He seems to be a nice guy and this contrasts with big tech CEOs, but this is pretty demagogical. AI is going to causing disruption but is here to stay, so what should be done about it? "Think different", "you have actual intelligence" may be comforting and enough to be cheered but is not a very actionable advice.
Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
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Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#262[dead]
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#263I cannot stress how much the deep internal Apple loyalists loathe Woz. I personally find him one of the best parts of (old) Apple, and it’s a shame the company internally continues to think of him as a loose cannon.
Tim Cook Apple with Palo Alto money and constant surveillance does not jibe with jovial intellectual prankster.. do tell
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US, the politicians need money to be elected in the first place, and a lot of it. Lots of money comes from the big tech (to both parties), and the big tech won't give money to anyone with a plan to "rein them in."
They don't need money they just need votes. If money can buy votes then the problem rests with an apathetic and distracted electorate. You change that by giving a fuck and telling everyone you know what you actually think.
> If money can buy votes
It's not that "money can buy votes," but for a given party money can buy facilities (offices, transportation, food, etc.) and people (activists, coordinators, etc.) and that can bring (not buy) votes. Printing one "Rodriguez 2027" sign and putting that on your front lawn can be done for free at someone's office; printing ten million of them is a major financial, logistical and organisational undertaking, all of which costs money. Printers, truckers, warehouses, coordinators don't care how many "fucks" you're giving; they just prefer being given dollars to being given "fucks."
Maybe you have more ... workable (?) solutions than "let's get everybody to give a fuck and vote in a different way"?
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#265Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed." AI has made my life so much easier. If I need to change non-standard lightbulbs (e.g., G9, MR11, A19), I'm taking a picture and asking my AI what kind are they. If I need to create the first pass of test scripts, I ask my AI. It's reduced technical debt and let me focus on the things I care about.
I've been making some good use of this stuff, but identifying light bulbs, really? That wasn't exactly difficult in the Before Times.
The G9 was completely new to me. Sure I could try to figure it, but I'd rather be focusing on the things I care about. This is the thing that I'd historically procrastinate.
To quote Adam Grant, "Procrastination is an emotional management problem not a time management problem"
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
As much as it costs Woz nothing to be AI sceptic, Erich Schmidt has to loose much if AI investments don't deliver. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/21/eric-schmidts-family-office-...
Only correcting this because I’ve seen three people make the mistake now - it’s Eric, not Erich.
more like Erlich ;)
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#267Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with public policy is that it allows other countries to get ahead of you. 'AI' isn't just a tool, it's also a race.
Why should we care about that? Even if you wanted to argue our individual fates are tied to our country's, we don't all live in the same country, so how, actually, could we all care? Are you really convinced its so zero sum like this? We collectively spend decades and decades creating a sophisticated global capitalism, huge networks and infrastructures of trade and travel, just to find ourselves in some dark forest-e…
We're you around for the space race?
It's a world prestige thing, and also a competitive edge, for better or worse.
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with public policy is that it allows other countries to get ahead of you. 'AI' isn't just a tool, it's also a race.
Why should we care about that? Even if you wanted to argue our individual fates are tied to our country's, we don't all live in the same country, so how, actually, could we all care? Are you really convinced its so zero sum like this? We collectively spend decades and decades creating a sophisticated global capitalism, huge networks and infrastructures of trade and travel, just to find ourselves in some dark forest-e…
"Other countries" means China here, I think. China got a little on board with the global capitalism (and lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty along the way, if we're looking for the point), but never really embraced Liberalism and so ideally isn't the one aligning superintelligence. It would be lousy if Russia or North Korea or Somalia was in that position and it would be fine if the UK or Denmark or Brazil or Ghana was, but none of that matters because none of them will be in that position. Only the US and China are playing the game.
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#269Earlier quoted context omitted.
The economy
The economy looked really good before the dotcom crash too. The crash didn’t make the internet go away, but it damped the hype and blind, unchecked optimism that was leading to some rather short-sighted decisions. Right now so many companies are trying to use AI just to use AI, rather than using it when and where it actually makes sense. This is the big thing that drives me, and I think many others, a bit crazy. I do…
> The crash didn’t make the internet go away, but it damped the hype and blind, unchecked optimism that was leading to some rather short-sighted decisions.
The crash did not make the internet go away. I don't foresee a world where we will go back to the pre-AI times either. In the same way that post dotcom crash, you would be a fool to not have your business online, I think we will find similar things to be the case around AI. Even if the bubble bursts AI is here to stay and that will have major consequences for labor.
Re: Steve Wozniak cheered after telling students they have AI – actual intelligence
#270[dead]