AGI and AI weapon systems lead to certain annihilation of the human race regardless of who is first to implement. the only winner is the country who abstains until the very end because at least that country will perish with its dignity intact. i refuse to support AI
Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
431–440 of 567 posts
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#432I initially thought that this was an announcement for a new pledge and thought, "they're going to forget about this the moment it's convenient." Then I read the article and realized, "Oh, it's already convenient." Google is a megacorp, and while megacorps aren't fundamentally "evil" (for some definitions of evil), they are fundamentally unconcerned with goodness or morality, and any appearance that they are is purely…
They’re not evil, they’re amoral and are designed to maximize profits for their investors. Evil is subjective.
This is evil.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#433Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Most suggestions of this nature fail to explain how they will deal with the problem of people just seeing there’s no point in trying for more. On a personal level, I’ve heard people from Norway describe this problem for personal income tax—at some point (notably below a typical US senior software engineer’s earnings) the amount of work you need to put in for the marginal post-tax krone is so high it’s just demotiva…
Norway is Saudi Arabia with snow. Their entire economy and society are structured around oil extraction. There are no lessons to learn from Norway unless you live somewhere that oil does from the ground.
Hardly per capita they export similar amounts of petroleum products, but Norway’s GDP is 80k/person vs 30k/person in Saudi Arabia. Norway exports slightly more/person but their production costs are significantly higher which offsets it.
The difference is Norway’s economy being far less dependent on petroleum which is only 40% of their exports.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#434Earlier quoted context omitted.
The bait-and-switch model is absolutely amazing as well. Start by offering a service covered with ads. Then add paid tier to get rid of ads. Next add tier with payment and ads. And finally add ads back to every possible tier. Not to forget about keeping them in content all the time.
To quote the email from Hulu that recently dropped into my inbox: > We are clarifying that, as we continue to increase the breadth and depth of the content we make available to you, circumstances may require that certain titles and types of content include ads, even in our 'no ads' or 'ad free' subscription tiers. So at this point they aren't even bothering to rename the tier from "ad free" even as they put ads in it…
This goes back to the release of the no-ads Hulu plan. Due at the time to fun shenanigans and weirdness around the exact licensing deals for a few shows. (At least one of those shows is VERY long-running now https://www.reddit.com/r/greysanatomy/comments/12prhpf/no_ad... - not sure if there have been any new ones through the years or currently )
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#435I give it 2 years until we see "Google Petard, formerly known as Boombi, will be shutting down at the end of next month. Any existing explosion data you have in your Google Account will be deleted, starting on May 1, 2027."
killedbygoogle.com will need an extra entry, plus a whole new subcategory.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#436Good, this idea that all weapons are evil is an insane luxury belief.
You're either misdirecting the discussion, or have missed the point. The statement isn't about weapons, but the means of _control_ of weapons.
It's legitimate to worry about scaled, automated control of weapons, since it could allow a very small number of people to harm a much larger number of people. That removes one of our best checks we have against the misuse of weaponry. If you have to muster a whole army to go kill a bunch of people, they can collectively revolt. (It's not always _easy_ but it's possible.)
Automating weapons is a lot like nuclear weapons in some ways. Once the hard parts are done (refining raw oar), the ability for a small number of people to harm a vast number of others is serious. People are right to worry about it.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#437Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the amount of work you need to put in for the marginal post-tax krone is so high it’s just demotivating This is a cliche you hear from right winger in any country that has a progressive tax system. Regarding Norway, taxes aren't in the same ballpark as in some US blue states. Also, it's a very simplistic view to think that people are only motivated by money. Counter examples abound.
> This is a cliche you hear from right winger in any country that has a progressive tax system Not a cliché - a fact. I'll explain to you. The incentive structure of progressive taxation is wrong: it only works for the few percent that are extremely money hungry: the few that are willing to work for lower and lower percentage gains. Normal people say "enough" and they give up once they have the nice house and a few t…
I'm also on the 39% marginal income tax rate in New Zealand. That income tax rate isn't the problem. Keeping $60K out of every $100K extra salary I make is plenty of motivation to work harder to make the extra $100K... especially because the taxes paid aren't burned, they mostly go to things I care about.
The income tax rate isn't all that relevant to the costs and benefits of starting a company, so I don't understand that part of your story. The rewards for founding a successful company mostly aren't subject to income tax, and NZ has a very light capital gains regime.
I have started my own company and I do agree that there are some issues that could be addressed. For example, it would be fairer if the years I worked for no income created tax-deductible losses against future income.
But NZ's tax rates are lower than Australia and the USA and most comparable nations, and NZers start a lot of businesses, so I don't think that is one of our major problems at the moment.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#438I initially thought that this was an announcement for a new pledge and thought, "they're going to forget about this the moment it's convenient." Then I read the article and realized, "Oh, it's already convenient." Google is a megacorp, and while megacorps aren't fundamentally "evil" (for some definitions of evil), they are fundamentally unconcerned with goodness or morality, and any appearance that they are is purely…
> they are fundamentally unconcerned with goodness or morality No, no. Call a spade a spade. This behavior and attitude is evil. Corporations under modern American capitalism must be evil. That's how capitalism works. You succeed in capitalism not by building a better mousetrap, but by destroying anyone who builds a better moustrap than you. You litigate, acquire, bribe, and rewrite legislation to ensure yours is the…
"The market" is just a lot of people making decisions about what to do with their money. If you want the market to behave differently, be the change you want to see, and teach others to do the same.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#439I initially thought that this was an announcement for a new pledge and thought, "they're going to forget about this the moment it's convenient." Then I read the article and realized, "Oh, it's already convenient." Google is a megacorp, and while megacorps aren't fundamentally "evil" (for some definitions of evil), they are fundamentally unconcerned with goodness or morality, and any appearance that they are is purely…
Don't anthropomorphize the lawnmower.
Re: Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance
#440When people ask how could IBM facilitate in the Holocaust, this is how it happens.
Google rushed to sell AI tools to Israel’s military after Hamas attack:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/21/google-...