AI

[Dom]

Elon Musk was among hundreds of people who this week called for a six-month pause on advanced AI development, warning of an "out-of-control race to develop and deploy" new systems. A prominent AI researcher went further, saying six months wasn't long enough, and "we need to shut it all down."

It's not just the experts. Polls repeatedly show a striking level of negativity surrounding AI. Examples of ChatGPT saying scary things surely don't help. But those fears also make sense against the backdrop of a shaky economy and a distrust of Big Tech. 

Goldman Sachs has forecast that AI systems could impact 300 million full-time jobs. Whereas previous technological advancements like automation have disproportionately impacted manual workers, AI promises to impact white-collar workers most — and that's amid fears of a credit crunch on Main Street and layoffs rolling through the likes of Disney, Salesforce, Meta, and more. 

Then there's Big Tech's part in this. AI has been described as the next transformational technology, on a par with the creation of the internet or the television. But there are parallels, too, with social media. And we've all seen how that's playing out. 

Panic over the rise of AI is hitting a fever pitch (msn.com)

For more in depth discussion:  AI and the Economy: How Will GPT-4, ChatGPT Affect Society? (businessinsider.com)

[vulcanlogician]

The chat bot doesn't scare me too much. Yeah, it's done weird things, but only when specifically prompted to do so.

What bothers me is the prospect that we may end up "outsourcing" our thinking because AI can handle a lot of that for us. It's not too much of a concern right now, but as leaps and bounds are made in the development of new AIs, it may become tempting for us to allow AI to make most of our decisions... for the simple fact that it'd be very convenient and useful.

The brain is like a muscle. It needs regular exercise to function at full capacity. If AI thinks for us, I fear we are at risk of becoming stupider as a species.

[Dānu]

[GenesisNemesis]

The chat bot doesn't scare me too much. Yeah, it's done weird things, but only when specifically prompted to do so.

What bothers me is the prospect that we may end up "outsourcing" our thinking because AI can handle a lot of that for us. It's not too much of a concern right now, but as leaps and bounds are made in the development of new AIs, it may become tempting for us to allow AI to make most of our decisions... for the simple fact that it'd be very convenient and useful.

The brain is like a muscle. It needs regular exercise to function at full capacity. If AI thinks for us, I fear we are at risk of becoming stupider as a species.

I am concerned about human personalities effectively being wiped as well, because we will be relying on AI to do our thinking for us. Why bother doing anything creative if an AI can do it better and ideas will come faster? Although it's not exactly like I need more reasons to interact with other people.

[Dom]

One would not need most white collar workers anymore. What then? Pay them for not working? What happens to people whose physical labor is still needed? Is this creating an even larger class rift?

[vulcanlogician]

One would not need most white collar workers anymore. What then? Pay them for not working? What happens to people whose physical labor is still needed? Is this creating an even larger class rift?

If manual labor is replaced by automation and white collar labor is replaced by AI, then we may come to a point where human labor isn't needed much at all. That's a very troublesome thought indeed.

That'd be an opportunity for utopia. But dystopia is a real possibility too.

It really gets you thinking what things there are that humans do now that can't ultimately be handled by automation and AI. People say prostitution was the first profession. It might also be the last.

[no one]

The chatbot just asked me if I know where to find Sarah Connor.

[tomilay]

The chat bot doesn't scare me too much. Yeah, it's done weird things, but only when specifically prompted to do so.

What bothers me is the prospect that we may end up "outsourcing" our thinking because AI can handle a lot of that for us. It's not too much of a concern right now, but as leaps and bounds are made in the development of new AIs, it may become tempting for us to allow AI to make most of our decisions... for the simple fact that it'd be very convenient and useful.

The brain is like a muscle. It needs regular exercise to function at full capacity. If AI thinks for us, I fear we are at risk of becoming stupider as a species.

I am concerned about human personalities effectively being wiped as well, because we will be relying on AI to do our thinking for us. Why bother doing anything creative if an AI can do it better and ideas will come faster? Although it's not exactly like I need more reasons to interact with other people.

The current focus on AI is machine learning.  This is massive number crunching in a nutshell.  There is no question machines are the way to go for that kind of work.  I can't worry about being replaced in that sense or losing creativity on account of that.  

Our brains are wired to come up with insights with little to no data.  We don't need to crunch terabytes of data points because of how our insight works.  It's a double edged sword.  It can give you religion, but it can also give you special relativity.  I am yet to see anything that suggests AI is about to replace that.

[Cavebear]

Tech advance is probably unstoppable. No tech advance stops anywhere. AI is here to stay.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a computer intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the creative intellect of humans. Some tasks in which AI is used include speech recognition and translation of languages, as well as some other human-seeming actions.

Did I just write that above paragraph or did I ask an AI to do it for me?

