4 ms·

I once saw an interview with a guy who was into extreme body modification of an unprintable and life-altering nature. He said something to the effect of, "I lik

by beloch 6mo ago

I once saw an interview with a guy who was into extreme body modification of an unprintable and life-altering nature. He said something to the effect of, "I like challenging people's conception of what humans are." I translated this as, "I did a dumb thing, but now that I'm getting the attention I was after I need to look smart." For the guys in this story, my translation is, "We were totally fine with making money with no effort, because F paying more employees than we need to. This social media campaign is our backup plan to ensure we get some press and attention out of it even if it fails. We'd totally be cool with making a lot of money though. Please visit our quirky AI shop and buy our stuff."

Barbing 6mo ago
“We also won’t be first against the wall when the revolution comes (see this very blog for proof of innocence)” This is going through some people’s minds the more pushback grows (see Altman molotov, Maine data center moratorium)
- HumblyTossed 6mo ago
  For decades we moved to a knowledge based economy, now we have perversely wealthy people saying they're coming for those jobs. The thought of 10s of millions of people with nothing to do but starve to death ought to scare those wealthy people.
  - topheroo 6mo ago
    Comment of the week
  - hn_acc1 6mo ago
    Especially since many of them are some of the brightest minds around.
    - Barbing 6mo ago
      If (1) many bright and very online people are going to lose their jobs, and (2) the response has not been mass unionization, might I rethink [1] a more likely future of work or rethink [2] the psychology of the average/collective knowledge workforce, or... "where union" in short. Perhaps the concept is too foreign for white collars, or on average folks think they'll be OK and it's the juniors who'll go... maybe too focused on immediate needs... a belief unionization is the wrong response... (and I'm not advocating for anything in particular btw)
      - Jensson 6mo ago
        Unions doesn't give you power they just help you use what power you have. Unions don't help if you don't have any power, see Detroit factory workers, they were highly unionized but that didn't help them at all. And if you have power then you can start a union, so there isn't a reason to start a union early before you need it.
      - ben_w 6mo ago
        To extend on what Jensson wrote: A union has the power to organise one thing, to withdraw labour. In the industrial era, the threat of all the workers not showing up was a threat to end a business. If AI does what is promised, to replace labour, then a threat to withdraw labour is only threatening the owners with a good time.
        adrianN 6mo ago
        Yeah, the swing riots ultimately did not lead to better working conditions
        ben_w 6mo ago
        Riots are very different to trade unions in the same way that a civil war is different from an electoral democracy.
        adrianN 6mo ago
    - i_think_so 6mo ago
      ...and in America there are more guns than humans, and more potentially unemployed white collar workers than the police, military, and national guard combined. Nick Hanauer understood this fourteen years ago. Very few others did. And despite him spending his own time and money to explain it in simple English, nobody in his peer group wanted to hear it -- his TED talk on the subject ... took several years before it was published. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. FA (for a decade or so) FO, I guess? https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocr... https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchfor... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8ns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8ns than humans, and more potentially unemployed white collar workers than the police, military and national guard combined.
      - Barbing 6mo ago
        whoh dude's awesome
  - pydry 6mo ago
    They're experts at divide and conquer. They'll probably be able to convince us that we did this to each other. Just like they convinced the younger generation that "boomers" stole their future.
  - suburban_strike 6mo ago
    > The thought of 10s of millions of people with nothing to do but starve to death ought to scare those wealthy people. It doesn't, it won't, and it shouldn't. It's not explored in game theory and criminal justice tries to conceal this but the starving will kill and eat each other long before they organize and mob the wealthy. It plays out in every prison riot, governmental collapse, and other condition of anarchy. This idea that the poor will mob the rich is feel-good Hollywood idealism that has been wholly undermined by identity politics. The poor will sooner kill and eat you just because you're easier to reach.
mock-possum 6mo ago
> I translated this as, "I did a dumb thing, but now that I'm getting the attention I was after I need to look smart." Strikes me as a repulsively mean-spirited take, ironically proving the artist’s point.
- mjmsmith 6mo ago
  I think that depends on what the "extreme body modification of an unprintable and life-altering nature" was.
  - beloch 6mo ago
    Let's just say the "artist" was never again going to be able to walk normally, wear normal pants, or sit without a doughnut pillow. It was a voluntary disability.
balls187 6mo ago
Freakanomics podcast had a recent episode regarding Cheating with PEDS, and interviewed the (former) head of the Enhanced Games. At one point, he discussed the benefit for society because athletes would be monitored for 5-years post performance. To me, it seemed like a modern day tech-take of human cock-fighting.
- rafaelmn 6mo ago
  Honestly PEDS are stigmatized and under-researched for the performance enhancing aspect. They have undoubtable side effects - but how much, why, etc. is kind of meh from what I saw when I was looking into this, bro science is best you can get. Few studies here and there giving people modes test boosts and measuring athletic performance. Not saying we should be promoting them, but if we can eventually get to the point where we eliminate the really bad side effects and get most of the benefits it's going to be a great thing for everyone, the next thing after GLP-1.
  - balls187 6mo ago
    I do not have the background that allows me to make medical decisions based reading published medical articles, so I have to trust my doctors advice, and seek 2nd opinions if I'm not convinced. My issue was the disingenuous use of a "5-year post compete" monitoring as justification for Enhanced Games.
- bsder 6mo ago
  In my opinion, the problem with PEDS isn't adults taking them if they would just admit to taking them. The problem is with adolescents taking them. Adolescent boys see a really nice immediate payoff for taking PEDS (better musculature and better sports performance->more popular) while the downsides are in the future. It's really hard to fight that. Even when I was in high school several decades ago, we had a handful of people on PEDS. And we were a tiny school with no significant sports programs. I can't imagine what it's like now with social media pushing everything.
  - balls187 6mo ago

by beloch 6mo ago

Barbing 6mo ago

“We also won’t be first against the wall when the revolution comes (see this very blog for proof of innocence)” This is going through some people’s minds the more pushback grows (see Altman molotov, Maine data center moratorium)

