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I know everyone hates ads or whatever, but why would anyone make content on their own website anymore if google and the browser are doing everything in their po

I know everyone hates ads or whatever, but why would anyone make content on their own website anymore if google and the browser are doing everything in their power to keep your users from interacting with your own page. Also I don't want to hear the crap about ads being too invasive, its their content, they can do that if they want, and you can not have access to their content. They have to be able to monetize the page to get viewers and its their mistake to make if they make it annoying that doesn't give everyone the right to their work.

fooker 6mo ago
This point naturally leads to a more general discussion. If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs, who is going to consume the ‘everything’ produced by AI for someone to pay for the AI? I don’t think UBI is a real solution, it’s too hand wavy.
- nvr219 6mo ago
  I don’t know what “too hand wavy” means.
  - fooker 6mo ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand-waving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand-waving
  - VK-pro 6mo ago
    By that, I think they meant they don’t want to enumerate the problems with UBI, of which there are many.
  - Nevermark 6mo ago
    Example: A: The reason it all works is <waves hands>. B: I have no idea what <waves hands> means. A: Exactly.
    - nvr219 6mo ago
      Thank you
- cookiengineer 6mo ago
  Where you see a problem, I see an opportunity. The obvious solution is an AI consumer, duuuuh! The dollar must flow. The dollar is life.
  - fooker 6mo ago
    Thou shalt maximize paperclips
    - Theodores 6mo ago
      The best game ever written, apart from 3D Monster Maze on the ZX81 and Elite on the BBC Micro.
- NotMichaelBay 6mo ago
  UBI feels like a natural solution to what I assume is a ubiquitous problem in the workforce: A certain percentage of people are absolutely worthless in their job, and everyone would be better off if we just paid those people to stay home.
  - drivebyhooting 6mo ago
    Even if you’re competent and useful, work is an incredible sacrifice. Perhaps only 10% of workers (the most unattached and lacking in obligations) would voluntarily work. For example for parents there are only a litany of bad choices available. If UBI is offered, why would most people suffer through their work sacrifices.
    - goosejuice 6mo ago
      Because UBI and negative income tax doesn't provide the same lifestyle as working. It's a floor, no-one is proposing UBI at middle class salaries.
      - drivebyhooting 6mo ago
        Lots of people are proposing UBI as a solution to AI displacing knowledge workers. Which of course is patently ridiculous.
    - Schmerika 6mo ago
      > Perhaps only 10% of workers (the most unattached and lacking in obligations) would voluntarily work. That's not even close to true. Basically every study on UBI, everywhere, has shown that either more people work, or employment stays about the same, but in each case happiness and health go up vs the control. Since it's very clear you haven't researched your claim whatsoever - why are you making it? Why would you say something so wrong with so much confidence?
      - brainwad 6mo ago
        All those studies are flawed because they are always a few years of sub-subsistence income. Of course most people rationally don't drastically change their employment in response to that - as expected per the permanent income hypothesis. A permanent, liveable UBI would be quite another beast.
- Daz912 6mo ago
  >If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs Same thing that happened when automatic threshing machines replaced 80% of agricultural labour.
- partyficial 6mo ago
  > If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs Not everything - Many things. Not everyone - Many ones. The people who cannot compete fade out, and the ones that are left reap the benefit of the machines. Just like one farmer reaps the benefit of a tractor that replaced 20 laborers. The earth population keeps reducing until it is kinda a vacation resort for 100 billionaires + others who work for them + machines. Then some politician who promises to be a voice for the people uses force/army to kick the billionaires out, redistribute the wealth, and then the population increases and the cycle continues. This has been happening and will continue to happen until the heat death of the universe. (and then repeat after it gets created again).
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
eucyclos 6mo ago
This touches on something I've been thinking about. I'm making an ad blocker that tries to replace native ads with ads that actually add value to the viewer's life. In the public version, I'd like to offer some of the profits to the web hosts even if they haven't heard of it. Do you have any thoughts on how it would be best to go about that?
- kuboble 6mo ago
  This doesn't exist. The ads are only good in a context when I'm searching for particular product. When I'm trying to do my work then any ad that takes my attention has negative value. Show me the same ad when I'm actually searching for a new vacuum cleaner and we're fine.
  - eucyclos 6mo ago
    That gives me an start of an idea for a feature. It might be useful to have it timing based. The thing I'd disagree with about how you frame it is, if you're searching for e.g. "soccer coaches near me", an ad actually distorts the signal of just searching by price of reviews or what have you. Where an ad can add value is if you're searching for "watch soccer matches online" and it says "you said you want to get in shape, here's a beginner friendly soccer coach in your area". I agree if you're in production mode, all ads are unwelcome, but most of us spend a lot of time in consumption mode too, and that's where unlooked for opportunities are really welcome. If the system could distinguish between when the user is in production vs consumption mode it would reduce friction even more over the initial vision. Not sure how to distinguish that though, most of us can't even tell it about ourselves, let alone want to tell a browser extension about it. Maybe a 'production time' setting that forces a wait time on social media sites and doesn't show replacement ads at all while on?
- sph 6mo ago
  The only good ad is no ad. To engage with your question, the only way to truly, objectively ‘add value to one’s life’ is to become intimately familiar with them, their habits and everything they do on- and offline to understand what they need. This is the entire modus operandi of the current ad industry.

