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AI is a horse (2024)

kconner.com

241–250 of 254 posts

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#241
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like that used to be Apple’s driving force under Steve Jobs (definitely no longer under Tim Cook). https://youtube.com/watch?v=oeqPrUmVz-o&t=1m54s > You’ve go to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to try to sell it.

> You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to try to sell it. The Internet begs to differ. AI is more akin to the Internet than to any Mac product. We're now in the stage of having a bunch of solutions looking for problems to solve. And this stage of AI is also very very close to the consumer. What took dedicated teams of specialised ML engineers to trial ~5-10 years ago, can be ac…

Are you sure the internet begs to differ?

The dot com bubble crashed. Many websites like pets.com ended up closing up.

It wouldn’t be until much later that those ideas succeeded…when companies were able to work from the customer experience backward to the technology.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#242
post #74

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

and other sometimes you forgot to charge it, becoming even heavier thing to continue your journey with. or, there is a high grade slope where excess weight is more than the motor capacity

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If an analogy is an "obvious" analogy that makes it definitionally a good analogy, right? Either way: don't see why you gotta be so prescriptive about it one way or the other! You can just say you disagree.

Well no there are plenty of bad analogies that are obvious. A boy is like a girl. A skinny human is like a human that is not skinny. A car is like a wagon. All obvious, all pointless.

I don't know if any of those would be obvious to me as analogies...

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#245
post #74

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

> I've been calling LLMs "electric bicycles for the mind",

Ridden by a pelican perchance?

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well no there are plenty of bad analogies that are obvious. A boy is like a girl. A skinny human is like a human that is not skinny. A car is like a wagon. All obvious, all pointless.

I don't know if any of those would be obvious to me as analogies...

Anything that can be compared or is comparable can be an analogy. That means any two things in existence can form an analogy. From a practical standpoint only things with at least one similar attribute needs to be picked as what is the point of comparison with no similar attributes?

Discarding practicality, the next line of demarcation is a good analogy versus a bad analogy. This is a very subjective thing but humans tend to agree on what this is. Typically it’s two things that on the surface sounds dissimilar but upon examinations reveals that that they are intricately connected. AKA: not obvious.

You would have to have next level brain damage if you can’t see why the analogies I presented analogies are too obvious. You obviously don’t have brain damage, so it’s more likely you’re just unaware of certain terminology and definitions related to the concept.

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know which one you’re gonna get” is a famous analogy that fits what it means to be a “good analogy”.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if any of those would be obvious to me as analogies...

Anything that can be compared or is comparable can be an analogy. That means any two things in existence can form an analogy. From a practical standpoint only things with at least one similar attribute needs to be picked as what is the point of comparison with no similar attributes? Discarding practicality, the next line of demarcation is a good analogy versus a bad analogy. This is a very subjective thing but humans…

Listen I appreciate you taking the time. And Ok, if we must treat "analogy" as a kind of formal linguistic unit like this, then sure, I guess I was dumb about this.

I will say, it does seem to lose all meaning in this definition. Or just, your argument makes it seem redundant as a concept to simply a "comparison". Maybe it's the brain damage, but I come from a world of shared, natural language where an analogy is somewhat defined by the actual bearing on the two terms, or how as you say, how "good" it is. Also lost in your concept here to me is that analogies are also definitionally asymmetrical: you're using one concept to explain another. It is why we are called to make analogies at all. It's a synthetic intellectual act bringing disparate things together. That's why we say that we "make" analogies. It's also why none of your "analogies" to me are really that good or obvious, save maybe the wagon one.

But hey, you do sound like you know what you're talking about, so maybe I should just learn from this!

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#249
post #225
post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people I see on their electric bikes aren't even pedaling. They're electric motorcycles, and they're a plague to everyone using pedestrian trails. Some of them are going nearly highway speeds, it's ridiculous.

There are 3 classes of e-bikes in the US, with class 3 topping out at 28mph—anything above that is illegal or in some weird legal grey area. You are thinking of e-motos which are an entirely different beast. e-motos are a real problem; please don’t lump legitimate e-bikes in with those. It’s simply incorrect.

as someone who bikes every day, they're both a problem.

Re: AI is a horse (2024)

#250
post #249
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are 3 classes of e-bikes in the US, with class 3 topping out at 28mph—anything above that is illegal or in some weird legal grey area. You are thinking of e-motos which are an entirely different beast. e-motos are a real problem; please don’t lump legitimate e-bikes in with those. It’s simply incorrect.

as someone who bikes every day, they're both a problem.

Nope. You apparently are incapable of distinguishing the massive gulf between an e-bike that enables the elderly, differently-abled, commuters, and less fit people to enjoy cycling at reasonable speeds. And an e-moto which is an illegally souped up vehicle that can reach closer to highway speeds. The latter is indeed a danger and should not be used in bike lanes or multi use paths… or really at all.

E-biking is only gaining popularity, so I’d suggest you educate yourself and adjust your ignorant perspective rather than digging in :)

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