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People typically do not approach existential uncertainties with such intrepidness. I think this is the case for most people who hate AI. This article glosses ov

People typically do not approach existential uncertainties with such intrepidness. I think this is the case for most people who hate AI. This article glosses over that.

jjulius 1mo ago
I suppose I am one of the people who could technically be lumped into the "hate AI" category, and yet I find myself incredibly comfortable with the uncertainty around where things are going. Perhaps it's because, as I previously mentioned, I have always enjoyed the feeling of uncertainty (and I recognize that's not the norm for most), but it's also because the entire thing feels so hyperbolic from all angles that I can't help but assume that whatever happens will be somewhere "in the middle" of all the rhetoric everyone's spouting from everywhere. I also have a very, "The world's gonna do what the world's gonna do, the best I can do is find my path through and flow with it," attitude about, well... most things. Maybe that helps? Maybe I'm talking out of my ass rn? I'm unsure! :)
- tolerance 1mo ago
  No, I think that you're on to something and I wish you kept the original version of this part of your comment (yes I caught your edit and have it on my clipboard still!) because it touched on what I think about the whole "existential" bit of my own comment a bit more direct (but I think your edit expresses your attitude more sophisticatedly). Few people have anything that comes anywhere near any sort of philosophical foundation that they can rely on to weather their anxieties. If anything they only strengthen their sensibility to express—and compound—their worries.
- n4r9 1mo ago
  I would be the same way if either: I didn't have dependents and heavy responsibilities, or: I had enough in savings to last a few years without income. I'm fascinated to see where software engineering is going to go, but I can't be comfortable about a threat to my ability to pay my mortgage and give my family a decent life.
grebc 1mo ago
There’s absolutely nothing existential about a program that guesses the next word based on the last.
- tptacek 1mo ago
  There is if you're a software developer!
  - the_great_talke 1mo ago
    [flagged]
    - tolerance 1mo ago
      For what it's worth...I launched tptacek's Markdown viewer, mdv, like yesterday.
- arjie 1mo ago
  Truly such a first-order Markov chain would not be a threat but it turns out that they have built a program that guesses the next word based on the last few hundred thousand and it turns out that it works pretty well for writing software.
  - grebc 1mo ago
    Keep diving down the chain brother, I’m sure you’ll find the singularity down there somewhere.
- ricketycricket 1mo ago
  There’s absolutely nothing existential about a tiny powder that just combusts very quickly.
- thephyber 1mo ago
  What is the current unemployment rate of Computer Science new grads?

People typically do not approach existential uncertainties with such intrepidness. I think this is the case for most people who hate AI. This article glosses over that.

jjulius 1mo ago

I suppose I am one of the people who could technically be lumped into the "hate AI" category, and yet I find myself incredibly comfortable with the uncertainty around where things are going. Perhaps it's because, as I previously mentioned, I have always enjoyed the feeling of uncertainty (and I recognize that's not the norm for most), but it's also because the entire thing feels so hyperbolic from all angles that I can't help but assume that whatever happens will be somewhere "in the middle" of all the rhetoric everyone's spouting from everywhere. I also have a very, "The world's gonna do what the world's gonna do, the best I can do is find my path through and flow with it," attitude about, well... most things. Maybe that helps? Maybe I'm talking out of my ass rn? I'm unsure! :)

tolerance 1mo ago
No, I think that you're on to something and I wish you kept the original version of this part of your comment (yes I caught your edit and have it on my clipboard still!) because it touched on what I think about the whole "existential" bit of my own comment a bit more direct (but I think your edit expresses your attitude more sophisticatedly). Few people have anything that comes anywhere near any sort of philosophical foundation that they can rely on to weather their anxieties. If anything they only strengthen their sensibility to express—and compound—their worries.
n4r9 1mo ago
I would be the same way if either: I didn't have dependents and heavy responsibilities, or: I had enough in savings to last a few years without income. I'm fascinated to see where software engineering is going to go, but I can't be comfortable about a threat to my ability to pay my mortgage and give my family a decent life.

grebc 1mo ago

There’s absolutely nothing existential about a program that guesses the next word based on the last.

tptacek 1mo ago
There is if you're a software developer!
- the_great_talke 1mo ago
  [flagged]
  - tolerance 1mo ago
    For what it's worth...I launched tptacek's Markdown viewer, mdv, like yesterday.
arjie 1mo ago
Truly such a first-order Markov chain would not be a threat but it turns out that they have built a program that guesses the next word based on the last few hundred thousand and it turns out that it works pretty well for writing software.
- grebc 1mo ago
  Keep diving down the chain brother, I’m sure you’ll find the singularity down there somewhere.
ricketycricket 1mo ago
There’s absolutely nothing existential about a tiny powder that just combusts very quickly.
thephyber 1mo ago
What is the current unemployment rate of Computer Science new grads?