5 ms·

You're starting with an assumption that AI is, on the whole, a net positive for society. A lot of people would disagree.

gyanchawdhary 4mo ago
It’s great for society. It may not be working for you, but don’t project that on the rest of the world.
- npinsker 4mo ago
  That’s so far from obvious. The most concerning possibilities for me — like kids not learning how to struggle or problem solve on their own — won’t be resolved for many years.
aspenmartin 4mo ago
Of course and a lot of people disagree that vaccines work, why does this negate any hard evidence?
- kami23 4mo ago
  I am unsure what you mean by hard evidence in the context of AI then, what is the evidence we are negating in your view?
- goatlover 4mo ago
  We could have had this same argument about social media 15 years ago before hard evidence showed it's not quite the net benefit to society it was touted as.
- jameslars 4mo ago
  Is the hard evidence of AI being a net improvement for society in the room with us now?
  - rickydroll 4mo ago
    If I'm in the room, yes. For me, AI is one, is the best handicap accessibility tool I've ever had. At a minimum, speech recognition is a higher quality, and second, it lets me write code again. I'm working on the third benefit, which is it helps me organize, helps my ADHD mind organize large chunks of random information. If you look around, you'll find the AI has made some significant improvements to medicine and engineering. These improvements get drowned out by the AI Cheerleaders, but they're there.
    - bluefirebrand 4mo ago
      > helps my ADHD mind organize large chunks of random information. I keep seeing this and I'm pretty envious! You must have a different form of ADHD than I do. For me, trying to use AI to build anything is terrible for my attention, it turns everything into a miserable slog because it's so hands off. I miss getting into flow.
      - rickydroll 4mo ago
        I hear you. AI helps me get into flow state because I can have a rambling conversation with a chatbot and work through ideas and what abouts. eventually it helps me forget to a place where flow is easier to maintain.
    - jameslars 4mo ago
      I like this argument/reasoning more than any I've encountered so far. Thank you! Enabling the disabled is definitely a positive and this is a strong argument for the "pro AI" column.
      - rickydroll 4mo ago
        I think another argument for AI is that it can help pull out patterns and information that are normally hidden from human cognition because we can't encompass that information and keep it in mind. I think one place we should apply this is to the financial system. Use it to detect fraud, tax manipulation games and Other b**** pulled by the 1%ers. With luck, it might even help us find methods of reducing their influence and power.
- vitally3643 4mo ago
  You presume there is hard evidence that AI is good for society. In reality, the inverse is true. Now you understand why anti-vaxxers ignore evidence. Because it doesn't fit with your worldview and you're too narrow-minded and selfish to consider that your viewpoint might actually be wrong and bad for others.
- junek 4mo ago
  Are you really comparing LLMs to vaccines? Jesus
- andagar1243 4mo ago
  What is the hard evidence that you speak of?
riversflow 4mo ago
Nuclear bombs and ICBMs aren’t a net positive for society either, but not pursuing them is bad geopolitical strategy.
- UtopiaPunk 4mo ago
  Maybe I'm a big idiot, but I think nuclear disarmament is a good geopolitical strategy. The USA has treaties in place pursuing that end on a global scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_disarmament https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_disarmament
  - TiredOfLife 4mo ago
    There is currently a war (largest since WW2) in europe that is a direct result of nuclear disarmament.
    - UtopiaPunk 4mo ago
      I understand that the war between Russia and Ukraine, and now Iran and Israel/USA has set back the slow progress that was being made on nuclear disarmament. I don't understand your claim that nuclear disarmament caused a war, though.
      - Dibby053 4mo ago
        I guess the argument is that if Ukraine hadn't willingly handed over the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world after its independence, Russia would have not started a war against them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum

gyanchawdhary 4mo ago

It’s great for society. It may not be working for you, but don’t project that on the rest of the world.

npinsker 4mo ago
That’s so far from obvious. The most concerning possibilities for me — like kids not learning how to struggle or problem solve on their own — won’t be resolved for many years.

aspenmartin 4mo ago

Of course and a lot of people disagree that vaccines work, why does this negate any hard evidence?

kami23 4mo ago
I am unsure what you mean by hard evidence in the context of AI then, what is the evidence we are negating in your view?
goatlover 4mo ago
We could have had this same argument about social media 15 years ago before hard evidence showed it's not quite the net benefit to society it was touted as.
jameslars 4mo ago
Is the hard evidence of AI being a net improvement for society in the room with us now?
- rickydroll 4mo ago
  If I'm in the room, yes. For me, AI is one, is the best handicap accessibility tool I've ever had. At a minimum, speech recognition is a higher quality, and second, it lets me write code again. I'm working on the third benefit, which is it helps me organize, helps my ADHD mind organize large chunks of random information. If you look around, you'll find the AI has made some significant improvements to medicine and engineering. These improvements get drowned out by the AI Cheerleaders, but they're there.
  - bluefirebrand 4mo ago
    > helps my ADHD mind organize large chunks of random information. I keep seeing this and I'm pretty envious! You must have a different form of ADHD than I do. For me, trying to use AI to build anything is terrible for my attention, it turns everything into a miserable slog because it's so hands off. I miss getting into flow.
    - rickydroll 4mo ago
      I hear you. AI helps me get into flow state because I can have a rambling conversation with a chatbot and work through ideas and what abouts. eventually it helps me forget to a place where flow is easier to maintain.
  - jameslars 4mo ago
    I like this argument/reasoning more than any I've encountered so far. Thank you! Enabling the disabled is definitely a positive and this is a strong argument for the "pro AI" column.
    - rickydroll 4mo ago
      I think another argument for AI is that it can help pull out patterns and information that are normally hidden from human cognition because we can't encompass that information and keep it in mind. I think one place we should apply this is to the financial system. Use it to detect fraud, tax manipulation games and Other b**** pulled by the 1%ers. With luck, it might even help us find methods of reducing their influence and power.
vitally3643 4mo ago
You presume there is hard evidence that AI is good for society. In reality, the inverse is true. Now you understand why anti-vaxxers ignore evidence. Because it doesn't fit with your worldview and you're too narrow-minded and selfish to consider that your viewpoint might actually be wrong and bad for others.
junek 4mo ago
Are you really comparing LLMs to vaccines? Jesus
andagar1243 4mo ago
What is the hard evidence that you speak of?

riversflow 4mo ago

Nuclear bombs and ICBMs aren’t a net positive for society either, but not pursuing them is bad geopolitical strategy.

UtopiaPunk 4mo ago
Maybe I'm a big idiot, but I think nuclear disarmament is a good geopolitical strategy. The USA has treaties in place pursuing that end on a global scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_disarmament https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_disarmament
- TiredOfLife 4mo ago
  There is currently a war (largest since WW2) in europe that is a direct result of nuclear disarmament.
  - UtopiaPunk 4mo ago
    I understand that the war between Russia and Ukraine, and now Iran and Israel/USA has set back the slow progress that was being made on nuclear disarmament. I don't understand your claim that nuclear disarmament caused a war, though.
    - Dibby053 4mo ago
      I guess the argument is that if Ukraine hadn't willingly handed over the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world after its independence, Russia would have not started a war against them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum