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Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

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Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#111

Post by seanw444 »

jstanley wrote: post #50
toasty228 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the long term everyone is much better off due to increased productivity. reply Do people still believe in these fairy tales lmao? Most of the productivity gains don't go to the workers, pretty much everywhere in the developed world working hours and retirement age are going up, housing affordability is going down. You're not "much better off" https://assets.weforum.org/editor/HFNnYrqruqvI_-Skg2C7ZYjdcX... Politi…

[flagged]

There's a lot to appreciate about the middle ages. It wasn't all bad.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#112

Post by JohnFen »

jstanley wrote: post #17
booleandilemma wrote: post #6

There is nothing about AI that seems like it's going to have a net positive for humanity. Faster code? Sure. Better chatbots? Sure. Textual analysis? Sure. But the downside, and it's huge, is massive unemployment and societal collapse. Nothing AI brings to the table is worth having an unemployment rate of 25% (or more). Our society is simply not ready for this. We need to rework things from the ground up, not proceed…

We've done this dozens of times before. In the short term some people suffer and that is bad for them. In the long term everyone is much better off due to increased productivity.

Historically, this is not always true. It's a gamble. Right now, a small group of ultra-wealthy tech guys who have a clear disdain for everyone else is trying to gamble the future of us all.

That's infuriating right there.

Also,

> In the short term some people suffer and that is bad for them.

The casual way that the well-being and survival of people in the here-and-now is disregarded doubles how infuriating this all is.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#113

Post by jandrese »

bryan0 wrote: post #35
ethanplant wrote: post #5

I’m genuinely confused as to why the speakers are baffled by the boos. Everyone, and especially new grads constantly hear that AI is going to replace every job. And absolutely no one seems to be interested in answering the question of “okay, then what?” Of course people are going to react negatively when they hear, “the machines are going to take your jobs from you. No, we don’t care how you’ll be able to pay your re…

> Schmidt offered a similar message to graduates: Their fear is rational, but they have the power to shape how AI develops. This doesn't sound like being baffled by it. It sounds like they are trying to shake the students and say: "fine boo, but you need do something about it." You can't just wallow and complain about it. I mean you can but it's a path to failure.

The students are trying to shape the way AI develops, they're unhappy with the results they are getting which is why they are unhappy with you, Mr. CEO man. They want a world where entry level jobs that can transition into good white collar work still exist. Some place where they might be able to afford housing, insurance, kids, and so on. Preferably one where they don't start out life tens of thousands of dollars in the hole just to have a chance at a decent life.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#114

Post by leptons »

jstanley wrote: post #17
booleandilemma wrote: post #6

There is nothing about AI that seems like it's going to have a net positive for humanity. Faster code? Sure. Better chatbots? Sure. Textual analysis? Sure. But the downside, and it's huge, is massive unemployment and societal collapse. Nothing AI brings to the table is worth having an unemployment rate of 25% (or more). Our society is simply not ready for this. We need to rework things from the ground up, not proceed…

We've done this dozens of times before. In the short term some people suffer and that is bad for them. In the long term everyone is much better off due to increased productivity.

The last time something like this happened, we got the great depression. Do you want another great depression? The next one will likely be far worse than the last one.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#115

Post by pesus »

pixelready wrote: post #99
mbgerring wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t disagree, but the actual beliefs of the AGI cult are much worse, and much more dangerous, than “I got mine, fuck you”

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment for details

Should also be noted that many people buying into this belief system have connections to Y Combinator.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#116

Post by amanaplanacanal »

neksn wrote: post #84
Rantenki wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would absolutely have been valid to ask that question of the inventor of the tractor too. It's even more relevant to ask of the CEO/CTO/COO/etc. of the companies that are selling hard on eliminating humans from as many workflows as possible.

They are selling a reduction in labour costs which has been the primary selling point of automation since humans began automating things.

Yep. They are talking to other CEOs, not to the young graduates they are supposed to be talking to.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#117

Post by Mezzie »

littlexsparkee wrote: post #82
havblue wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in high school, the guidance counselors never really talked about job headwinds. Those were things that would presumably happen to other kids. The recipient of a motivational speech has infinite potential. It's the same logic with discussing AI. The audience is the cream of the crop and will adapt to the future and benefit from technology. It's those other kids who didn't get your advice that might have to…

This is the harm of meritocracy - the idea is so pervasive that if you don't make it, you believe it to be a deficit in you. Then your lack of success is stigma and keeps you there.

100%. This also creates a sense that people who aren't 'successful' aren't worth listening to.

It's actually fascinating to be in a place where my lack of material success is in no way my own fault, and to have that be agreed upon by most people. My existence makes people uncomfortable.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#118

Post by FloorEgg »

DonsDiscountGas wrote: post #90

> “His speech was incredibly disrespectful to students,” said Malone. “We as students are discouraged from using it and penalized for using it. And then to have our speaker be the champion of AI is just like, OK? Why?” It's a perfectly fair question and the answer is that being a practitioner is different from being a student. If you want to hear some nice music you can learn to play and then record yourself, or you…

Knowledge can be transferred but understanding has to be earned from experience (doing something and getting some sort of feedback).

LLMs are commoditizing knowledge, qnd the result will be a relative increase in the value of human understanding and skills.

Some people may be baffled by the boos because they are so wealthy they lost touch with what it feels like to struggle to create and capture enough value to afford a dignified life. Some people are frustrated by the boos because it represents the failure of the education system to prepare students to thrive in an environment where thriving is very possible if you have the right attitude and skills.

Personally, I'm frustrated because many of these students are being sabotaged by the media they consume, and the education system is not equiped to deal with the deep pessimism or prepare students for the new ways to create and capture value.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#119

Post by happytoexplain »

bryan0 wrote: post #35
ethanplant wrote: post #5

I’m genuinely confused as to why the speakers are baffled by the boos. Everyone, and especially new grads constantly hear that AI is going to replace every job. And absolutely no one seems to be interested in answering the question of “okay, then what?” Of course people are going to react negatively when they hear, “the machines are going to take your jobs from you. No, we don’t care how you’ll be able to pay your re…

> Schmidt offered a similar message to graduates: Their fear is rational, but they have the power to shape how AI develops. This doesn't sound like being baffled by it. It sounds like they are trying to shake the students and say: "fine boo, but you need do something about it." You can't just wallow and complain about it. I mean you can but it's a path to failure.

They are trying. But there's not a ton they can do. It's obviously disingenuous to point to all negativity and say "you're just wallowing/complaining". There's no reason to word it this way unless you are broadly annoyed by AI negativity.

Re: Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

#120

Post by happytoexplain »

ch4s3 wrote: post #76
weard_beard wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CEOs: “Do something about it.” Luigi Mangione: … CEOs: “Not like that… I’m not suggesting that it’s a good response. I’m suggesting that this interpretation of what CEOs are saying is wrong.

This is a deeply sick way of thinking. Mangione was and is a fool, a 3rd rate thinker. His manifesto is muddled, factually mistaken, and by his own words he understood the topic poorly. You only need a cursory knowledge of the late 60s and early 70s to know that political violence rarely achieves its aims and is much more likely to empower reactionaries. There's no quick fix for political change.

It is sick! It's truly sick.

Think about the fact that it is sick, and it is what people are saying.

We are sick right now.

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