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AI is a horse (2024)

kconner.com

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Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#171

Post by roughly »

throw310822 wrote: post #56

Famously Steve Jobs said that the (personal) computer is "like a bicycle for the mind". It's a great metaphor because- besides the idea of lightness and freedom it communicates- it also described the computer as multiplier of the human strength- the bicycle allows one to travel faster and with much less effort, it's true, but ultimately the source of its power is still entirely in the muscles of the cyclist- you don'…

It’s sort of interesting to look back at ~100 years of the automobile and, eg, the rise of new urbanism in this metaphor - there are undoubtedly benefits that have come from the automobile, and also the efforts to absolutely maximize where, how, and how often people use their automobile have led to a whole lot of unintended negative consequences.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#172

Post by direwolf20 »

Dilettante_ wrote: post #47
direwolf20 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you forgot to write pAIn and it reminded me of this: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nt9mRDa0nrc

>2 views I'm not saying that's your video but it sure looks like that's your video ;)

First search result. This one has 734: https://youtube.com/watch?v=45_HJkoDxpQ

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#173

Post by [deleted] »

throw310822 wrote: post #56

Famously Steve Jobs said that the (personal) computer is "like a bicycle for the mind". It's a great metaphor because- besides the idea of lightness and freedom it communicates- it also described the computer as multiplier of the human strength- the bicycle allows one to travel faster and with much less effort, it's true, but ultimately the source of its power is still entirely in the muscles of the cyclist- you don'…

[deleted]

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#174

Post by direwolf20 »

torginus wrote: post #61
direwolf20 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That works when you are starting a new company from scratch to solve a problem. When you're established and your boffins discover a new thing, of course you find places to use it. It's the expression problem with business: when you add a new customer experience you intersect it with all existing technology, and when you add a new technology you intersect it with all existing customer experience.

Apple was a well established company when they came out with the iPhone - I don't think anyone but Jobs would've been able to pull off something like that. That sort of comprehensive innovation (hardware, software, UX - Apple invented everything), while entering an unfamilar and established market, I'd argue would've been impossible to do in a startup.

He had a customer experience in mind, so he found the intersection with every existing technology, and it was impressive. But there are also times when you add a new technology to your collection, so you find the intersection with every existing customer experience.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#175

Post by adonovan »

GuB-42 wrote: post #170
threethirtytwo wrote: post #155

Why does HN love analogies? You can pick any animal or thing and it can fit in some way. Horse is a docile safe analogy it’s also the most obvious analogy. Like yes the world gets it LLMs have limitations thanks for sharing, we know it’s not as good as a programmer. We should use analogies to point out the obvious thing everyone is avoiding: Guys 3 years ago, AI wasn’t even a horse. It was a rock. The key is that it…

> Why does HN love analogies? Because HN is like a child and analogies are like images

I see what you did there.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#176

Post by pglevy »

simonw wrote: post #74
throw310822 wrote: post #56

Famously Steve Jobs said that the (personal) computer is "like a bicycle for the mind". It's a great metaphor because- besides the idea of lightness and freedom it communicates- it also described the computer as multiplier of the human strength- the bicycle allows one to travel faster and with much less effort, it's true, but ultimately the source of its power is still entirely in the muscles of the cyclist- you don'…

I've been calling LLMs "electric bicycles for the mind", inspired by that Jobs quote. - some bicycle purists consider electric bicycles to be "cheating" - you get less exercise from an electric bicycle - they can get you places really effectively! - if you don't know how to ride a bicycle an electric bicycle is going to quickly lead you to an accident

Moped for the mind has a nice ring to it

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#177

Post by cogman10 »

whattheheckheck wrote: post #169
aaronharnly wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To keep torturing the metaphor, LLMs might be more like those electric unicycles (Onewheel, Inmotion, etc) – quite speedy, can get you places, less exercise, and also sometimes suddenly choke and send you flying facefirst into gravel. And some people see you whizzing by and think "oh cool", and others see you whizzing by and think "what a tool."

More like the Segway... really cool at first then not really then totally overpriced and failed to revolutionize the industry. And it killed the founder

Is there a modern segway? I mean, I find ebikes are probably a better option in general, but it seems like all the pieces to recreate the segway for a much lower price are there already.

Looks like the closest thing is the self balancing stuff that segway makes. Otherwise it's just the scooters.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#179

Post by dugidugout »

the_af wrote: post #117
dugidugout wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I'm out of the loop: in order to maintain popularity, are computers banned? Firsrly, yes, you will be banned for playing at an AI level consecutively on most platforms. Secondly, its not very relevant to the concept of gaming. Sure it can make it logistically hard to facilitate, but this has plagued gaming through cheats/hacks since antiquity, and AI can actually help here too. Its simply a cat and mouse game a…

Thanks for the reply. I know pre-AI cheats have ruined some online games, so I'm not sure it's an encouraging thought... Are you saying AI can help detect AI cheats in games? In real time for some games? Maybe! That'd be useful.

> I know pre-AI cheats have ruined some online games, so I'm not sure it's an encouraging thought...

Will you be even more discouraged if I share that "table flipping" and "sleight of hand" have ruined many tabletop games? Are you pressed to find a competitive match in your game-of-choice currently? I can recommend online mahjong! Here is a game that emphasizes art in permutations just as chess does, but every act you make is an exercise in approximating probability so the deterministic wizards are less invasive! In any-case, I'm not so concerned for the well-being of competition.

> Are you saying AI can help detect AI cheats in games? In real time for some games? Maybe! That'd be useful.

I know a few years back valve was testing a NN backed anti-cheat watch system called VACnet, but I didn't follow whether it was useful. There is no reason to assume this won't be improved on!

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#180

Post by YoukaiCountry »

WarmWash wrote: post #90
pmarreck wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony with the chess example is that chess has never been more popular. Perhaps we're about to experience yet another renaissance of computer languages.

I'd argue the renaissance is already off the ground; one man's vibe-coded-slop is another man's vision that he finally has the tools to realize.

It's allowed me to tackle so many small projects that never would have seen the light of day, simply for lack of time.
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