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Bored of It

paulrobertlloyd.com

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Re: Bored of It

#81

Post by [deleted] »

zwnow wrote: post #63
latexr wrote: post #17

> The best minds of my generation I’m tired of that line. I remember first seeing it on “the best minds of our generation being employed to sell you ads”. Making a computer go brrr doesn’t qualify anyone for a “best mind”. I’d hope a “best mind” would be, above all, empathetic. Concerned about the well being of their fellow humans. Philosophical about the state of the world. Patient. Curious. Wise and not just smart.…

Why is being empathetic a trait of a "great mind"? Wouldn't it also be possible that "great minds" don't consider things like empathy as useful? Looking back at human history, its usually people that aren't empathetic who end up being successful. At least in a way that people consider "successful". Humanity has long outlived the usefulness of empathy.

[deleted]

Re: Bored of It

#82

Post by mcntsh »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #54

Nobody asked for it??? Nobody wants it??? You're not paying attention. I want it. I think it's our only chance at quickly solving huge complex problems like aging, cancer, Alzheimer's.

It's our only chance at quickly solving huge complex problems like how to cut expensive labor costs.

Re: Bored of It

#83

Post by egeozcan »

What's written in the article would have been a good summary of my feelings when WhatsApp, an application I cannot switch away from because of the network effects, decided to add an AI icon and then integrated AI in its search.

Re: Bored of It

#85

Post by antonvs »

mapt wrote: post #58
latexr wrote: post #17

> The best minds of my generation I’m tired of that line. I remember first seeing it on “the best minds of our generation being employed to sell you ads”. Making a computer go brrr doesn’t qualify anyone for a “best mind”. I’d hope a “best mind” would be, above all, empathetic. Concerned about the well being of their fellow humans. Philosophical about the state of the world. Patient. Curious. Wise and not just smart.…

On that specific quote - I feel like this is offensive on more than one level. The waste of our best minds... sure. Fine. But - "to sell you ads." Marketting has the dubious distinction of being one area of human endeavor where technological advances serve mostly to make your life worse, make your mind less focused, make your wallet more empty. The spherical-cow "ideal" 100% efficient perfect marketing campaign/tacti…

Along these lines, "it" most fundamentally refers to unrestrained capitalism.

(Or perhaps computing.)

Re: Bored of It

#87

Post by lm28469 »

terhechte wrote: post #71

I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the na…

> Someone said something cool once hence it's valid ad vitam aeternam and can be used as an argument in a discussion.

Mass automatised eugenics robots ? Well if you don't like it you must be a boomer.

Brain implants that are controlled by your employer and can literally kill you on the push of a button if you don't follow the rules ? What ? you don't like it ? You dumb luddite

Between that and the "TeChNoLoGy iS JuSt a ToOl, a HaMmEr Is NeItHeR gOoD nOr BaD" people...

Re: Bored of It

#88

Post by smus »

thinkindie wrote: post #79
bufferoverflow wrote: post #54

Nobody asked for it??? Nobody wants it??? You're not paying attention. I want it. I think it's our only chance at quickly solving huge complex problems like aging, cancer, Alzheimer's.

That's true, and so far is being used for (check notes) cloning the peculiar style of an anime studio. Or fake receipts.

Alphafold doesn't exist

Re: Bored of It

#89

Post by petercooper »

Plus ça change. Any jump forward leads to a sentiment of neo-luddism among some group or another (I can't deny I felt a twinge of it around the NFT fever). If the latest group wants to actually effect change, maybe they need a movement and a Ned Ludd type character to get behind. As someone who is unashamedly pro-AI, I think it's healthy to have some to-and-fro and dissenting voices, because these are really big issues we're dealing with.

Re: Bored of It

#90

Post by lolinder »

zwnow wrote: post #78
InsideOutSanta wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you go from "successful" to "useful"? There seems to be no logical connection from "shitty people are successful" to "empathy is not useful to society."

Because empathy isn't useful to society. One only lives once so you better make sure you'll be successful. Having empathy will actively hurt your own life

> empathy isn't useful to society ... Having empathy will actively hurt your own life

Even if I accepted the second statement (which to be clear, I absolutely do not), it doesn't follow that empathy isn't useful to society. Society is not benefited by everyone running about chasing their own personal success to the exclusion of all others: that kind of world isn't even called a society. We have other names for that and they're less positive.

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