8 ms·

I think you’re missing the point of Dune. They had their Butlerian Jihad and won - the machines were banned. And what did it get them? Feudalism, cartels, stagn

I think you’re missing the point of Dune. They had their Butlerian Jihad and won - the machines were banned. And what did it get them? Feudalism, cartels, stagnation. Does anyone seriously want to live in the Dune universe? The problem isn’t in the thinking machines, it’s in who owns them and gets our rent. We need open source models running on dirt cheap hardware.

accidentallfact 8mo ago
The point of Dune is that the worst danger are people who obey authority without questioning it.
- api 8mo ago
  ... which overthrowing the machines didn't stop. People just found another authority to mindlessly obey.
- xmprt 8mo ago
  Then wouldn't open source models running on commodity hardware be the best way to get around that? I think one of the greatest wins of the 21st century is that almost every human today has more computing power than the entire US government in the 1950s. More computer power has democratized access and ability to disperse information. There are tons of downsides to that which we're dealing with but on the net, I think it's positive.
  - accidentallfact 8mo ago
    It isn't a way around, you still obey. Only now, the authority you obey is a machine.
  - shinycode 8mo ago
    Does it also means the US government has x1000000 more power than the one in 1950 ?
    - stnmtn 8mo ago
      speaking strictly from an energy standpoint (power grid, megatons of warheads, etc).. it's probably close to that number.
- wiseowise 8mo ago
  That's not the point of Dune. Who blindly obeyed who?
  - loire280 8mo ago
    The Fremen followed a messianic figure into a galaxy-wide holy war because the Bene Gesserit seeded their culture with manufactured prophecy as a failsafe.
    - wiseowise 8mo ago
      “Followed” Just woke up after 80 years of abuse by Landsraad/CHOAM, possibly centuries of persecution before that, at least decades of religious conditioning by Bene Gesserit, and decided to “follow” messianic figure. Totally same point as humans using LLMs to smoothen their brain.

accidentallfact 8mo ago

The point of Dune is that the worst danger are people who obey authority without questioning it.

api 8mo ago
... which overthrowing the machines didn't stop. People just found another authority to mindlessly obey.
xmprt 8mo ago
Then wouldn't open source models running on commodity hardware be the best way to get around that? I think one of the greatest wins of the 21st century is that almost every human today has more computing power than the entire US government in the 1950s. More computer power has democratized access and ability to disperse information. There are tons of downsides to that which we're dealing with but on the net, I think it's positive.
- accidentallfact 8mo ago
  It isn't a way around, you still obey. Only now, the authority you obey is a machine.
- shinycode 8mo ago
  Does it also means the US government has x1000000 more power than the one in 1950 ?
  - stnmtn 8mo ago
    speaking strictly from an energy standpoint (power grid, megatons of warheads, etc).. it's probably close to that number.
wiseowise 8mo ago
That's not the point of Dune. Who blindly obeyed who?
- loire280 8mo ago
  The Fremen followed a messianic figure into a galaxy-wide holy war because the Bene Gesserit seeded their culture with manufactured prophecy as a failsafe.
  - wiseowise 8mo ago
    “Followed” Just woke up after 80 years of abuse by Landsraad/CHOAM, possibly centuries of persecution before that, at least decades of religious conditioning by Bene Gesserit, and decided to “follow” messianic figure. Totally same point as humans using LLMs to smoothen their brain.