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Let me get this straight: we want computers knowing everything, to solve current and future problems, but we don't want to give them access to our knowledge?

by y42 1y ago

drawfloat 1y ago
Most people don’t want computers to know everything - ask the average person if they want more or less of their lives recorded and stored.
- y42 1y ago
  > Most people don’t want computers to know everything. That may well be true. But how many of those people are specifically against AI companies scraping the web? That’s not really an argument—it’s an assumption based on personal perception. > Ask the average person if they want more or less of their lives recorded and stored. What exactly is the "average person"? Also, I’ll admit my earlier claim was a bit exaggerated. But let’s be clear: this isn’t about recording personal data—it’s about collecting and structuring knowledge. And beyond that: companies have been scraping the web for years. They still are. And they’re gathering far more personal data for online marketing, tracking, profiling—whatever the reason—and the so-called "average person" hasn’t raised much of a finger. People remain glued to platforms, willingly sharing their personal lives. And what do they get in return? Doomscrolling and five-second video clips.
chairmansteve 1y ago
Not sure we do.
3np 1y ago
I don't want your computer to know everything about me, in fact.
- y42 1y ago
  That’s not what I said. Let me rephrase it: Do you want computers to help us solve medical or scientific problems in order to improve human life?
lelanthran 1y ago
> Let me get this straight: we want computers knowing everything, to solve current and future problems, but we don't want to give them access to our knowledge? Who said that? There's basically two extremes: 1. We want access to all of human knowledge, now and forever, in order to monetise it and make more money for us, and us alone. and 2. We don't want our freely available knowledge sold back to us, with no credits to the original authors.
- y42 1y ago
  1. What exactly is wrong with the first part of that point? I agree that the second part is inaccurate—right now, the money mostly flows in one direction. But as I mentioned earlier, we can use many of these tools for free. 2. You’re not paying just to have your own knowledge echoed back at you. You’re paying so that someone (or something) can read what you provide and, ideally, return improved knowledge or fresh insights. As I said above, you’re paying for the technology and its capabilities—not the knowledge itself. That’s how I see it.
  - lelanthran 1y ago
    I'm merely pointing out that there's two separate groups of people. You appear to be under the impression that there is only one hypocritical group.
jeroenhd 1y ago
I don't want computers to know everything. Most knowledge on the internet is false and entirely useless. The companies selling us computers that supposedly know everything should pay for their database, or they should give away the knowledge they gained for free. Right now, the scraping and copying is free and the knowledge is behind a subscription to access a proprietary model that forms the basis of their business. Humanity doesn't benefit, the snake oil salesmen do.
- y42 1y ago
  That’s factually incorrect. You can use most of these products for free. I use ChatGPT, Perplexity, ClaudeAI, and Gemini every day without paying, and even just these free services have already improved various processes in my life. I do agree with you on the point that we need to find better ways to compensate the people creating content—especially considering that parts of this "AI service," as we might call it, are subscription-based. But in the long run, I’m quite sure that if everyone shared this opinion, it wouldn't move us forward technologically. Also, a couple of other points: Google and others have been scraping the internet for years, and no one complained then. You're not paying the AI company for the knowledge itself—you're paying for the technology behind it, for the ability to access and use it effectively.

Let me get this straight: we want computers knowing everything, to solve current and future problems, but we don't want to give them access to our knowledge?

by y42 1y ago

Let me get this straight: we want computers knowing everything, to solve current and future problems, but we don't want to give them access to our knowledge?

drawfloat 1y ago

Most people don’t want computers to know everything - ask the average person if they want more or less of their lives recorded and stored.

y42 1y ago
> Most people don’t want computers to know everything. That may well be true. But how many of those people are specifically against AI companies scraping the web? That’s not really an argument—it’s an assumption based on personal perception. > Ask the average person if they want more or less of their lives recorded and stored. What exactly is the "average person"? Also, I’ll admit my earlier claim was a bit exaggerated. But let’s be clear: this isn’t about recording personal data—it’s about collecting and structuring knowledge. And beyond that: companies have been scraping the web for years. They still are. And they’re gathering far more personal data for online marketing, tracking, profiling—whatever the reason—and the so-called "average person" hasn’t raised much of a finger. People remain glued to platforms, willingly sharing their personal lives. And what do they get in return? Doomscrolling and five-second video clips.

chairmansteve 1y ago

Not sure we do.

3np 1y ago

I don't want your computer to know everything about me, in fact.

y42 1y ago
That’s not what I said. Let me rephrase it: Do you want computers to help us solve medical or scientific problems in order to improve human life?

lelanthran 1y ago

> Let me get this straight: we want computers knowing everything, to solve current and future problems, but we don't want to give them access to our knowledge? Who said that? There's basically two extremes: 1. We want access to all of human knowledge, now and forever, in order to monetise it and make more money for us, and us alone. and 2. We don't want our freely available knowledge sold back to us, with no credits to the original authors.

y42 1y ago
1. What exactly is wrong with the first part of that point? I agree that the second part is inaccurate—right now, the money mostly flows in one direction. But as I mentioned earlier, we can use many of these tools for free. 2. You’re not paying just to have your own knowledge echoed back at you. You’re paying so that someone (or something) can read what you provide and, ideally, return improved knowledge or fresh insights. As I said above, you’re paying for the technology and its capabilities—not the knowledge itself. That’s how I see it.
- lelanthran 1y ago
  I'm merely pointing out that there's two separate groups of people. You appear to be under the impression that there is only one hypocritical group.

jeroenhd 1y ago

I don't want computers to know everything. Most knowledge on the internet is false and entirely useless. The companies selling us computers that supposedly know everything should pay for their database, or they should give away the knowledge they gained for free. Right now, the scraping and copying is free and the knowledge is behind a subscription to access a proprietary model that forms the basis of their business. Humanity doesn't benefit, the snake oil salesmen do.

y42 1y ago
That’s factually incorrect. You can use most of these products for free. I use ChatGPT, Perplexity, ClaudeAI, and Gemini every day without paying, and even just these free services have already improved various processes in my life. I do agree with you on the point that we need to find better ways to compensate the people creating content—especially considering that parts of this "AI service," as we might call it, are subscription-based. But in the long run, I’m quite sure that if everyone shared this opinion, it wouldn't move us forward technologically. Also, a couple of other points: Google and others have been scraping the internet for years, and no one complained then. You're not paying the AI company for the knowledge itself—you're paying for the technology behind it, for the ability to access and use it effectively.