Live data from Hacker News

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

newyorker.com

731–740 of 1001 posts

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

#731

AI is incapable of solving loneliness. It's a biological signal we have (thanks to evolution) to seek social connections with other humans , for things like reproduction and survival. Mentally healthy people will never be less lonely as long as they know they are talking to a model. All it can offer is a distraction and an illusion, because it has no humanity. Note: I don't even think dogs solve loneliness. They can…

Loneliness is a large reason I think so many people have to bring their dogs everywhere with them.

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

#732
post #257
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

Even more the reason to socialize and share the bill instead of ordering in/cooking for one no?

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

#733

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real humans are also fake and they are also traps who are waiting to catch you when you say something they don't like. Then they also use every word and piece of information as ammunition against you, ironically sort of similar to the criticism always levied against online platforms who track you and what you say. AI robots are going to easily replace real humans because compared to most real humans the AI is already…

Maybe talk with a therapist

This is getting down voted because it can be insulting on it's face but I think I agree. If you look at every relationship this way, it seems likely there is something to work through. Not everyone is out to get everyone else.

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

#734
post #724
post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, you need to hang around different and good people if this is your world view.

I don't know where these mythical "good people" are, but they have been few and far between in my experience. People _will_ let you down, people _will_ disappoint you, even the so-called "good" ones, even family. I don't have the same opinion of AI as the OP, I've never used it for anything other than questions that needed answering or work related stuff, and I don't think I could ever use it for personal things, but…

Family being human and letting you down is different than being out to get you. Family can certainly suck. It's the one group you don't get to pick, but I think people are generally good but flawed.

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

#735

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You drive everywhere, so it's optimized for drive-through experiences, so you don't have to interact with people. Third places are hard to find, and when they exist, they're paid (movie theaters, restaurants, bars, museums, gyms) and they're not necessarily good places to make friends. There aren't natural places where you see the same people as the communities are very dispersed, with mostly single-family homes in l…

> Third places are hard to find, and when they exist, they're paid I see this claim a lot but I don't understand it. Can you give me some examples of common third places in other countries that aren't paid that don't exist in US suburbs?

The front stoop/street/sidewalk where everybody hangs out? The public square? The park? The market—not to buy or sell necessarily, but because everybody’s there? The library? The public pool/baths? The house of worship in walking distance?

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

#736

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This idea of pretending that your only option is $15 cocktails really makes this argument look lame. Not to mention that the federal minimum wage is basically irrelevant in most places - where I live starting entry level pay at McDonald's is $17/hr. Cocktails were expensive when I was young, too. We just hardly ever drank them. We went to the liquor store and bought the cheapest shit we could that probably had a 50/5…

The beers here are $5-12 per beer if you go out. All I did was describe factual information: my local minimum wage, how things to do that don't cost money and are accessible to the average youth here are becoming increasingly rare, how much it costs to drink vs. minimum wage. None of this is an argument, it's a fact. And yes I know, people could and should be more frugal: I only even drink more than single cocktail a…

The margaritas at the places I go to are often $3 for a large. Lots of places will have cheap "domestic" beers for $2. Fancy craft beers can be had for $7-10. And that's after COVID price hikes. Less than a decade ago I'd get $2 craft pints often if you knew where to go.

I'm in one of the largest metros in the US.

Yes, there are plenty of places that will charge $12 for a beer. I don't go there. I can get the same beer cheaper down the street and have a more entertaining crowd.

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

#737

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gas costs money. The car costs money. You can only do the same hike that's an hour away so many times, before you're traveling to go to new places, and hotels cost money at that point. Pickleball courts cost money. The pickleball equipment costs money. People do go to the library, and then they go home and don't interact with other people.

The fact that many young people don't seem to think that "Hey, we'd just go over to someone's apartment/house to hang out and have a meal or drink" as a primary form of entertainment (vs. some "activity") makes me realize how much we have fucked over many young people as a society in general.

I don't think the issue is that they are naive or lack social skills, I think they just choose against it, and then lie about the motivation for their choice. It's all over this thread: "No time and no money!" But you know it's false. I think they know it's a lie too they just don't want to admit to themselves and others that they like TikTok more than people. Being a lame couch potato is socially acceptable if and only if you connect it to the big class-based social cause. They relished in the COVID lockdowns for similar reasons.

It's not naivete; it's dishonesty.

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

#738
post #724
post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, you need to hang around different and good people if this is your world view.

I don't know where these mythical "good people" are, but they have been few and far between in my experience. People _will_ let you down, people _will_ disappoint you, even the so-called "good" ones, even family. I don't have the same opinion of AI as the OP, I've never used it for anything other than questions that needed answering or work related stuff, and I don't think I could ever use it for personal things, but…

[dead]

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

#739

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drinking outdoors (let alone at a public park) is just not a thing outside Europe.

You might be surprised to learn that many people in public parks are not, in fact, drinking water out of their water bottles or La Croix out of their La Croix cans. Also, drinking in public is not allowed in much of Europe. Don’t go there and assume it is. There are also many US locations and parks where alcohol is allowed.

That's only a few people. The culture where there's literally a throng of hundreds of people sitting and drinking in the park on any random Satuday afternoon is very much a European thing.

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

#740
post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 gue…

You’d have to be trashed and making a huge scene for that to ever play out like that.
Post reply on HN