4 ms·

counterpoint: is a "SOTA LLM" a net benefit to society as a whole?

kevingadd 1y ago
On this note, even if LLMs or "AGI" make businesses more profitable by improving margins and allowing them to cut labor costs, you eventually have to balance it out somehow - all those people who've lost jobs are competing for a smaller number of available jobs, and the people who can't find jobs will either need to be supported by taxpayer dollars or die in poverty. People talk about UBI as a solution for this but the money for UBI has to come from somewhere. Are corporations going to voluntarily pay a new tax to support UBI?
- nradov 1y ago
  It's not a zero sum labor market. Some jobs are being destroyed but others are being created. The new AI data centers will require a huge amount of electrical power and someone needs to build that infrastructure.
willy_k 1y ago
That doesn’t really matter for the point at hand, which is that Europe’s overregulation stifles innovation and international competition. Unless you’re arguing that the reason Europe hasn’t produced a SOTA LLM is because it’s not a net benefit, in which case that’s ignoring that it’s going to happen regardless and if Europe supposedly has its head on straighter than others, it would be most beneficial for the leading LLM to be European.
- edelbitter 1y ago
  Replace "leading LLM" with progressively more evil things and see at what point the "if they exist, they better be European" logic stops seeming logical to you.
  - IAmBroom 1y ago
    Innovation is not the same as improvement, but improvement without innovation is highly unlikely.
- lazystar 1y ago
  > in which case that’s ignoring that it’s going to happen regardless we dont know the long term effects that llms have on a society that does not have these regulations in place. having europe as a backup in case the usa falls apart is probably a good idea
  - nradov 1y ago
    Regardless of what happens with LLMs, I predict that another country will leave the EU before a US state again attempts to secede from the union.

On this note, even if LLMs or "AGI" make businesses more profitable by improving margins and allowing them to cut labor costs, you eventually have to balance it out somehow - all those people who've lost jobs are competing for a smaller number of available jobs, and the people who can't find jobs will either need to be supported by taxpayer dollars or die in poverty. People talk about UBI as a solution for this but the money for UBI has to come from somewhere. Are corporations going to voluntarily pay a new tax to support UBI?

nradov 1y ago
It's not a zero sum labor market. Some jobs are being destroyed but others are being created. The new AI data centers will require a huge amount of electrical power and someone needs to build that infrastructure.

willy_k 1y ago

That doesn’t really matter for the point at hand, which is that Europe’s overregulation stifles innovation and international competition. Unless you’re arguing that the reason Europe hasn’t produced a SOTA LLM is because it’s not a net benefit, in which case that’s ignoring that it’s going to happen regardless and if Europe supposedly has its head on straighter than others, it would be most beneficial for the leading LLM to be European.

edelbitter 1y ago
Replace "leading LLM" with progressively more evil things and see at what point the "if they exist, they better be European" logic stops seeming logical to you.
- IAmBroom 1y ago
  Innovation is not the same as improvement, but improvement without innovation is highly unlikely.
lazystar 1y ago
> in which case that’s ignoring that it’s going to happen regardless we dont know the long term effects that llms have on a society that does not have these regulations in place. having europe as a backup in case the usa falls apart is probably a good idea
- nradov 1y ago
  Regardless of what happens with LLMs, I predict that another country will leave the EU before a US state again attempts to secede from the union.