Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society • Hacker News Board

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#471

Post by rayiner » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 3:38 AM UTC

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #461

rayiner wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do those factors meaningfully change the picture? For example, total compensation for Fortune 500 CEOs is only $8.5 billion, which is a rounding error compared to total labor income. And CEOs at the bottom of that range make a few million, so it’s unlikely that CEOs in non-Fortune 500 companies are making the eye popping salaries you’re talking about. Similarly, what percentage of wealthy people take loans against th…

Some numbers https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00472... "The income tax base captures 60 % of economic income of the top 1 % of wealth-holders.". I would love if only 60% of my income was taxed. Heck I'm now even taxed on used junk I sell using Paypal (that I bought with taxed income dollars and paid sales tax on). But a tax that includes that other 40% of the top 1%'s economic income, guys, we c…

That article actually proves the opposite of what you’re saying: “For the top 1 %, new borrowing each year is fairly small: 1–2 % of economic income. ‘Buy, borrow, die’ is not a dominant tax avoidance strategy for the rich.”

OP above said that billionaires pay for their lifestyle by taking loans they never pay lack, and the article says that isn’t a common approach.

> 1-2% of 100 million is 1-2 million dollars a year untaxed benefit (44x median income). That is substantial.

No, it’s not substantial because very few people make $100 million a year, while many people make the median income.

For example, billionaires last year added $1.5 trillion to their wealth, of which 56% was unrealized gains. If you take 2% of those gains as in the article, you get $16.8 billion that should be taxed as income but isn’t being taxed. I’d be fine taxing that money at the top marginal rate or whatever you want to do. But it would raise a piddling amount of money. That’s a rounding error compared to total AGI, which is over $15 trillion. The U.S. governments spend $16.8 billion every 14 hours.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#472

Post by hattmall » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 3:41 AM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #355

hattmall wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is, at least in theory, that it entirely changes the calculus of how advancements take place. In the past, when the pace of advancement was stronger the primary factor was the cultivation of a culture that valued prestige and knowledge over monetary gains. It didn't really matter how much money you threw at a problem because the bulk of the people responsible for advancements weren't interested in obscene…

When exactly in history was this utopian age?

Pretty much anytime in the past, but mainly industrial revolution, up until an inflection point sometime in the 1970s. While many major areas of knowledge work have suffered from becoming profit focused the advancement of technology for societal advancement is still in existence today, even many of the major AI involved researchers have done so irrespective of monetary gain and at least make the claim that much of the push for capital is simply as a necessary requirement to sustain the research as costs increase exponentially. That's one of the reasons long tail AI profitability is dubious, but also a indicator of the aforementioned risk. If capital becomes the primary driver, i.e. self advancing AI, then it's very unlikely to be continued in any way for the sake of benefits to humanity.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#473

Post by chasd00 » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 5:17 AM UTC

chasil wrote: post #348

coffeecat wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Claude has been quite helpful in reviewing my investments, and I have made a fair amount of money on his advice. His availability is unparalleled compared to any sort of financial planner. Just out of curiosity, what are some investment moves that you made as a result of Claude's advice? "In a bull market, everyone's a genius."

After hearing recently that oil is very likely going to $160 per barrel or more, I knew that I had to get out of the S&P500 in my 401k (FXAIX) and similar growth funds in my Roth. He really laid out the case for alternate funds in real estate and mortgage securities, with a bit more precious metals. I really didn't want to lose the gains I have made over the last year, and I think this will do it.

When oil hits even $145/bbl come back here and say “I told you so”. Until then I firmly believe oil will never get to anywhere close to $160/bbl.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#474

Post by ben_w » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 6:40 AM UTC

irishcoffee wrote: post #446

ben_w wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they want to do business in German* jurisdiction, they operate in Germany*. Doesn't matter where the HQ is, as Musk learned the hard way with the also-dramatic-but-less-so case in Brazil. If they don't want to do business in Germany*, they don't get to file a patent in Germany*, they don't get to sue Germany* for ignoring a patent that was geographically limited to not include Germany*. * might be "EU", I have not…

Germany does not have the global influence you seem to imply.

I'm saying the country doesn't need global influence. None do.

If you sell medicine to me here in Germany, you go through the German government.

If you decide not to, you inherently allow someone else to get the pantent for your tech in Germany.

Costs of medicine will get absorbed only to the extent they are considered acceptable, this is true for everyone. The biomedical firms know this, which is also why recently it is the US who pays the most for medicines.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#475

Post by bean469 » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 8:38 AM UTC

fusslo wrote: post #89

silisili wrote: post #10

Because the writing is on the wall already. Who hasn't been annoyed with "AI customer service", we already read about AI in the military, then you have the envisioned huge loss of jobs. People generally seem to like using it as a chatbot, or answer questions, on their own terms. But anywhere it's been forced against the user asking for it has been a disaster.

