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Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

bbc.co.uk

61–70 of 72 posts

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#61

I can't wait until little Johnny's AI assistant (that's been with him since birth) can communicate to Big Tech's Global HR Overlord AI and they can decide together that a good job is not a privilege that a wrongthinker like Johnny should enjoy.

Can't wait till Little Johnny's AI assistant will tell him his social and political views are wrong and sway him in the "correct" direction. Oh wait, that's already happening.[1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/06/amaz...

Could it be that it defaults to "if you don't have anything nice to say about the murderous clown [0] / crazy horse [1], refuse to say anything?".

As an informed outsider of American politics, I can't help but be surprised at the fake indignation against an AI that refuses to say something positive about the political equivalent of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

[0]: https://youtu.be/fHjbDSOmeiM

[1]: https://youtu.be/JhkZMxgPxXU

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#62
First it was every online support had the idiot computer voice, Uh. Sorry. Please tell me again in a few words…

Now I’ve noticed all of these support services, once you get past the idiot computer, there is now an idiot human who rephrases your question or concerns to the point of stupidity, You’re calling because you’re having problems using the website…

Meanwhile, I’m waiting for sentiment analysis and an idiot computer telling me I sound frustrated, How are things at home? Are you having a bad day?

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#63
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most modern iPads do get written on them though, it's just not Windows based I guess. And iPad get more and more features to really write on them a lot.

Hrm, I'm actually curious about that. I've had three iPads over the last 14 years; I've never written on any of them. The feature didn't exist for the first two (the first iPad that could use a stylus came out five years after the first iPad, and even then it was only the niche Pro line for a few years), and I never got a stylus for the most recent one. I've never actually _seen_ anyone use an iPad by writing on it;…

>I've never actually _seen_ anyone use an iPad by writing on it

I go to a cafe in the university district where a lot of young students hang out and see many hand writing and drawing on their iPads.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#65

I think what Suleyman is missing here is that most people aren't fine with their "TVs, laptops, in-car cameras and earbuds" recording everything continuously. The most popular modification made to laptops is a small round sticker to seal off the webcam. The enshittification of the car market is something that only car manufacturers seem to like. The most common question with a smart TV is "how do I get that thing to…

People do not care. This has been the trap of novel tech from the start. It's forced on us, some techy people rave about it even if it sucks, and the "normies" catch on making it the cool new thing to have without having a clue about how it works or what it's doing. My hopes aren't high that we'll have a great awakening; instead we'll continue to be on auto-pilot until these things have grave consequences like falsel…

Our society does not have a great record of changing policies that have grave consequences, when those policies are profitable.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#66

Oh, right, Microsoft says it? It’ll definitely happen, then. Their pronouncements about the future of computing are famously accurate. That’s why we’ve all been using Windows for Pen Computing since the noughties.

Honestly, these days, I'm wishing 640k was enough for anyone.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't wait till Little Johnny's AI assistant will tell him his social and political views are wrong and sway him in the "correct" direction. Oh wait, that's already happening.[1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/06/amaz...

Could it be that it defaults to "if you don't have anything nice to say about the murderous clown [0] / crazy horse [1], refuse to say anything?". As an informed outsider of American politics, I can't help but be surprised at the fake indignation against an AI that refuses to say something positive about the political equivalent of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. [0]: https://youtu.be/fHjbDSOmeiM [1]: htt…

And who gets to decide if the "horse is crazy"? Amazon, Microsoft and Google?

Please, give me a break. Shouldn't voters get to decide that? As if big-tech are some kind of pillar of ethics in our society so they should get be judge, jury and executioner of acurate information.

If asked you either provide information about both candidates, or you say nothing for both if you indeed choose to be apolitical, but you can't lecture me with a straight face and some offtopic standup comedians that saying something good about one candidate while refusing to talk about the other is some kind of unbiased behavior we should endorse.

Case in point, would you feel the safe way of the roles were reversed, and AI would praise Trump and refuse to speak about Kamala? I bet there would be riots about the bias.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#68
No no no. There is literally nothing about this that I find useful or acceptable, and a whole lot that I find dangerous and frightening. It's handing far too much power over to companies that I fundamentally don't trust.

I'm not getting on this train.

> AI supporters argue that in order to be truly useful, these tools have to be deeply embedded into our lives: that they can only be really helpful if they know the history and context behind what they are being tasked to do.

That cost is far too high.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hrm, I'm actually curious about that. I've had three iPads over the last 14 years; I've never written on any of them. The feature didn't exist for the first two (the first iPad that could use a stylus came out five years after the first iPad, and even then it was only the niche Pro line for a few years), and I never got a stylus for the most recent one. I've never actually _seen_ anyone use an iPad by writing on it;…

>I've never actually _seen_ anyone use an iPad by writing on it I go to a cafe in the university district where a lot of young students hang out and see many hand writing and drawing on their iPads.

Huh, maybe it's a demographic thing; as a certified Old Person, I just tap it or use a keyboard/trackpad case.

Re: Microsoft: 'ever present' AI assistants are coming

#70
post #31
post #6

> But AI supporters argue that in order to be truly useful, these tools have to be deeply embedded into our lives: that they can only be really helpful if they know the history and context behind what they are being tasked to do. The problem is these AI assistants won't work for me, they'll work for Microsoft. They won't help me as much as they will point me in the direction that is the most profitable for Microsoft.…

For a second I thought you were talking about Google and their search engine. I agree with you, but I'm sure most people won't care.

They will care, but will feel powerless to change it. They'll accept the enshittification there like everywhere else its crept in.
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