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>"It didn't help that the LLM was confidently incorrect." Has anyone else ever dealt with a somewhat charismatic know-it-all who knows just enough to give auth
by BitwiseFool 1y ago
>"It didn't help that the LLM was confidently incorrect."
Has anyone else ever dealt with a somewhat charismatic know-it-all who knows just enough to give authoritative answers? LLM output often reminds me of such people.
- bigfishrunning 1y agoIf those people are wrong enough times, they are either removed from the organization or they scare anyone competent away from the organization, which then dies. LLMs seem to be getting a managerial pass (because the cost is subsidized by mountains of VC money and thus very low (for now)) so only the latter outcome is likely.
- XxiXx 1y agoThere's even a name for such person: Manager
- SoftTalker 1y agoYes, they have been around forever, they are known as bullshitters. The bullshitter doesn't care whether what he says is correct or not, as long as it's convincing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit
- pmarreck 1y agoSounds like every product manager I've ever had, lol (sorry PM's!)
- DamnInteresting 1y agoColloquially known as "bullshitters."[1] [1] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bullshitter https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bulls...
- SamBam 1y agoThat’s a great question — and one that highlights a subtle misconception about how LLMs actually work. At first glance, it’s easy to compare them to a charismatic “know-it-all” who sounds confident while being only half-right. After all, both can produce fluent, authoritative-sounding answers that sometimes miss the mark. But here’s where the comparison falls short — and where LLMs really shine: (...ok ok, I can't go on.)
- mvdtnz 1y agoThis isn't funny or clever. Stop it.
- CursedSilicon 1y agoYou're absolutely right! It's totally unfair to tease LLM's like that—They're just trying to do the best with how they're programmed. We should treat them with the same respect we give each other so that we can create a better world for everyone
- HocusLocus 1y agoDifficult to see people anthropomorphize LLMs undeservedly, it's an extension of the childhood trauma inflicted by The Brave Little Toaster. Inanimate objects projected into personhood and subjected to a cruel and indifferent world. Dangerous actually, the effect it had on children. Of course they loved it because it had a happy ending, but at what price?
- ryandrake 1y agoMost of the most charismatic, confident know-it-alls I have ever met have been in the tech industry. And not just the usual suspects (founders, managers, thought leaders, architects) but regular rank-and-file engineers. The whole industry is infested with know-it-alls. Hell, HN is infested with know-it-alls. So it's no surprise that one of the biggest products of the decade is an Automated Know-It-All machine.
- flatb 1y agoThereby self correcting perhaps.
- sigotirandolas 1y agoI'd say the opposite, LLMs are a know-it-nothing machine to perfectly suit know-it-alls. Unlike a human, it isn't that hard to get the machine to say what you want, and then generate enough crap to 'defeat' any human challenger.
- fluoridation 1y agoI'm pretty sure I'm that guy on some topics.
- BitwiseFool 1y ago>"I'm pretty sure I'm that guy on some topics." The use of 'pretty sure' disqualifies you. I appreciate your humility.
- fluoridation 1y agoI don't know, man. I really don't know. I can't tell whether I'm really good at making inferences from tidbits of information, or really good at speaking confidently.
- jrs235 1y agoI think I'm good at making inferences from tidbits of information (or so I think) but I don't think I'm good at speaking confidently, other than speaking confidently that I don't know everything.