7 ms·

Is this genuine concern or is it stealth-marketing? It's hard to tell when someone is so publicly benefiting off the hype.

simonw 3mo ago
What the heck would I be "stealth-marketing" here? It's genuine concern. I do not want to live in a dystopia where AI results in mass unemployment. That would suck, even for the people who manage to stay employed.
- Avicebron 3mo ago
  I trust you when you say that. > What the heck would I be "stealth-marketing" here? Cynically, "thought-leaderishness". I've been spending a lot of my time these days outlining why we can't "just make an agent for it" to CEOs who read blogs like yours. They can't distinguish a production system from a quick HTML tool from a guy whose job doesn't depend on it working.
  - simonw 3mo ago
    One of the goals of my blog is to help CEOs who read it not make stupid decisions. I aim to be a counter to the breathless LinkedIn hype they are exposed to everywhere else.
    - afpx 3mo ago
      Looking foward to the generated images of a CEO riding a toilet
- 37488484 3mo ago
  [flagged]
- slopinthebag 3mo ago
  No offense but wouldn’t being an AI booster run contrary to this goal? I imagine being an Ed Zitron type would be more conducive with that, albeit dishonest if you don’t genuinely believe it.
  - simonw 3mo ago
    I wrote about this back in March 2023: https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/11/llama/#use-this-for-good https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/11/llama/#use-this-for-go... > I think this is going to have a huge impact on society. My priority is trying to direct that impact in a positive direction. > It’s easy to fall into a cynical trap of thinking there’s nothing good here at all, and everything generative AI is either actively harmful or a waste of time. [...] > I’m going to continue exploring and sharing genuinely positive applications of this technology. It’s not going to be un-invented, so I think our priority should be figuring out the most constructive possible ways to use it. That's been my focus ever since: try and use whatever influence I have to nudge things in a positive direction, and help people figure out how they can use this technology in a way that is beneficial both to them and to other people.

simonw 3mo ago

What the heck would I be "stealth-marketing" here? It's genuine concern. I do not want to live in a dystopia where AI results in mass unemployment. That would suck, even for the people who manage to stay employed.

Avicebron 3mo ago
I trust you when you say that. > What the heck would I be "stealth-marketing" here? Cynically, "thought-leaderishness". I've been spending a lot of my time these days outlining why we can't "just make an agent for it" to CEOs who read blogs like yours. They can't distinguish a production system from a quick HTML tool from a guy whose job doesn't depend on it working.
- simonw 3mo ago
  One of the goals of my blog is to help CEOs who read it not make stupid decisions. I aim to be a counter to the breathless LinkedIn hype they are exposed to everywhere else.
  - afpx 3mo ago
    Looking foward to the generated images of a CEO riding a toilet
37488484 3mo ago
[flagged]
slopinthebag 3mo ago
No offense but wouldn’t being an AI booster run contrary to this goal? I imagine being an Ed Zitron type would be more conducive with that, albeit dishonest if you don’t genuinely believe it.
- simonw 3mo ago
  I wrote about this back in March 2023: https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/11/llama/#use-this-for-good https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/11/llama/#use-this-for-go... > I think this is going to have a huge impact on society. My priority is trying to direct that impact in a positive direction. > It’s easy to fall into a cynical trap of thinking there’s nothing good here at all, and everything generative AI is either actively harmful or a waste of time. [...] > I’m going to continue exploring and sharing genuinely positive applications of this technology. It’s not going to be un-invented, so I think our priority should be figuring out the most constructive possible ways to use it. That's been my focus ever since: try and use whatever influence I have to nudge things in a positive direction, and help people figure out how they can use this technology in a way that is beneficial both to them and to other people.