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

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

#661

Post by PicassoCTs »

stdvit wrote: post #97

> Even in a world brimming with easy distractions—TikTok, Pornhub, Candy Crush, Sudoku—people still manage to meet for drinks, work out at the gym, go on dates, muddle through real life. They actually don't. Everything from dating and fitness to manufacturing and politics is in decline in activities, and more so in effect and understanding. You can't convince (enough) people anymore that it is even important as many…

Society just feels hollowed out, puppeteered, constantly acting against itself and the interest of the people, nice faces, nice gestures, nasty acts and in the end just happy, friendly enemies with enemies on top.

I know, the e-destructions are there to make a society of 8billion "happy" as can be without ravaging the planet, but the life this creates is absolute misery. I rather prefer death or war to that.

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

#662

Post by tmnvix »

bitexploder wrote: post #564
mlinhares wrote: post #544

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of this conversation is centered in the US, most other countries haven't been through a suburbanization at the rate and size the US has gone through. It is very easy for you to be disconnected from reality living in the suburbs in florida (where I live, for instance) than it is to do the same in a city like Barcelona or São Paulo. I don't know of any other country were living in the burbs is desirable,…

Not to pick nits but what is “reality”? How do suburbs disconnect one from it?

My neighbours are my 'reality'. My local plays a big part in connecting me with them. Never seen a newer suburb with a good local. A 'local' in newer suburbs tends to be like other suburban businesses - lacking foot traffic and spontaneity.

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

#663

Post by chongli »

mgraczyk wrote: post #539
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would be more convincing if you quoted data. Nothing on FRED suggests you're correct.

Here's men 16-24 showing 20% increase after CPI adjustment https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LEU0252882200Q

The CPI is misleading because it does silly things such as counting increases in CPU speed as “getting more computing for your money.” If all you use your computer for is word processing then you’re really not getting 1000x “more computing” for your money today than you were in the 1980s, you’re getting only minor increases in productivity.

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

#664

Post by mjevans »

ojosilva wrote: post #659
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

Nah, they could just throw cheap BYOB parties with plastic cups with your name written on it, but they don't anymore: https://www.derekthompson.org/p/the-death-of-partying-in-the...

Housing, transportation, TIME and energy to even go and do things. Let alone the insane costs of gathering.

Even solo hobbies are in decline. The war on attention that began with mass media and has accelerated through Television and the Internet to Smartphones has not been good for a society not ready for it.

None of those TOOLS are evil things. It's how they're allowed to be used by corporations who bombard people's attention all the time.

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

#665

Post by lttlrck »

_qbxi wrote: post #654
eastbound wrote: post #639

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why ever would you compare children and immigration? I love my parents and I’d have solidarity for my country fellows (France here). Immigrants don’t generally earn much, let alone work legally and pay taxes. They are not paying our retirement. They require doctors and produce our “medical deserts” (the name we use in France where social security fails because of lack of practicians). They also wouldn’t fight for us…

In the US, immigrants often do pay taxes, and use up fewer benefits[1]. Moreover, our social security relies on perpetual growth to sustain itself. So if we can't grow our population via children, we must grow it via immigrants, to remain solvent. [1] https://www.cato.org/blog/immigrants-used-less-welfare-nativ...

Hence "natalist" popping up in some corners of the political spectrum.

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

#666

Post by idiotsecant »

kazinator wrote: post #557
rcarr wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of all developed nations, Japan is probably the one least affected by housing pricing in the world seeing as though Japanese housing depreciates rather than appreciates over time. Rent prices in America are a staggering 177.4% more expensive than Japan[1]. Ever increasing house prices, caused by the underlying power imbalance between capital and labour, is the root of all evil in the Anglosphere. It will not stop…

[flagged]

Yes, because immigrants ... Raise the rent?

The US was built by immigrants. Before our slow slide toward christofascism it was on our money. Out of many, one. The reason we work as a society is that we take strength from the many varied cultures and experiences throughout the world. The most bold, the most focused, the most daring have always come to America with a dream of making it big.

We destroy that at our own peril. Break that down far enough and we'll become a culturally inbred irrelevant backwater. If you want to become the UK, that's how you do it.

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

#667

Post by idiotsecant »

eastbound wrote: post #639
matheusmoreira wrote: post #615

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also resist having children so they will not be resisting immigration for long.

Why ever would you compare children and immigration? I love my parents and I’d have solidarity for my country fellows (France here). Immigrants don’t generally earn much, let alone work legally and pay taxes. They are not paying our retirement. They require doctors and produce our “medical deserts” (the name we use in France where social security fails because of lack of practicians). They also wouldn’t fight for us…

What exactly does it mean to be 'invaded by Islam' in your head? That's a fascinating sentence.

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

#668

Post by atleastoptimal »

99% of humans have not experienced a human-level intelligence validating them in the way they want. We know this is a very addictive experience, so why wouldn't people be drawn to it once AI companions are verisimilitudinous enough to have that effect?

The alternative? Make the real world a more worthwhile prospect. However in many ways, people are not afforded validation unless they are exceptional in some way. By definition not everyone can be exceptional, so AI will offer the chance for everyone to feel that way.

I believe it could be a good thing. If AI can offer everyone validation, people's brains won't be in "status starvation" mode. Humans used to deal with disease and famines much more frequently than they do now, but now in developed countries most people are physically satiated, so that doesn't become an oppressive cloud hanging over everything. Emotional and status-affirming satiation could have a similarly ameliorative effect on the population, leading to interactions not being inundated with subtle status games and anxieties.

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

#669

Post by idiotsecant »

dv_dt wrote: post #472
socalgal2 wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't match my experience. In fact one thing I noticed living in Japan is how much more willing people are to spend money to meet up. Lots of events costs 3000-7000 yen. Clubs and bar have a cover charge. People will organize parties where they rent a bar and tell their friends it's 4000 yen each (about $27 currently but was closer to $40) in the past. They'll even have house parties and tell everyone to pitch…

Japan averages shorter working hours than the US though - so they literally have more time to go out.

Wow that is possibly the most wildly inaccurate thing I've read in a while.

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

#670

Post by tokioyoyo »

Barrin92 wrote: post #475
bapak wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they still go out It's vastly cheaper to go out in Japan, even if there are more expensive options. Not many cheap hangout options in a lot of places.

>Not many cheap hangout options in a lot of places. When I stayed in the US for a while, I'm from Germany, what I noticed was is that there's an extreme "upward striverism" when it comes to going out. In most places I stayed you could find dirt cheap bars and clubs (although maybe clubbing overall in the US is worse), but people in their 20s and 30s just seemed to be reluctant to go in a way they're not in Europe or…

A bartender in Copenhagen had a long rant about “nowadays, kids look at themselves as brands”, and it’s been stuck in my head. I’m not even that old, but noticed more people think how everything is “cringe”, and wouldn’t want to be seen while doing that activity.

It’s an eventual conclusion of everything having cameras, and thinking of being caught in a TikTok drama. This also tracks how most of the kids nowadays want to become a YouTuber. Which is, basically, being their own brands.

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