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Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

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Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#31

Post by seibelj »

OtherShrezzing wrote: post #23
n_u wrote: post #7

> an a16z-funded startup that uses a phone farm to flood social media with AI-generated TikTok accounts Isn't this a bot farm? Don't they already exist and aren't they against TikTok's terms of service? The most surprising part of this article is that a16z invested in this. also their website is unsettling https://doublespeed.ai/

A16z’s owners have been fairly open about their societally unpalatable attitudes of late. Maybe they were always like that, just a bit more private about it in the past. In any case, their investment into this company just fits onto a trendline of high-capital antisocial behaviour.

> Michael: My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.

> Kay Adams: Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed.

>Michael: Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?

- The Godfather

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#32

Post by 01HNNWZ0MV43FF »

liquidise wrote: post #20
x3n0ph3n3 wrote: post #5

Anyone working for a company like that should be deeply ashamed of themselves.

I have an opposite reaction for what I assume are reasons we agree on. Social media has been a transparent race to the bottom for many years. The sooner it is shittified beyond repair the better. AI flooding content to them should help speedrun its descent, or maybe I’ve giving the average user (above child age) too much credit.

Has accelerationism worked before?

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#33

Post by utopiah »

kurthr wrote: post #8
bix6 wrote: post #4

Imagine investing your hard earned money into a phone farm that spams AI content in order to manipulate people into buying shit they don’t need, while our world burns.

See, there's your problem, introspection. https://youtube.com/shorts/b6Zw50f5jJk

No way... that's the most retarded thing I've heard for a while now, and I did read about international news.

Introspection is basically THE core mechanism for learning. That's HOW one learns on any topic. It's not a "wishy washy hippie feeling" (being provocative here) but rather introspection is (and to be fair I verified with https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/introspection/ just to make sure I wasn't talking out of my own ass) precisely looking at your inner workings. How you function IN ORDER to do better. You notice flaws, inefficient behaviors, things you enjoy, etc THEN you act on it.

Having no introspection is like doing math without verifying. It's like coding without compiling, linting or even executing without looking at the output.

So dumb it hurts.

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#35

Post by kklisura »

ra wrote: post #12
ryandrake wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The most surprising part of this article is that a16z invested in this. Why would this surprise you?

Surprises me to. I thought A16Z were a top-tier VC wanting to create long-term value. I didn't see black-hat social media bot farms in their focus areas. It might be a bit facetious, but if I had 10m invested with them I'd be asking questions about their investment thesis.

> I thought A16Z were a top-tier VC wanting to create long-term value.

Wait till you hear about this one called YC.

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#36

Post by pseudalopex »

ra wrote: post #12
ryandrake wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The most surprising part of this article is that a16z invested in this. Why would this surprise you?

Surprises me to. I thought A16Z were a top-tier VC wanting to create long-term value. I didn't see black-hat social media bot farms in their focus areas. It might be a bit facetious, but if I had 10m invested with them I'd be asking questions about their investment thesis.

> I thought A16Z were a top-tier VC wanting to create long-term value.

They invested in Cheddr.

We're building the TikTok of sports wagering. Accessible by 18 to 21 year olds. Live in game micro betting. Swipe to predict every moment. It's sports wagering at the pace of a slot machine.[1]

They invested in Coverd.

Bet on your bills — OnlyFans, child support, and last night’s Uber. Wipe them from your credit card by playing your favorite casino games all from the comfort of our app.[2]

"We didn't build Coverd to help people inhibit their spending; we built it to make spending exciting. We let spenders win twice – the second time is when they play it back and win. Our users want immediacy and upside. Coverd gamifies transactions with real financial leverage, meeting users where they are and turning spending into a moment they look forward to," said Albert Wang, co-founder & CEO of Coverd.[3]

[1] https://player.vimeo.com/video/1067223945

[2] https://archive.is/XWKEI

[3] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coverd-launches-app...

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#37

Post by eszed »

kurthr wrote: post #8
bix6 wrote: post #4

Imagine investing your hard earned money into a phone farm that spams AI content in order to manipulate people into buying shit they don’t need, while our world burns.

See, there's your problem, introspection. https://youtube.com/shorts/b6Zw50f5jJk

Jesus. Yeah, that explains a lot.

By the way, his notion that introspection is an "invention of the 1920s" is historical bullshit. I think he's taking potshots at psychotherapy? Whatever, man, but then do that. It's not like a Freudian concept of the self is beyond criticism - far, far from it - but using that to interdict "introspection" is just sloppy thinking.

Anyway, leaving aside anything else to be said on the topic, the idea that "great men of history don't introspect" is utter bullshit. I'll see you Abraham Lincoln, and raise you Marcus fucking Aurelius.

So, if what you really want to say is that "most 'great men of history' were sociopaths" then, well, yeah: you're probably onto something. If your next thought is "and I want to be like them", then that's 1) a pretty damning confession, and 2) also evidence that you, sir, aren't actually a sociopathic "great man" at all, just an insecure nerd who got lucky a few times, and now are getting high on your own farts.

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#39

Post by dmos62 »

01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote: post #32
liquidise wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an opposite reaction for what I assume are reasons we agree on. Social media has been a transparent race to the bottom for many years. The sooner it is shittified beyond repair the better. AI flooding content to them should help speedrun its descent, or maybe I’ve giving the average user (above child age) too much credit.

Has accelerationism worked before?

WW2 produced some diplomatically-brilliant world leaders. I think you could say that any situation that's headed in an unsustainable direction is being affected by accelerationism. In fact, the old observation "a fool will become a master if he perseveres in his folly" is much about the same thing.

Re: Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

#40

Post by marak830 »

kurthr wrote: post #8
bix6 wrote: post #4

Imagine investing your hard earned money into a phone farm that spams AI content in order to manipulate people into buying shit they don’t need, while our world burns.

See, there's your problem, introspection. https://youtube.com/shorts/b6Zw50f5jJk

I don't mean to derail (and thank you for the - horrifying - link), but why the hell is that a "short". It would have been much better being a normal video (with time controls).
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