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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

#671

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

bearl wrote: post #261
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree, though I'd like to frame OP's argument a little differently in a way that makes more sense I think. I agree the "shit is just too expensive" is a pretty lame excuse. I think to back when I was a poor ballet dancer around college age, and we always found lots of cheap things to do - a lot of it was like you said, usually just going over to people's houses to hang out, or doing stuff in the city that w…

So you actually disagree, it’s not the prices, it’s the tech. I agree. The person you responded to claimed it was prices not tech.

No, I responded to someone who said it was not the prices - I believe you are referring to the GP comment.

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

#672

Post by nradov »

chongli wrote: post #663
mgraczyk wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If all you use your computer for is word processing then you can buy a low-end desktop for very little money. Computers (and other consumer electronics) are cheaper now than they have ever been. Uninformed whining about hedonic adjustments in CPI is so tiresome.

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

#673

Post by kiba »

rcarr wrote: post #523
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…

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…

It's the land and other non-reproducible privileges, not all form of wealth. The imbalance is not between capital and labor, but land. Land can be in the form of copyright, patents, even domain names, the orbitals in the sky, the electromagnetic spectrum.

Capital can be used to produce more capital, but you cannot produce more land, more electromagnetic spectrum, more orbitals, etc.

The housing crisis is a restriction on what activity are allowed on land, and incentive structure that prioritize hoarding of land over engaging in societal beneficial activities.

I suggest you read up Georgism, the tax ideology that had largely disappeared from political life in the west.

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

#674

Post by haswell »

throwaway18373 wrote: post #611
haswell wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes, it's lonely, but it's more efficient. It doesn’t make much sense to me to put loneliness against efficiency. What does it matter if it’s “inefficient” to maintain friendships of the easily is a lonely life without social connections? People are prioritizing the wrong things IMO.

To be able to disregard efficiency in one's life is a privilege—one that is not afforded to most.

My point more broadly is that it doesn’t make sense to frame this as merely a matter of efficiency, nor was my claim that one can just ignore efficiency.

Humans need a variety of things to live happy lives. Strong social connection is as important as food in the long run when considering the overall health and survival of the species.

Clearly not everyone has the same access to resources and there’s a spectrum of experiences available as a result. I think this lack of resources at the bottom is an existential risk.

But what I find interesting is that people with resources are just as lonely as people without in many cases. Almost everyone in my extended circles laments the decline of social connection in their lives, and many of these people certainly have the resources.

I think we’ve gotten lulled into a stupor by the social media / internet content drug, and it takes just enough of the edge off of our need for social connection they we don’t properly feed it anymore. In the short term, we kinda survive living “meh” lives. What worries me is the long term impact on social cohesion.

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

#675

Post by abhis3798 »

glimshe wrote: post #59

I believe that AI can't ever replace direct human contact. But I'm not so sure if a good AI can't replace superficial online-only friendships. Looking at the bulk of my online interactions (outside forums like this one), they largely end in trivia (did you know...) or low effort agreement. An AI could play that role admirably.

It is also one of the big reasons why Meta and Zuckerberg want to invest in AI. If AI companions are going to replace online friends, it makes total sense for Meta to invest in AI heavily.

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

#676

Post by chubot »

Hoasi wrote: post #365
vincnetas wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When mall is called a public space... Public space situation is really sad.

> When mall is called a public space... Public space situation is really sad. Absolutely, but still, that is a reality in many cities. They are places where "going to the mall" is the main form of entertainment left.

Uh I grew up in NJ suburbs in the 80’s and 90’s - that was already the case, and there was a hit movie 3 decades ago about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallrats

(But malls are much less popular now, probably mainly due to the rise of Internet retail)

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

#677

Post by pessimizer »

idiotsecant wrote: post #666
kazinator wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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 p…

Of course immigrants raise the rent, just like anyone else who enters an auction, and the US was built by slaves.

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

#678

Post by busymom0 »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #513
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.

For the land of the free, America sure does have some weirdly authoritarian laws, many of them relating to alcohol!

It's only just been legalized here in Canada as part of a pilot project this year:

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-news/newsroom/city-lists...

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

#679

Post by burnt-resistor »

dv_dt wrote: post #257
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…

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

Parks and trails are/were non commercial meeting spaces.

City recreational parks in America used to have water fountains and cool stuff like climbable sculptures for kids and decommissioned Korean War era fighter jets in sand pits. That all went away with the helicopter parents.

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

#680

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

idiotsecant wrote: post #666
kazinator wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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 p…

> We destroy that at our own peril.

Already largely done, and will take a generation or three to rebuild, if it ever happens.

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