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AI is a horse (2024)

kconner.com

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Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#141

Post by GuinansEyebrows »

matthewkayin wrote: post #77
simonw wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I like this analogy. I'll add that, while electric bicycles are great for your daily commute, they're not suited for the extremes of biking (at least not yet). - You're not going to take an electric bike mountain biking - You're not going to use an electric bike to do BMX - You're not going to use an electric bike to go bikepacking across the country

> You're not going to use an electric bike to do BMX

while there are companies that have made electric BMX bikes, i'd argue that if you're doing actual "BMX" on a motorized bike, it's just "MX" at that point :)

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#143

Post by rubenflamshep »

chrisweekly wrote: post #112
matthewkayin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like this analogy. I'll add that, while electric bicycles are great for your daily commute, they're not suited for the extremes of biking (at least not yet). - You're not going to take an electric bike mountain biking - You're not going to use an electric bike to do BMX - You're not going to use an electric bike to go bikepacking across the country

Actually, electric mountain bikes are popular (where they're allowed), mostly because they make ascents so easy.

They’re great when the trails aren’t too technical. No so much when they are (as I’ve learned from personal experience )

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#144

Post by alt227 »

oliwary wrote: post #41
BoredomIsFun wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> excellent show "halt and catch fire". I found it very caricature, too saturated with romance - which is untypical for tech environment, much like "big bang theory".

IMO it really came into its own after the first season. S1 felt like mad men but with computers, whereas in the latter seasons it focused more on the characters - quite beautiful and sad at times.

IMO the first series was excellent, the 2nd took a massive downturn and stopped watching after that.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#145

Post by pjc50 »

WarmWash wrote: post #76
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 think there is a legitimate fear that is born from what happened with Chess. Humans could handily beat computers at chess for a long time. Then a massive supercomputer beat the reigning champion, but didn't win the tournament. Then that computer came back and won the tournament a year later. A few years later humans are collaborating in-game with these master chess engines to multiply their strength, becoming the d…

Sounds like we need FIDE rankings for software developers. It would be an improvement over repeated FizzBuzz testing, I suppose.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#146

Post by koolba »

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

You probably can’t repair it yourself either.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#147

Post by koolba »

hamdingers wrote: post #133
simonw wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

- they still fall over if nobody's holding the bars

Slamming the brakes and going teeth first into the handlebars.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#148

Post by miyoji »

zorked wrote: post #53
oliwary wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO it really came into its own after the first season. S1 felt like mad men but with computers, whereas in the latter seasons it focused more on the characters - quite beautiful and sad at times.

I vaguely remember that they tried to reboot it several times. So the same crew invented personal computers, BBSes and the Internet (or something like that), but every time they started from being underfunded unknowns. They really tried to make the series work.

That's not really what happens at all. The characters on the show never make the critical discoveries or are responsible for the major breakthroughs, they're competing in markets that they ultimately cannot win in, because while the show is fictional, it also follows real computing history.

(MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW)

For example, in the first season, the characters we follow are not inventing the PC - that has been done already. They're one of many companies making an IBM clone, and they are modestly successful but not remarkably so. At the end of the season, one of the characters sees the Apple Macintosh and realizes that everything he had done was a waste of time (from his perspective, he wanted to change the history of computers, not just make a bundle of cash), he wasn't actually inventing the future, he just thought he was. They also don't really start from being underfunded unknowns in each season - the characters find themselves in new situations based on their past experiences in ways that feel reasonable to real life.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#149

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)

#150

Post by kkukshtel »

wwweston wrote: post #132
WarmWash wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there is a legitimate fear that is born from what happened with Chess. Humans could handily beat computers at chess for a long time. Then a massive supercomputer beat the reigning champion, but didn't win the tournament. Then that computer came back and won the tournament a year later. A few years later humans are collaborating in-game with these master chess engines to multiply their strength, becoming the d…

It’s a test. There’s really no crisis at a certain level; it’s great to be able to drive a car to the trailhead and great to be able to hike up the mountain. At another level, we have worked to make sure our culture barely has any conception of how to distribute necessities and rewards to people except in terms of market competition. Oh and we barely think about externalities. We’ll have to do better. Or we’ll have t…

Great comment. The best part about it as well is that you could put this under basically anything ever submitted to hacker news and it would be relevant and cut to the absolute core of whatever is being discussed.
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