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LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

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Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#21

Post by silicon2401 »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #16
andrewtbham wrote: post #15

I have been researching making a therapy chat bot for years... it's going to happen. https://github.com/andrewt3000/carl_voice

To be honest, the thought of AI doing therapy (and it's reliance on big data) sounds very black mirror to me. How long do you think it'll take ad companies to do an end run around patient protections and start serving ads based on "metadata"? Got anxiety? Try our new meds! Worried about the future? How about some life insurance or annuities? Etc. Things will get very exploitative very fast.

The concept predates black mirror by decades. ELIZA was an "AI" used for therapy in the 60s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA

Learned about it in the documentary Century of the Self, an outstanding work.

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#22

Post by xpe »

silicon2401 wrote: post #21
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, the thought of AI doing therapy (and it's reliance on big data) sounds very black mirror to me. How long do you think it'll take ad companies to do an end run around patient protections and start serving ads based on "metadata"? Got anxiety? Try our new meds! Worried about the future? How about some life insurance or annuities? Etc. Things will get very exploitative very fast.

The concept predates black mirror by decades. ELIZA was an "AI" used for therapy in the 60s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA Learned about it in the documentary Century of the Self, an outstanding work.

> The concept predates Black Mirror by decades.

Black Mirror was mentioned not because it pioneered this idea but because each episode shows a possible dystopian future associated with various technological advances.

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#24

Post by moralestapia »

>“I just started taking guitar lessons.”

>You might expect another person to respond with something like:

>“How exciting! My mom has a vintage Martin that she loves to play.”

Not really IMO, I think they just pushed it to just say "whatever's related to the topic". People who behave like that irl come off as self-absorbed and obnoxious most of the time, hope future AIs are not like that!

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#25

Post by [deleted] »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #16
andrewtbham wrote: post #15

I have been researching making a therapy chat bot for years... it's going to happen. https://github.com/andrewt3000/carl_voice

To be honest, the thought of AI doing therapy (and it's reliance on big data) sounds very black mirror to me. How long do you think it'll take ad companies to do an end run around patient protections and start serving ads based on "metadata"? Got anxiety? Try our new meds! Worried about the future? How about some life insurance or annuities? Etc. Things will get very exploitative very fast.

[deleted]

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#26

Post by anonagoog »

epr wrote: post #19

We really need to stop calling things "lambda". You'd think Google would grasp the concept of unique names on the internet, but I suppose they can always push their own stuff to the top.

This anodyne name is likely because there was a small internal shitstorm over calling it Meena because some folks were tired of chat bots being given women’s names

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#27

Post by Mizza »

moralestapia wrote: post #24

>“I just started taking guitar lessons.” >You might expect another person to respond with something like: >“How exciting! My mom has a vintage Martin that she loves to play.” Not really IMO, I think they just pushed it to just say "whatever's related to the topic". People who behave like that irl come off as self-absorbed and obnoxious most of the time, hope future AIs are not like that!

I came here to point this out - this is how people from California communicate. They simply take turns talking about themselves, orbiting around the same subject until somebody says something with enough gravity to drag the conversation into its next orbit. It was really off-putting when I first arrived, I got used to it over time, though I still don't like it and it's sad to see it used as the default model for this type of application.

California is Borg. All will be assimilated.

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#28

Post by moralestapia »

Mizza wrote: post #27
moralestapia wrote: post #24

>“I just started taking guitar lessons.” >You might expect another person to respond with something like: >“How exciting! My mom has a vintage Martin that she loves to play.” Not really IMO, I think they just pushed it to just say "whatever's related to the topic". People who behave like that irl come off as self-absorbed and obnoxious most of the time, hope future AIs are not like that!

I came here to point this out - this is how people from California communicate. They simply take turns talking about themselves, orbiting around the same subject until somebody says something with enough gravity to drag the conversation into its next orbit. It was really off-putting when I first arrived, I got used to it over time, though I still don't like it and it's sad to see it used as the default model for this…

>They simply take turns talking about themselves ...

This so much!

One thing about the UX of all conversational products, in stark contrast with real conversations, is that it forces you into a dynamic of "one question, one answer", "one message, one reply". I can imagine it could be pretty hard to break this paradigm, but for me it's like the equivalent of the uncanny valley in this context. No matter how good the replies are, if I'm forced into this dynamic, I just know that I'm talking to a robot.

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#29

Post by notyourwork »

Mizza wrote: post #27
moralestapia wrote: post #24

>“I just started taking guitar lessons.” >You might expect another person to respond with something like: >“How exciting! My mom has a vintage Martin that she loves to play.” Not really IMO, I think they just pushed it to just say "whatever's related to the topic". People who behave like that irl come off as self-absorbed and obnoxious most of the time, hope future AIs are not like that!

I came here to point this out - this is how people from California communicate. They simply take turns talking about themselves, orbiting around the same subject until somebody says something with enough gravity to drag the conversation into its next orbit. It was really off-putting when I first arrived, I got used to it over time, though I still don't like it and it's sad to see it used as the default model for this…

Midwest small talk is something to be cherished. I remember growing up having pleasant conversations with people. Moving west I found that conversations are more like a combative 1-upping of each other. It gets tiring listening.

Re: LaMDA: Google's New Conversation Technology

#30

Post by karolist »

moralestapia wrote: post #24

>“I just started taking guitar lessons.” >You might expect another person to respond with something like: >“How exciting! My mom has a vintage Martin that she loves to play.” Not really IMO, I think they just pushed it to just say "whatever's related to the topic". People who behave like that irl come off as self-absorbed and obnoxious most of the time, hope future AIs are not like that!

Spot on! A close friend might respond with something like "oh really, how do you find the time between work and " or "nice, are you taking classes or using some resources online?" and continue from there. The style where one responds with "nice, now switch back to MY story!" is natural only in some parts of US or superficial work relationships...

If such models condition all humans to converse like that then the future is even more lonely, despite us all being connected all the time.

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