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We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

newyorker.com

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Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#491

Post by newsclues »

Aurornis wrote: post #277
newsclues wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The library has become a place for drugs addicts and homeless people who use the free computers to look at porn. It’s no longer a nice or safe place to go.

Your city sounds depressing. Mine (US) is not like this at all. The libraries near me are not like this at all. One library has some homeless people but anyone being disruptive is quickly removed. We take the kids to the libraries all the time and it’s fine.

The depressing part isn’t that it’s happening, but that it continues to occur despite objections, because the “progressive” activists shame any objects and stop any plans or discourse to rectify the problem.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#492

Post by andoando »

socalgal2 wrote: post #373
xtracto wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a 44 yo Xenial, not too old, not young. That is, I'm part of the "walkman generation" . It surprises me how people are less and less open to socialize, to the point that some even see you with disgust if you DARE to interrupt them from.their mobile phone trance. Society nowadays is pretty ugly. Younger generations seem very isolationist to me.

I'm sure this is more a reflection on me but I try to go out to meet strangers at meetups and I find I quite often don't like the people. You might get the random ultra woke person who makes it impossible for others to have a conversation because they're just waiting to be triggered by anything anyone else says and find a way to spin every comment into an offence. If anyone brings up politics then the meetup is over,…

Doesnt seem fair, seems like you brought up politics, intentionally or not.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#493

Post by Uehreka »

throwaway98797 wrote: post #484
Uehreka wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people can afford grabbing a beer in a supermarket and going to the park. This is illegal in almost all of the USA. Sometimes you can get away with it, but if the cops decide to enforce the law on a particular day you’ll get a ticket.

unless you’re a kid or obnoxious police are quite reasonable made up fears are stealing your joy

Oh not my joy, back during Covid I must’ve done this dozens of times over the course of a year so I could hang out with my friends. However I’m pretty sure we only got away with it because cops just weren’t looking at all since aside from us, the park was fully empty.

On the whole I would not use the term “reasonable” to describe police. They’re power tripping infants who love to lord authority over people, and to the extent we get away with things it’s because they’re also lazy.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#494

Post by corimaith »

Animats wrote: post #490

The same criticism was leveled at social media, mostly Facebook. Then at mobile phones. Before that, it was aimed at television. In between, it was aimed at games. The big change is that we've solved boredom . More entertainment content is instantly available than anyone can consume. Humanity has solved "timepass". (That term is used mostly in India [1], but is generally applicable.) A sizable fraction of the populat…

Most Neets do get bored after their 40s in Japan. And right now content seems intent on recycling better content in the past.

There's a kinesthetic appeal to natural movement and action that screens won't just replace yet. Although the loss of that is more than just in entertainment.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#495

Post by esseph »

Aurornis wrote: post #473
esseph wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very unique to the locale you are at, and the economic conditions of that area. I am in a "top 20" US city and all of these things are in extreme decline.

I don’t which city you’re in where everything is in “extreme decline” but that’s not my experience traveling for work or to visit friends either. I think it’s more likely that your experience is the unique one. Or you’re not experiencing the activities you’re not attending.

MidWest metro.

More than half of the office buildings downtown are empty, and the ones that do have something only have a business in a handful of offices on a handful of floors.

Because of that, people started moving away because of lack of nearby jobs.

As people moved away, rents increased in both commercial and residential spaces to cover losses.

Library attendance and checkouts are way down.

Public transportation use is down.

Tax revenue in the city is down, which means less support for public services.

It's fucking awful.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#496

Post by bee_rider »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #387
parineum wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is highly regional. Maybe openly but I don't know of a place where a cop will stop you and ask what's in your red cup. Parent commenter is a narc.

I imagine there are 3 different types of locale: * Drinking in public is legal * Drinking in public is illegal (strictly enforced) * Drinking in public is illegal (give cops discretion to arrest intoxicated troublemakers who are hollering, pestering people, or otherwise engaging in mild antisocial behavior)

We’re also talking about our perception of the law here, not the actual thing. So, the third case might include people that are worried (justifiable or both) that they’ll be more likely to get the bad side of that discretion.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#497

Post by creata »

AlecSchueler wrote: post #390
Nathanba wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AI is also real to me. My emotions around AI are also real, I deeply appreciate when the AI helps me figure something out or talks to me. I think this type of response will get rarer as AI develops further and people realize that there is now competition and these sentimental reasons will have much less weight. I also have no idea what you mean by "benefits to socializing", I don't see much of any benefit compared to…

I can only suggest you ask your AI friends about the benefits of socialising and its importance to human development, they can explain it to you in a way that might not make you defensive. Yes, accepting things you have no control over is a sign of maturity. Hiding in your room talking to your phone won't make the scary people outside disappear, you're going to have to deal with them someday.

> you're going to have to deal with them someday.

I know this is a very depressing thought, but you don't have to deal with them someday. Even if there's no other way out, there's always suicide.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#498

Post by newsclues »

esseph wrote: post #467
SoftTalker wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true where I live also. This feral subset of the homeless are ruining every nice public space that we used to have. Libraries, parks, trails. Patience and tolerance is wearing thin; everything that is tried to help them is just abused and shit on (often literally). More and more people are starting to say no, we don't want to tolerate this behavior here, if that's how you want to live then do it somewhere els…

Reading this makes me extremely nihilistic about humanity.

My nihilism is exacerbated by the people who are actively making the problem worse and viciously attacking anyone who criticizes the problem or proposes solutions.

IMO some activists are exploiting homeless people and drug addicts for power and profit.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#499

Post by esseph »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #454
esseph wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Public intoxication laws in the US prevent that in a lot of places

They go unenforced unless your party looks like a pack of belligerent teenagers. I drink in public all the time. Cops don’t like doing paperwork unless their hand is forced.

"Why take the risk?"

You end up on video for drunkenness with police, and assuming they don't shoot you or beat the fuck out of you, the video still ends up on the internet.

The next day at work, you quickly get called in to talk to your manager and HR, and now you have to find a new job.

Time to find a new job! And in this market? Not worth the risk. Now companies are searching for New Hires on social media, and guess what? Your video pops up.

This is why people stay at home. Nobody trusts one another, or most of the institutions.

Re: We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness

#500

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

mgraczyk wrote: post #434
dv_dt wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though it's popularized to blame social media and phones, economics should not be overlooked. Pay for young generations is lagging and restaurants and bar prices are super high. Public spaces for informal gatherings has shrunk - eg fewer malls

This isn't true in the US. Young people in US consume much more of those things you listed than people over 40 did at the same age. Young people have more purchasing power than previous generations. EDIT: Data from the fed and payroll providers show this overwhelmingly to be the case, but just to add some color/anecdote. I found all of the first jobs I had in highschool and just after. 3/3 of my first roles now adver…

Are you taking into account the biggest drain on young people's finances, accommodation? I would be amazed if young people today had as much disposable income as they did 20 or 30 years ago.
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