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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

#851
post #649

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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…

> In fact Japanese generally make less money. IT salaries are in the $50k range. Minimum wage is $7.5 Yet they still go out. What's their healthcare like? If something bad happens, do they need to rely on savings to pull through, or does their society have stronger social safety nets that allow them to spend their money with less concern?

Healthcare is pretty good here. Insurance is mandatory and you only pay 30% of the cost.

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

#852
post #832

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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…

You sound like a reasonable and good faith person. I want to ask you in particular to consider engaging with the people you disagree with (in this case the Right). Try to understand what exactly it is they’re trying to do when they oppose unlimited open borders immigration. It’s true that 100+ years ago they were trying to bring in warm bodies, there was plenty of opportunity then and it was a great thing to bring in…

Do you think immigrants now have different rates of assimilation than they did 100 years ago? What do you base that on? Because they don't. Immigrants have always formed ethnic groupings because that's how you stay safe. You build Chinatown or little Havana or whatever. At first these places are for 'undesirables' outside the proper good mainstream, but over generations they become a part of the fabric of society and ideas and culture percolate out. It's literally how it's always worked. For some reason there is a new wave of pampered jackboot hopefuls that think this wave of immigrants is somehow uniquely outrageously different from mainstream white culture and so must be prevented from modifying our precious sacred culture.

Pro tip: we are a culture of mutts. We draw strength from constant change. That's why we've been successful. And it's been dragging the right wing kicking and screaming the whole time. The things your great grandfather cried outrage about are now your treasured culture that must be protected.

It would be a little comical how little perspective the right wing has, if it wasn't a bit sad.

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

#853

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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…

This outlook on life is a perilous endeavor. Eliminate lesser friends, curate your circle to find better ones, talk to a professional about your ill-advised beliefs on humanity at large. It's not an easy process, but it's a necessary one. Write it down, make a plan.

The guy got lots of downvotes but I wonder, if we all love each other and think we're all on average pretty much great, how come there's a lot of loneliness? Why is it so hard to create or maintain friendships ? Surely our idea of one another on average isn't ideal otherwise we'd be constantly looking to engage in friendships no?

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

#854

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> have kids later This doesn't work for women.

Yes it does, women have been getting children later and later. There is a natural limit to this of course, but that's true for everything and everyone.

That seems to be working out really well.

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

#856
post #113

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I think the most beneficial thing AI did so far was exposing how worthless the 'marketing copywriting' is. Then it will expose how worthless 'opinions from random people on the internet' are. Then how worthless 'parasocial relationships with streamers/influencers' are.

One should be careful not to conflate "worthless" with "things that hold no value to me personally".

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

#857
post #497

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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.

I don't know that the thought itself is depressing, suicide is a fact of life and everyone with his mental faculties is well aware of it. We indeed don't "have to" do anything, but in reality we do; our brains are programmed to keep on living no matter what.

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

#858

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This is a great example of what I'm talking about in regards to humans vs AI. First you misunderstand my comment, barely even responding to it, then you paint me as defensive even though I've been very open and the absolute opposite of defensive. It's actually you who is being defensive now, starting on a clear attack and painting me into some kind of scared recluse corner, somebody who supposedly can't even understa…

> I've clearly mentioned full robots and this is all a forward looking conversation about future AI which will have bodies and can interact like humans. There is going to be real competition for humans soon and I think people are overestimating the value of humans a lot.

When do you think soon is ? It could easily be 20-30 years imo till there are humanoid robots intelligent enough to carry a long term relationship, e.g substitute other humans altogether. Not to mention most people still want intimate relationship ...yeah that thing called sex, while I'm sure someone is working on it somewhere this is gonna take a while to automate. So for us here on this threat I wouldn't bet on this thing as a cure for loneliness anytime soon.

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

#859
post #257

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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 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…

> Even in a world brimming with easy distractions—TikTok, Pornhub, Candy Crush, Sudoku—people still manage to ...

I just don't get this part in the article and GP. Everyone in the developed country has instant access to ice cream. We don't say "people manage to enjoy $ICE_CREAM despite disgusting abundance of cold desserts". More supply only drives consumption and accelerate consumerism.

And I'm replying here because I have relevant, though anecdotal, memory. Social media is detoxifying Japanese communication at an unbelievable pace over the past decade or two. Japanese lack of social skills and proficiency in verbal abuse used to be otherworldly. Little Sgt. Hartman was just ubiquitous. Not nearly as much as it used to be.

All while mobile televisions, gambling, pornography etc had grown massively, which implies, though not proves, causality. How is that relationship between those supposed to be a "despite"? It just doesn't make any sense. Doing more is learning more.

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

#860

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…

what you’re saying is on par as “kids can’t learn as well typing their work as they do with a pen and paper” or “video games bad”. I’m not saying I disagree with the idea that an AI can’t replace a real human connection, but it’s more complex than you state.

Loneliness is an umbrella term. You could have friends but be single and feel lonely. You can be married, surrounded by family and be lonely. It doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as solitude, as many people are alone all day without feeling lonely.

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