3 ms·

The more I see of the US AI industry, and the folks surrounding it, the more "These are not very bright guys and things got out of hand" plays in my head on rep

The more I see of the US AI industry, and the folks surrounding it, the more "These are not very bright guys and things got out of hand" plays in my head on repeat. Yes, the Google folks who kicked this whole thing off are brilliant, but there's so much sloppy thinking and even sloppier operations all over. It seems like a lot of "right place at the right time" for a lot of these folks.

ifwinterco 7d ago
Yes I have ruled out stupidity in the past but I am actually starting to reconsider. For example consider FTX: Sam Bankman Fried by all accounts was not stupid in the sense of lacking IQ or mental sharpness, quite the opposite. However the way he ran FTX the company was very stupid and almost inevitably lead to huge problems. And also... of course he was another effective altruist cult member. It's almost like that belief system directly causes bad decision making
- Teever 7d ago
  The older I get the more I realize the deep wisdom in the simple words of Forrest Gump, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.’ One of the most corrosive effects that money has on society is that it can shelter people from the consequences of their stupidity. People can luck into a shitload of shelter for their poor choices whether through inheritance or random chance of their actions and then don’t ever have to face consequences proportional to their stupid actions. Or someone can start out smart and then suffer cognitive decline that is at first imperceptible until they become kookier and kookier until they’re blathering on about the antichrist and some people still take them seriously because they’re blinded by money. The end result is a society where stupid people are surrounded by stupid people riding their coattails and everyone becomes confused about what smart and smart action actually is.

3 ms·

The more I see of the US AI industry, and the folks surrounding it, the more "These are not very bright guys and things got out of hand" plays in my head on rep

by SwellJoe 7d ago

ifwinterco 7d ago
Yes I have ruled out stupidity in the past but I am actually starting to reconsider. For example consider FTX: Sam Bankman Fried by all accounts was not stupid in the sense of lacking IQ or mental sharpness, quite the opposite. However the way he ran FTX the company was very stupid and almost inevitably lead to huge problems. And also... of course he was another effective altruist cult member. It's almost like that belief system directly causes bad decision making
- Teever 7d ago
  The older I get the more I realize the deep wisdom in the simple words of Forrest Gump, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.’ One of the most corrosive effects that money has on society is that it can shelter people from the consequences of their stupidity. People can luck into a shitload of shelter for their poor choices whether through inheritance or random chance of their actions and then don’t ever have to face consequences proportional to their stupid actions. Or someone can start out smart and then suffer cognitive decline that is at first imperceptible until they become kookier and kookier until they’re blathering on about the antichrist and some people still take them seriously because they’re blinded by money. The end result is a society where stupid people are surrounded by stupid people riding their coattails and everyone becomes confused about what smart and smart action actually is.