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Ask HN: Have you stopped underestimating AI yet?

4 points by amichail 15d ago

I think most technical people who are not AI researchers have a tendency to underestimate what frontier AI can do.

jjgreen 15d ago
Have you stopped beating your wife?
- vetronauta 15d ago
  Mu.
softwaredoug 15d ago
It’s not about what the AI can do, it’s about your ability as a human to keep up with the details so you can make effective decisions. You the human are ultimately responsible. Because where dangers lie is when you lose track of that one tiny important thing that turns out to really really matter. The AI won’t get fired, you will.
- infamouscow 14d ago
  > The AI won’t get fired, you will. You probably won't. As far as the legal system is concerned, an employee operating an LLM is no different than an employee operating heavy construction equipment. The employer is liable for maintaining the equipment, ensuring employees are sufficiently qualified to operate the equipment, and continuously following policies and procedures to avoid harm when operating the machine. Merely instructing employees they're responsible for using the machine safely as determined by their own judgement isn't legally defensible. That said, your employer might be stupid and fire you anyways. So if that happens, you'll should talk to a lawyer and bring your employer court for wrongful termination. It will take time, but you'll almost certainly get a very nice settlement payout. There's only downside risk for a company to be a involved with a novel legal dispute, and they'll pay handsomely to avoid it.
sejje 15d ago
Have you stopped overestimating it yet?
dyingkneepad 15d ago
In my organization, the people who use AI the most are not the most productive nor the ones who generate value for the company. Some of the most productive employees, in fact, have a strict "no AI" stance. I understand how AI is helping me, and I wonder how much better these guys could get with some AI help, but I'm convinced a lot of people overestimate AI's capabilities to help them be more productive.
bored-at-work 15d ago
Given that AI CEOs are in the habit of frequently lying about what frontier AI can do, it's hard to get a good grasp either way. We can estimate from our hands-on experience and go from there, but very few people even have acess to the latest models. Some of the stuff I've read makes it sound like they're technically impressive but not all that useful in practical scenarios.
camillomiller 15d ago
Have you stopped listening to your Silicon Valley delusions?
deleted 14d ago
[deleted]

4 points by amichail 15d ago

I think most technical people who are not AI researchers have a tendency to underestimate what frontier AI can do.

jjgreen 15d ago

Have you stopped beating your wife?

vetronauta 15d ago
Mu.

softwaredoug 15d ago

It’s not about what the AI can do, it’s about your ability as a human to keep up with the details so you can make effective decisions. You the human are ultimately responsible. Because where dangers lie is when you lose track of that one tiny important thing that turns out to really really matter. The AI won’t get fired, you will.

infamouscow 14d ago
> The AI won’t get fired, you will. You probably won't. As far as the legal system is concerned, an employee operating an LLM is no different than an employee operating heavy construction equipment. The employer is liable for maintaining the equipment, ensuring employees are sufficiently qualified to operate the equipment, and continuously following policies and procedures to avoid harm when operating the machine. Merely instructing employees they're responsible for using the machine safely as determined by their own judgement isn't legally defensible. That said, your employer might be stupid and fire you anyways. So if that happens, you'll should talk to a lawyer and bring your employer court for wrongful termination. It will take time, but you'll almost certainly get a very nice settlement payout. There's only downside risk for a company to be a involved with a novel legal dispute, and they'll pay handsomely to avoid it.

sejje 15d ago

Have you stopped overestimating it yet?

dyingkneepad 15d ago

In my organization, the people who use AI the most are not the most productive nor the ones who generate value for the company. Some of the most productive employees, in fact, have a strict "no AI" stance. I understand how AI is helping me, and I wonder how much better these guys could get with some AI help, but I'm convinced a lot of people overestimate AI's capabilities to help them be more productive.

bored-at-work 15d ago

Given that AI CEOs are in the habit of frequently lying about what frontier AI can do, it's hard to get a good grasp either way. We can estimate from our hands-on experience and go from there, but very few people even have acess to the latest models. Some of the stuff I've read makes it sound like they're technically impressive but not all that useful in practical scenarios.

camillomiller 15d ago

Have you stopped listening to your Silicon Valley delusions?

deleted 14d ago

[deleted]