7 ms·

AI brings similar risks - they can leak internal information, they can be tricked into performing prohibited tasks (with catastrophic effects if this is connect

AI brings similar risks - they can leak internal information, they can be tricked into performing prohibited tasks (with catastrophic effects if this is connected to core systems), they could be accused of actions that are discriminatory (biased training sets are very common). Sure, if a business deploys it to perform tasks that are inherently low risk e.g. no client interface, no core system connection and low error impact, then the human performing these tasks is going to be replaced.

snozolli 2y ago
they can be tricked into performing prohibited tasks This reminds me of the school principal who sent $100k to a scammer claiming to be Elon Musk. The kicker is that she was repeatedly told that it was a scam. https://abc7chicago.com/fake-elon-musk-jan-mcgee-principal-burns-science-and-technology-charter-school-scam/13044937/ https://abc7chicago.com/fake-elon-musk-jan-mcgee-principal-b...
- tstrimple 2y ago
  This is one of the things which annoys me most about anti-LLM hate. Your peers aren't right all the time either. They believe incorrect things and will pursue worse solutions because they won't acknowledge a better way. How is this any different from a LLM? You have to question everything you're presented with. Sometimes that Stack Overflow answer isn't directly applicable to your exact problem but you can extrapolate from it to resolve your problem. Why is an LLM viewed any differently? Of course you can't just blindly accept it as the one true answer, but you literally cannot do that with humans either. Humans produce a ton of shit code and non-solutions and it's fine. But when an LLM does it, it's a serious problem that means the tech is useless. Much of the modern world is built on shit solutions and we still hobble along.
  - lazide 2y ago
    Everyone knows humans can be idiots. The problem is that people seem to think LLMs can’t be idiots, and because they aren’t human there is no way to punish them. And then people give them too much credit/power, for their own purposes. Which makes LLMs far more dangerous than idiot humans in most cases.
    - brookst 2y ago
      No. Nobody thinks LLMs are perfect. That’s a strawman. And… I am really not sure punishment is the answer to fallibility, outside of almost kinky Catholicism. The reality is these things are very good, but imperfect, much like people.
      - lazide 2y ago
        Clearly you haven’t been listening to any CEO press releases lately? And when was the last time a support chatbot let you actually complain or bypass to a human?
      - thecupisblue 2y ago
        Sorry man, but I literally know of startups invested into by YC where CEO's for 80% of their management decisions/vision/comms use ChatGPT ... or should I say some use Claude now, as they think it's smarter and does not make mistakes. Let that sink in.
        onion2k 2y ago
        I wouldn't be surprised if GPT genuinely makes better decisions than an inexperienced, first-time CEO who has only been a dev before, especially if the person prompting it has actually put some effort into understanding their own weaknesses. It certainly wouldn't be any worse than someone who's only experience is reading a few management books.
        lazide 2y ago
        And here is a great example of the problem. An LLM doesn’t make decisions. It generates text that plausibly looks like it made a decision, when prompted with the right text.
        beardedwizard 2y ago
        Why is this distinction lost in every thread on this topic, I don't get it.
  - mplewis 2y ago
    Humans can tell you how confident they are in something being right or wrong. An LLM has no internal model and cannot do such a thing.
    - swiftcoder 2y ago
      > Humans can tell you how confident they are in something being right or wrong Humans are also very confidently wrong a considerable portion of the time. Particularly about anything outside their direct expertise
      - SketchySeaBeast 2y ago
        People only being willing to say they are unsure some of the time is still better than LLMs. I suppose, given that everything is outside of their area of expertise, it's very human of them.
      - daveguy 2y ago
        That's still better than never being able to make an accurate confidence assessment. The fact that this is worse outside your expertise is a main reason why expertise is so valued in hiring decisions.
  - pineaux 2y ago
    Its quite stunning to frame it as anti-LLM hate. It's on the pro-LLM people to convince the anti-LLM people that choosing for LLMs is an ethically correct choice with all the necessary guardrails. It's also on the pro-LLM people to show the usefulness of the product. If pro-LLM people are right, it will be a matter of time before these people will see the errors of their ways. But doing an ad-hominem is a sure way of creating a divide...
  - gf000 2y ago
    But human stupidity, while itself can be sometimes an unknown unknown with its creativity, is a mostly known unknown. LLMs fail in entirely novel ways you can't even fathom upfront.
    - sirsinsalot 2y ago
      GenAI has a 100% failure to enjoy quality of life, emotional fulfillment and psychological safety. Id say those are the goals we should be working for. That's the failure we want to look at. We are humans.
    - halgir 2y ago
      > LLMs fail in entirely novel ways you can't even fathom upfront. Trust me, so do humans. Source: have worked with humans.

