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Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#11

Post by kerpotgh »

shagie wrote: post #5

Art, from an artist, that you can hang on a wall has been and will continue to be a status good. Stock art, as a clip art or a background image to a web page hasn't been a status good. Things posted in /r/art (and similar) are not goods but rather adverting and validation. The key differentiator in this is the craft that goes into the art. I have some photographs hat I've purchased at art festivals that hang on my wa…

There’s going to be plenty of “art from an artist” that going to be AI art. If that gets caught enough we’re either going to have to put blinders on or find a foolproof verification third party.

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#14

Post by monkeyonethe »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Watches, wines, designer anything not made by AI. Check out episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation with regards to exploration of ideas of value when goods come out of a replicator and experiences out of a Holodeck at zero marginal cost.

which episodes of Star Trek should I watch?

I feel like watches and designer good could be easily designed by AI, no?

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#15

Post by kingkongjaffa »

monkeyonethe wrote: post #14
toomuchtodo wrote: post #6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Watches, wines, designer anything not made by AI. Check out episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation with regards to exploration of ideas of value when goods come out of a replicator and experiences out of a Holodeck at zero marginal cost.

which episodes of Star Trek should I watch? I feel like watches and designer good could be easily designed by AI, no?

Part of the point is people buy the status and the history of the brand. If the brand is consistent with the customers values.

If it comes out of a cold lifeless machine and not the warm hands of human craftsmanship, is it the same thing?

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#17

Post by shagie »

kerpotgh wrote: post #11
shagie wrote: post #5

Art, from an artist, that you can hang on a wall has been and will continue to be a status good. Stock art, as a clip art or a background image to a web page hasn't been a status good. Things posted in /r/art (and similar) are not goods but rather adverting and validation. The key differentiator in this is the craft that goes into the art. I have some photographs hat I've purchased at art festivals that hang on my wa…

There’s going to be plenty of “art from an artist” that going to be AI art. If that gets caught enough we’re either going to have to put blinders on or find a foolproof verification third party.

Is it something that you are buying for more than the cost of materials, hanging on the wall, and expecting it to be able to be sold in 10 years for at least the same price that you bought it?

Is it something that the artist would have a gallery showing for?

Those are the criteria for "is it a status good?" There is certainly digital art that falls in that category, and some of it may even be AI assisted. However, the "run DALL-E and get some images to drop into the top of a blog post" will not be a status good.

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#18

Post by flangola7 »

ihatepython wrote: post #10
flangola7 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

History has never had transformative AI. What is coming is unprecedented and has no historical parallel, certainly not once it is very advanced.

Human emotions have never changed throughout history, the reaction will always be the same. Technology simply changes the medium, but the end result remains the same. Transformative AI falls into the category of technology.

> Human emotions have never changed throughout history, the reaction will always be the same.

This will not necessarily true with advanced AI. In fact it most likely will not be true.

> Technology simply changes the medium, but the end result remains the same. Transformative AI falls into the category of technology.

(Advanced) AI is fundamentally different from every other technology.

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#19

Post by ihatepython »

monkeyonethe wrote: post #14
toomuchtodo wrote: post #6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Watches, wines, designer anything not made by AI. Check out episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation with regards to exploration of ideas of value when goods come out of a replicator and experiences out of a Holodeck at zero marginal cost.

which episodes of Star Trek should I watch? I feel like watches and designer good could be easily designed by AI, no?

> which episodes of Star Trek should I watch?

Perhaps 'The Neutral Zone' season 1 episode 26. There is a cryogenically frozen person brought back to life, and he is obsessed with finding out about the value of his stock portfolio, and he and Picard have a conversation about how money no longer exists.

But I don't recall any episode that really explores the idea of a post-scarcity world (which is essentially communism I suppose)

Re: Ask HN: Sam Altman, things that will be retain value post AI

#20

Post by Spooky23 »

ihatepython wrote: post #7

I don't think he has an understanding of history, or how the economy and monetary systems work in general. The value of things are cyclical, especially during times of war and times of prosperity. Everything goes up and down in value. It seems that Sam is assuming that the current political structure and monetary system will remain intact in perpetuity.

He doesn’t have an interest in publicly projecting such understanding.

You’re 100% correct. The system and society we have now won’t survive AI if the hype is correct. There’s probably a 50/50 chance that guys like Sam will be on the wall first.

Of course, it’s mostly hype, so i would sleep soundly if I were him.

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