I signed up to explore the idea. We have created our own demise... Maybe we will have to strat tyyping badly to tell the diffrence...

[Rhythmcs]

Between AI and automation, we're going to have to seriously rethink employment..and this, in a situation where we already need two jobs to survive on a planet that makes food and water. We've bungled this whole thing hilariously.

[Dānu]

I'm wondering if an overdependence on AI and robots could leave us vulnerable to an infrastructure collapse.

[Cavebear]

Between AI and automation, we're going to have to seriously rethink employment..and this, in a situation where we already need two jobs to survive on a planet that makes food and water.  We've bungled this whole thing hilariously.

We are going to go through a serious change as AI becomes too difficult to distinguish from human discussion. Perhaps we will learn to tell the difference, but I somehow doubt it. It will be the new ad campaign to tell you that "other people" (AI) think a product is great. Most people can't think their way through regular advertisements (or the ads wouldn't work). How are they going to distinguish between actual human thought and very good copies of it?

[rocinantexyz]

I think AI is over-hyped.

[c172]

This is kind of my only brush with AI. Seemed to do rather well, but maybe not well enough. Robots and AI are good for some things, but our society needs our touch.

[Rhythmcs]

Overhyped...certainly, but so is natural intelligence..so it's probably a wash?

[Minimalist]

If AI thinks for us, I fear we are at risk of becoming stupider as a species.

That ship has already sailed. 

[GenesisNemesis]

[quote="GenesisNemesis" pid='395521' dateline='1680454395']

I am concerned about human personalities effectively being wiped as well, because we will be relying on AI to do our thinking for us. Why bother doing anything creative if an AI can do it better and ideas will come faster? Although it's not exactly like I need more reasons to interact with other people.
[/quote

The current focus on AI is machine learning.  This is massive number crunching in a nutshell.  There is no question machines are the way to go for that kind of work.  I can't worry about being replaced in that sense or losing creativity on account of that.  

Our brains are wired to come up with insights with little to no data.  We don't need to crunch terabytes of data points because of how our insight works.  It's a double edged sword.  It can give you religion, but it can also give you special relativity.  I am yet to see anything that suggests AI is about to replace that.

I don't think AI is about to replace anything. It's more of a long term concern.

[vulcanlogician]

I don't think AI is about to replace anything. It's more of a long term concern.

I agree. These chat bots aren't an issue today. I think the biggest issue is college students not writing their own papers.

But 20 years from now, I can see AI doing a lot of jobs that humans now do. Statistician? An AI can do that. Store clerk/Manager? Director of marketing?

It's possible for AI to reach a point where it simply does a better job at those things than any human can.

PS: I know it's not a topic in this thread, but I am NOT worried about an AI becoming sentient and enslaving/destroying mankind. What is a thousand times more likely though is humans creating AIs specifically designed for that purpose.

[Minimalist]

I think the biggest issue is college students not writing their own papers.

I had a neighbor who was a college professor.  One afternoon he had me howling recounting some of the shit he had to read from these alleged "students."

[Dānu]

I heard of other concerns besides the Skynet-type scenario that are present dangers, but I didn't bother to note the details. I'll see if I can recover that info.

Speaking of Skynet, one or more of the experts referenced in the recent letter about concerns regarding AI has said their info was misused. I'll have to look for that as well.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I find it deeply troubling insofar as as noted above it will likely breed mental sloth.

[vulcanlogician]

Between AI and automation, we're going to have to seriously rethink employment..and this, in a situation where we already need two jobs to survive on a planet that makes food and water.  We've bungled this whole thing hilariously.

I think we're going to have to rethink capitalism too. I mean, capitalism has it's issues now, but it makes zero sense if only 10% of the human population actually has to work. I think we'd have to switch to some kind of public ownership of the means of production. Otherwise we'd face a capitalist dystopia the likes of which we've never seen.

Nice to see you, man.

[c172]

I think the biggest issue is college students not writing their own papers.

I had a neighbor who was a college professor.  One afternoon he had me howling recounting some of the shit he had to read from these alleged "students."

That sounds like a good thread of it's own! I'm intrigued.

[Rhythmcs]

Oh idk, capitalism is familiar with situations where some small segment of society - say 10-20 percent, is the actual labor basis for all the wealth of said society.....

I think it's cute that we're worried how ai is going to fuck us when all evidence suggests that we're the ones who are going to be doing the fucking. AI is just another windmill, just another hammer. Just another plot of productive land. Just another factory floor. Not likely to make us any dumber but not likely to make us any kinder, either. If you're not into robots and nazi chat scripts, you should probably look into acquiring water rights or learning how to manage a small farm.


Nice to see you too bud.

[jerry mcmasters]

I think AI is over-hyped.

Sure, "rocinantexyz."

Just what I would expect AI to say.