snozolli 2y ago

they can be tricked into performing prohibited tasks This reminds me of the school principal who sent $100k to a scammer claiming to be Elon Musk. The kicker is that she was repeatedly told that it was a scam. https://abc7chicago.com/fake-elon-musk-jan-mcgee-principal-burns-science-and-technology-charter-school-scam/13044937/ https://abc7chicago.com/fake-elon-musk-jan-mcgee-principal-b...

tstrimple 2y ago
This is one of the things which annoys me most about anti-LLM hate. Your peers aren't right all the time either. They believe incorrect things and will pursue worse solutions because they won't acknowledge a better way. How is this any different from a LLM? You have to question everything you're presented with. Sometimes that Stack Overflow answer isn't directly applicable to your exact problem but you can extrapolate from it to resolve your problem. Why is an LLM viewed any differently? Of course you can't just blindly accept it as the one true answer, but you literally cannot do that with humans either. Humans produce a ton of shit code and non-solutions and it's fine. But when an LLM does it, it's a serious problem that means the tech is useless. Much of the modern world is built on shit solutions and we still hobble along.
- lazide 2y ago
  Everyone knows humans can be idiots. The problem is that people seem to think LLMs can’t be idiots, and because they aren’t human there is no way to punish them. And then people give them too much credit/power, for their own purposes. Which makes LLMs far more dangerous than idiot humans in most cases.
  - brookst 2y ago
    No. Nobody thinks LLMs are perfect. That’s a strawman. And… I am really not sure punishment is the answer to fallibility, outside of almost kinky Catholicism. The reality is these things are very good, but imperfect, much like people.
    - lazide 2y ago
      Clearly you haven’t been listening to any CEO press releases lately? And when was the last time a support chatbot let you actually complain or bypass to a human?
    - thecupisblue 2y ago
      Sorry man, but I literally know of startups invested into by YC where CEO's for 80% of their management decisions/vision/comms use ChatGPT ... or should I say some use Claude now, as they think it's smarter and does not make mistakes. Let that sink in.
      - onion2k 2y ago
        I wouldn't be surprised if GPT genuinely makes better decisions than an inexperienced, first-time CEO who has only been a dev before, especially if the person prompting it has actually put some effort into understanding their own weaknesses. It certainly wouldn't be any worse than someone who's only experience is reading a few management books.
        lazide 2y ago
        And here is a great example of the problem. An LLM doesn’t make decisions. It generates text that plausibly looks like it made a decision, when prompted with the right text.
        beardedwizard 2y ago
        Why is this distinction lost in every thread on this topic, I don't get it.
- mplewis 2y ago
  Humans can tell you how confident they are in something being right or wrong. An LLM has no internal model and cannot do such a thing.
  - swiftcoder 2y ago
    > Humans can tell you how confident they are in something being right or wrong Humans are also very confidently wrong a considerable portion of the time. Particularly about anything outside their direct expertise
    - SketchySeaBeast 2y ago
      People only being willing to say they are unsure some of the time is still better than LLMs. I suppose, given that everything is outside of their area of expertise, it's very human of them.
    - daveguy 2y ago
      That's still better than never being able to make an accurate confidence assessment. The fact that this is worse outside your expertise is a main reason why expertise is so valued in hiring decisions.
- pineaux 2y ago
  Its quite stunning to frame it as anti-LLM hate. It's on the pro-LLM people to convince the anti-LLM people that choosing for LLMs is an ethically correct choice with all the necessary guardrails. It's also on the pro-LLM people to show the usefulness of the product. If pro-LLM people are right, it will be a matter of time before these people will see the errors of their ways. But doing an ad-hominem is a sure way of creating a divide...
- gf000 2y ago
  But human stupidity, while itself can be sometimes an unknown unknown with its creativity, is a mostly known unknown. LLMs fail in entirely novel ways you can't even fathom upfront.
  - sirsinsalot 2y ago
    GenAI has a 100% failure to enjoy quality of life, emotional fulfillment and psychological safety. Id say those are the goals we should be working for. That's the failure we want to look at. We are humans.
  - halgir 2y ago
    > LLMs fail in entirely novel ways you can't even fathom upfront. Trust me, so do humans. Source: have worked with humans.