lies and deception are only common in interactions outside of our immediate tribe and community. They're the primary tools of scammers, politicians, and general psychopaths, who seek to exploit this assumption of honesty that most people have, and they're very successful at it. The problem is that technology has blurred the line between close communities and the rest of the world, and forced everyone to accept living in a global village. So while some of us would want the world to function with honesty first, the reality is that humans are genetically programmed to be tribal and deceitful, and that can't change in a few generations. It's hilariously easy to be "successful" in the modern world. It's so easy that a dumb person following a playbook of "deny, divert, discredit" can become president.

pxmpxm 2y ago

This. All this bullshit about "AI will kill us all" is purely a device to ensure regulatory capture for the largest players, ie the people saying said bullshit. Pretend your meme pic generator is actually a weapon of mass destruction and you can eliminate most of your competition by handwaving about "safety".