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Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

arxiv.org

61–70 of 105 posts

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#61
post #48

> However, practice environments for social skills are typically out of reach for most people. This is exactly what I predicted...AI and technology isolates us from each other by destroying communities, and is slowly replacing real human interaction with computer interaction. The end result is that in the future, people will have fewer and fewer opportunities to interact with others and will have to be drip-fed satia…

This is a pretty exaggerated take. Technology is a tool, it can be used to increase your social interactions (e.g. finding like-minded groups online to meet up with in-person) or to decrease your social interactions. You say technology is "destroying communities", but don't acknowledge all of the communities technology has helped build.

The big picture is that social media and smartphones reduce social interactions, and lower their quality. Just look at all the kids and teenagers that are glued to their smartphones all the time.

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, like people living in middle of nowhere, or who have otherwise trouble finding like-minded friends offline.

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#62

> However, practice environments for social skills are typically out of reach for most people. This is exactly what I predicted...AI and technology isolates us from each other by destroying communities, and is slowly replacing real human interaction with computer interaction. The end result is that in the future, people will have fewer and fewer opportunities to interact with others and will have to be drip-fed satia…

[deleted]

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#63

Use these models to enable people to be tolerant and value other communication styles... not to train everyone to communicate in identical fashions. We seem to be working hard to homogenise humanity. Soon we'll all be trained by the same model to generate the same answers in the same way to the same beat. The era of the McHuman. We seem to think we can use LLMs as an edge to make us richer or better than other humans…

[deleted]

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#64
As a reddit mod of a tiny community I've very recently started to suggest users use ChatGPT to re-word their comments and submissions when their phrasing is inflammatory. Any point worth making is worth making well. It is still early stages, so I'm not sure how effective it will be.

I've noticed that ChatGPT can do a decent job rewording an angry message to be less toxic while drawing out the salient points. The output it produces a little stiff or stuffy, but I find that preferable to "authentic" toxic messages.

As a mod I find that removals have less sting when you provide the user with an alternative path forward to get what they want. When a removal isn't just a "wall of no", it feels less like a personal rejection. ChatGPT offers a path around that "wall of no" for users by a) showing them what the right way to make their comment is and b) gives them a path/tool to getting there nearly every time.

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#65
post #29

Another episode of "what convoluted way can we use tech to 'solve' a social issue that it clearly exacerbates to try and desperately keep the blind cult-like silicon valley version of techno-optimism alive for as long as possible, while ignoring the obvious disastrous social consequences" I'm pretty sure nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by"…

A comparison to video games shows how hard it is to truly practice social skills. You can't play the same situation over and over, which is why it's easier to get better at small talk than confrontation. People don't want to reveal how they manipulate you, so schools can't teach about head tilting and brinksmanship. You have few trustworthy external evaluators, so you can come away from a conversation where you talked the entire time thinking you got a high score instead of a low one. The opportunities for using social skills to make a romantic connection are rare and you hardly ever even get to see how other people do it. Being able to act out scripts and get real feedback could be a tremendous benefit to the world.

People who offend, withdraw, or blunder have existed since before techno-optimism. This is their chance to become better in a safe space without embarrassment.

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#67

> However, practice environments for social skills are typically out of reach for most people. I learned my social skills in school, interacting with my peers in my neighborhood, and from my family. I understand this is not available to everyone, but anyone with access the LLMs there is a high likelihood they also (should?) have access to schooling, some neighbors, and family. To what culture this LLM was trained to?

A lot of people still struggle with social skills after they reach adulthood, and there’s no way to practice this. People treat poorly socialized adults like shit and the only feedback given is “please leave me alone”.

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You seem to have this idealized notion of what community was like outside of technology. By "idealized notion" you mean "the vast, vast majority of human history"? "Community" is not typically defined as "the people you talk bullshit with for fun" and that's all. Your community is the people you live with and among. It's the people you're most likely to experience Big Things with, things like natural disasters, wei…

I get it, OTOH, humans are unfortunately selfish assholes. In any sufficiently large group of people, there are always conflicts - people attempting to assume control, marginalize/exclude/bully other individuals, etc. Which is part of the reason why people seek out these alternatives. If they ever come out with the sexbot, then I think its all over for modern technological civilization. There will be little reason fo…

> I get it, OTOH, humans are unfortunately selfish assholes. In any sufficiently large group of people, there are always conflicts - people attempting to assume control, marginalize/exclude/bully other individuals, etc. Which is part of the reason why people seek out these alternatives.

The prevalence of this is greatly, greatly exaggerated in my experience. School was absolutely like this, but the further you get from school, the less anyone really gives a shit. Most people (key word: most) just want to chill. And if you're chill with them, they will chill with you.

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#69

> However, practice environments for social skills are typically out of reach for most people. I learned my social skills in school, interacting with my peers in my neighborhood, and from my family. I understand this is not available to everyone, but anyone with access the LLMs there is a high likelihood they also (should?) have access to schooling, some neighbors, and family. To what culture this LLM was trained to?

A lot of people still struggle with social skills after they reach adulthood, and there’s no way to practice this. People treat poorly socialized adults like shit and the only feedback given is “please leave me alone”.

[dead]

Re: Social Skill Training with Large Language Models

#70

> However, practice environments for social skills are typically out of reach for most people. This is exactly what I predicted...AI and technology isolates us from each other by destroying communities, and is slowly replacing real human interaction with computer interaction. The end result is that in the future, people will have fewer and fewer opportunities to interact with others and will have to be drip-fed satia…

> Nowadays there is very little real interaction beyond the nuclear family.

What nuclear family?

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