HumblyTossed 6mo ago
For decades we moved to a knowledge based economy, now we have perversely wealthy people saying they're coming for those jobs. The thought of 10s of millions of people with nothing to do but starve to death ought to scare those wealthy people.
- topheroo 6mo ago
  Comment of the week
- hn_acc1 6mo ago
  Especially since many of them are some of the brightest minds around.
  - Barbing 6mo ago
    If (1) many bright and very online people are going to lose their jobs, and (2) the response has not been mass unionization, might I rethink [1] a more likely future of work or rethink [2] the psychology of the average/collective knowledge workforce, or... "where union" in short. Perhaps the concept is too foreign for white collars, or on average folks think they'll be OK and it's the juniors who'll go... maybe too focused on immediate needs... a belief unionization is the wrong response... (and I'm not advocating for anything in particular btw)
    - Jensson 6mo ago
      Unions doesn't give you power they just help you use what power you have. Unions don't help if you don't have any power, see Detroit factory workers, they were highly unionized but that didn't help them at all. And if you have power then you can start a union, so there isn't a reason to start a union early before you need it.
    - ben_w 6mo ago
      To extend on what Jensson wrote: A union has the power to organise one thing, to withdraw labour. In the industrial era, the threat of all the workers not showing up was a threat to end a business. If AI does what is promised, to replace labour, then a threat to withdraw labour is only threatening the owners with a good time.
      - adrianN 6mo ago
        Yeah, the swing riots ultimately did not lead to better working conditions
        ben_w 6mo ago
        Riots are very different to trade unions in the same way that a civil war is different from an electoral democracy.
        adrianN 6mo ago
  - i_think_so 6mo ago
    ...and in America there are more guns than humans, and more potentially unemployed white collar workers than the police, military, and national guard combined. Nick Hanauer understood this fourteen years ago. Very few others did. And despite him spending his own time and money to explain it in simple English, nobody in his peer group wanted to hear it -- his TED talk on the subject ... took several years before it was published. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. FA (for a decade or so) FO, I guess? https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocr... https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchfor... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8ns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8ns than humans, and more potentially unemployed white collar workers than the police, military and national guard combined.
    - Barbing 6mo ago
      whoh dude's awesome
- pydry 6mo ago
  They're experts at divide and conquer. They'll probably be able to convince us that we did this to each other. Just like they convinced the younger generation that "boomers" stole their future.
- suburban_strike 6mo ago
  > The thought of 10s of millions of people with nothing to do but starve to death ought to scare those wealthy people. It doesn't, it won't, and it shouldn't. It's not explored in game theory and criminal justice tries to conceal this but the starving will kill and eat each other long before they organize and mob the wealthy. It plays out in every prison riot, governmental collapse, and other condition of anarchy. This idea that the poor will mob the rich is feel-good Hollywood idealism that has been wholly undermined by identity politics. The poor will sooner kill and eat you just because you're easier to reach.

mock-possum 6mo ago

> I translated this as, "I did a dumb thing, but now that I'm getting the attention I was after I need to look smart." Strikes me as a repulsively mean-spirited take, ironically proving the artist’s point.

mjmsmith 6mo ago
I think that depends on what the "extreme body modification of an unprintable and life-altering nature" was.
- beloch 6mo ago
  Let's just say the "artist" was never again going to be able to walk normally, wear normal pants, or sit without a doughnut pillow. It was a voluntary disability.

balls187 6mo ago

Freakanomics podcast had a recent episode regarding Cheating with PEDS, and interviewed the (former) head of the Enhanced Games. At one point, he discussed the benefit for society because athletes would be monitored for 5-years post performance. To me, it seemed like a modern day tech-take of human cock-fighting.

rafaelmn 6mo ago
Honestly PEDS are stigmatized and under-researched for the performance enhancing aspect. They have undoubtable side effects - but how much, why, etc. is kind of meh from what I saw when I was looking into this, bro science is best you can get. Few studies here and there giving people modes test boosts and measuring athletic performance. Not saying we should be promoting them, but if we can eventually get to the point where we eliminate the really bad side effects and get most of the benefits it's going to be a great thing for everyone, the next thing after GLP-1.
- balls187 6mo ago
  I do not have the background that allows me to make medical decisions based reading published medical articles, so I have to trust my doctors advice, and seek 2nd opinions if I'm not convinced. My issue was the disingenuous use of a "5-year post compete" monitoring as justification for Enhanced Games.
bsder 6mo ago
In my opinion, the problem with PEDS isn't adults taking them if they would just admit to taking them. The problem is with adolescents taking them. Adolescent boys see a really nice immediate payoff for taking PEDS (better musculature and better sports performance->more popular) while the downsides are in the future. It's really hard to fight that. Even when I was in high school several decades ago, we had a handful of people on PEDS. And we were a tiny school with no significant sports programs. I can't imagine what it's like now with social media pushing everything.
- balls187 6mo ago