I had an AI agent lie to me I called siriusxm to get them to turn off their stupid advertising on my in-car infotainment I had called like 3 months ago to do the same thing. The human agent confirmed she turned it off on my account I called again recently and asked the AI to turn off in-car ads and weather alerts. The ai INSISTED this was my car's manufacturer responsibility. I kept yelling and swearing until it fina…

> I called siriusxm to get them to turn off their stupid advertising on my in-car infotainment

I know that ads on radio always were and still are a thing, but on actual screens as well? This just gives another reason not to upgrade from my 2010 car.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#476

Post by Rekindle8090 » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 10:01 AM UTC

slg wrote: post #93

everdrive wrote: post #35

It's no surprise. The wild tech optimism of the 1990s and 2000s has completely fallen apart as time and time again tech companies have proved to be some of the most hostile actors in most American's lives. Perhaps edged out only by things such as actual violent crime and partisan hatred. (which itself, of course, is stoked to the absolute maximum in part due to technology trends in the past 15 years or so) The loneli…

>The only hope we have is that they're wrong, and their power to change things will be minimal. What even is the optimistic outcome if they are right? What are we all working towards? Like do people think that these AI companies will create some superintelligence, suck up all the financial benefits of that, and then just decide to share it with the rest of us out of kindness? Because I legitimately can't see a realis…

[dead]

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#477

Post by rdsubhas » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 10:09 AM UTC

I love AI and use it every day. But comparing it to PC/internet/manufacturing/etc is IMHO not the right comparison.

Technology revolutions like PC, internet, smartphones, communication, etc – unfolded in this way: They create more jobs NOW in the hope of automating and reducing jobs in FUTURE.

AI is more comparable to outsourcing. It works in reverse: It reduces jobs NOW (which is happening right now) in the hope of creating more jobs in FUTURE (which is known not to happen).

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#478

Post by K0nserv » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 10:23 AM UTC

simianwords wrote: post #266

lorecore wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's part of it, but views on AI are also views on art and authenticity. I'm a huge fan of AI for coding, research and writing for work. When I see AI generated images, music or anything else "creative" my reaction has grown to be pretty negative. It's all got NFT vibes aesthetically. I was absolutely blown away by Stable Diffusion and that AI could generate images, now I'm kind of disgusted with it. We've been flo…

AI will be the most important thing to happen to art. We have tolerated low quality art for far too long because we pretend mechanical dexterity is what makes art, art. Art is not valuable because of this. AI removes the part I never cared about. I never cared that a guitarist can physically play 1500 notes a second.

You sound like people who claim AI is freeing because it has removed the gatekeeping of programming when programming was never gatekept, all you needed to do was dedicate time to learn.

Your premise doesn't even make that much sense given that Knockin' on Heaven's Door uses only the three chords(G, C, Am) and they are some of the most common chords in music.

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#479

Post by fusslo » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 12:09 PM UTC

bean469 wrote: post #475

fusslo wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had an AI agent lie to me I called siriusxm to get them to turn off their stupid advertising on my in-car infotainment I had called like 3 months ago to do the same thing. The human agent confirmed she turned it off on my account I called again recently and asked the AI to turn off in-car ads and weather alerts. The ai INSISTED this was my car's manufacturer responsibility. I kept yelling and swearing until it fina…

> I called siriusxm to get them to turn off their stupid advertising on my in-car infotainment I know that ads on radio always were and still are a thing, but on actual screens as well? This just gives another reason not to upgrade from my 2010 car.

YES. it's absurd

The screen on my car displays navigation, climate/AC, & carplay. There is a pop-up dialog box that takes over the display and says either "special offer from sirius xm" or "Warning: extreme weather X miles away". The background of the popup is opaque so it blocks out the ENTIRE screen

I can't access navigation, radio, or climate controls until I dismiss the pop ups!

AND pop ups stack. I have a video in my phone of pressing 'dismiss' 23 times in a row before I am able to get back to navigation.

Imagine driving through a thunderstorm in an unfamiliar city and you have to dismiss 1-3 popups per mile to just see the map!

Re: Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society

#480

Post by Telaneo » Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 12:23 PM UTC

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #432

K0nserv wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't like AI customer service either, but having seen the other side it cuts down huge amounts of inbound queries (where the answer can usually be found in knowledge bases) and provides an answer faster than a human would. As long as the escalation path to talk to a human isn't too arduous it's not too bad.

Three things are true: 1. Most customers seeking support could solve their problem easily through self-service methods. 2. Some customers are running into edge cases that truly need a human to solve, and they should be able to get access to a human. 3. Making a human easy to get to results in a lot of people who are actually in group 1 but think they're in group 2 costing a lot of money in support staffing costs. The…

> My other personal anecdote is overhearing my father-in-law calling up his cable company to pay his bill, something that's easier and faster to do online, but for some reason he'd rather talk to a human.

I've had the same thing happen with my grandma. 'You know you can do X online [on a website she already uses for some other reasons]? - I don't want to do it that way.' If I start probing for an answer, she doesn't respond with anything tangible (she does in other cases, so it's not like she's incapable of explaining the problem at hand).

The only thing I can conclude with is that they either A.) want to do it the way it's always been done (applicable in some cases), or 2.) They want to do it the hard way. They somehow don't care that it takes 7 times the time and effort to do it whatever way they've figured out. Never mind that they're paying double the insurance rate they need to. They're fine with that. They're not fine with switching, since that will introduce change.

There's one case that sticks out in my mind that really was like this. I think it's a close relative of a whole family problems in IT along the lines of 'user has a 27 step process to convert a .docx to a PDF, which involves a printer, a scanner, a website, and probably more, and they also don't want to just 'export to PDF', since they're fine with the way their process works'. Most people seem to be happy to make processes like that more efficient, especially if they're done regularly. Others treat them like rituals, where nothing can change.