fooker 6mo ago

This point naturally leads to a more general discussion. If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs, who is going to consume the ‘everything’ produced by AI for someone to pay for the AI? I don’t think UBI is a real solution, it’s too hand wavy.

nvr219 6mo ago
I don’t know what “too hand wavy” means.
- fooker 6mo ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand-waving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand-waving
- VK-pro 6mo ago
  By that, I think they meant they don’t want to enumerate the problems with UBI, of which there are many.
- Nevermark 6mo ago
  Example: A: The reason it all works is <waves hands>. B: I have no idea what <waves hands> means. A: Exactly.
  - nvr219 6mo ago
    Thank you
cookiengineer 6mo ago
Where you see a problem, I see an opportunity. The obvious solution is an AI consumer, duuuuh! The dollar must flow. The dollar is life.
- fooker 6mo ago
  Thou shalt maximize paperclips
  - Theodores 6mo ago
    The best game ever written, apart from 3D Monster Maze on the ZX81 and Elite on the BBC Micro.
NotMichaelBay 6mo ago
UBI feels like a natural solution to what I assume is a ubiquitous problem in the workforce: A certain percentage of people are absolutely worthless in their job, and everyone would be better off if we just paid those people to stay home.
- drivebyhooting 6mo ago
  Even if you’re competent and useful, work is an incredible sacrifice. Perhaps only 10% of workers (the most unattached and lacking in obligations) would voluntarily work. For example for parents there are only a litany of bad choices available. If UBI is offered, why would most people suffer through their work sacrifices.
  - goosejuice 6mo ago
    Because UBI and negative income tax doesn't provide the same lifestyle as working. It's a floor, no-one is proposing UBI at middle class salaries.
    - drivebyhooting 6mo ago
      Lots of people are proposing UBI as a solution to AI displacing knowledge workers. Which of course is patently ridiculous.
  - Schmerika 6mo ago
    > Perhaps only 10% of workers (the most unattached and lacking in obligations) would voluntarily work. That's not even close to true. Basically every study on UBI, everywhere, has shown that either more people work, or employment stays about the same, but in each case happiness and health go up vs the control. Since it's very clear you haven't researched your claim whatsoever - why are you making it? Why would you say something so wrong with so much confidence?
    - brainwad 6mo ago
      All those studies are flawed because they are always a few years of sub-subsistence income. Of course most people rationally don't drastically change their employment in response to that - as expected per the permanent income hypothesis. A permanent, liveable UBI would be quite another beast.
Daz912 6mo ago
>If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs Same thing that happened when automatic threshing machines replaced 80% of agricultural labour.
partyficial 6mo ago
> If AI can do everything and gets everyone out of jobs Not everything - Many things. Not everyone - Many ones. The people who cannot compete fade out, and the ones that are left reap the benefit of the machines. Just like one farmer reaps the benefit of a tractor that replaced 20 laborers. The earth population keeps reducing until it is kinda a vacation resort for 100 billionaires + others who work for them + machines. Then some politician who promises to be a voice for the people uses force/army to kick the billionaires out, redistribute the wealth, and then the population increases and the cycle continues. This has been happening and will continue to happen until the heat death of the universe. (and then repeat after it gets created again).

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

eucyclos 6mo ago

This touches on something I've been thinking about. I'm making an ad blocker that tries to replace native ads with ads that actually add value to the viewer's life. In the public version, I'd like to offer some of the profits to the web hosts even if they haven't heard of it. Do you have any thoughts on how it would be best to go about that?

kuboble 6mo ago
This doesn't exist. The ads are only good in a context when I'm searching for particular product. When I'm trying to do my work then any ad that takes my attention has negative value. Show me the same ad when I'm actually searching for a new vacuum cleaner and we're fine.
- eucyclos 6mo ago
  That gives me an start of an idea for a feature. It might be useful to have it timing based. The thing I'd disagree with about how you frame it is, if you're searching for e.g. "soccer coaches near me", an ad actually distorts the signal of just searching by price of reviews or what have you. Where an ad can add value is if you're searching for "watch soccer matches online" and it says "you said you want to get in shape, here's a beginner friendly soccer coach in your area". I agree if you're in production mode, all ads are unwelcome, but most of us spend a lot of time in consumption mode too, and that's where unlooked for opportunities are really welcome. If the system could distinguish between when the user is in production vs consumption mode it would reduce friction even more over the initial vision. Not sure how to distinguish that though, most of us can't even tell it about ourselves, let alone want to tell a browser extension about it. Maybe a 'production time' setting that forces a wait time on social media sites and doesn't show replacement ads at all while on?
sph 6mo ago
The only good ad is no ad. To engage with your question, the only way to truly, objectively ‘add value to one’s life’ is to become intimately familiar with them, their habits and everything they do on- and offline to understand what they need. This is the entire modus operandi of the current ad industry.