I personally think of AI as a tool, what matters is how you use it. I like to think of it like a hammer. You could use a hammer to build a house, or you could smash someone’s skull in with it. But no one’s putting the hammer in jail.
Yeah, except it’s a tool that most people don’t know how to use but everyone can use, leading to environmental harm, a rapid loss of media literacy, and a huge increase in wealth inequality due to turmoil in the job market.
So… It’s not a good tool for the average layperson to be using.
Stop drinking the cool aid bro. Think of these statements critically for a second. Environmental harm? Sure. I hope you’re a vegan as well.
Loss of media literacy: What does this even mean? People are doing things the easy way instead of the hard way? Yes, of course cutting corners is bad, but the problem is the conditions that lead to that person choosing to cut corners, the problem is the demand for maximum efficiency at any cost, for top numbers. AI is is making a problem evident, not causing it. If you’re home on a Friday after your second shift of the day, fuck yeah you want to do things easy and fast. Literacy what? Just let me watch something funny.
Do you feel you’ve become more stupid? Do you think it’s possible? Why wouild other people, who are just like you, be these puppets to be brain washed by the evil machine?
Ask yourself. How are people measuring intelligence? Creativity? How many people were in these studies and who funded them?
If we had the measuring instrument needed to actually make categorizations like “People are losing intelligence.” Psychologists wouldn’t still be arguing over the exact definition of intelligence.
Stop thinking of AI as a boogieman inside people’s heads. It is a machine. People using the machine to achieve a mundane goal, it doesn’t mean the machine created the goal or is responsible for everything wrong with humanity.
Huge increase in inequality? What? Brother AI is a machine. It is the robber barons that are exploiting you and all of the working class to get obsenely rich. AI is the tool they’re using. AI can’t be held accountable. AI has no will. AI is a tool. It is people that are increasing inequality. It is the system held in place by these people that rewards exploitation and encourages to look at the evil machine instead. And don’t even use it, the less you know, the better. If you never engage with AI technology, you’ll believe everything I say about how evil it is.
This is like the most pro-illiteracy thing I’ve ever read.
Do you feel you’ve become more stupid?
My muscles were weaker until I started training. As it turns out, the modern convenience that allows me to sit around all day doesn’t actually make me stronger by itself.
It is people that are increasing inequality.
Yes, what if the billionaires simply chose not to, hm? Have I ever thought of that? Probably not, I’m very stupid.
That’s some real “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” apologist speak.
The only way to stop a bad robber Baron using AI is a good robber Baron using AI? C’mon.
I know that’s not exactly what you said, but it applicable.
I work with these tools every day, both as a tool my employer wants me to use, and because I’m part of the problem: I integrate LLMs into my company’s products, to make them “smart”. I’m familiar with the tech. This isn’t coming from a place if ignorance where I’ve just been swayed by Luddites due to my lack of exposure.
When I use these tools I absolutely become temporarily stupider. I get into the rhythm of using it for everything instead of using it selectively.
But I’m middle aged; which means both that I’ll never be as good with it but also that it’s harder to affect me long term, I’ve already largely finished developing my brain. I only worry that it’ll be a brand new source of misinformation for my generation, but I worry that that (with the escalating attacks on our school system) it’ll result in generations of kids who grow up without having developed certain mental skills related to problem solving, because they’ll have always relied on it to solve their problems.
I know it’s not the tool’s fault, but when a tool can do easily cause massive accidental harm, it’s easiest to just regulate the tool to curb the harm.
Do you think hammers grow out of the ground? Or that the magically spawn the building materials to work on?
Everything we do has a cost. We should definitely strive for efficiency and responsibile use of resources. But to use this as an excuse, while you read this in a device made of metals mined by children, is pretty hypocritical.
No consumption is ehical under capitalism, take responsibility instead for what you do with that consumption.
My skull-crushing hammer that is made to crush skulls and nothing else doesn’t crush skulls, people crush skulls
In fact, if more people had skull-crushing hammers in their homes, i’m sure that would lead to a reduction in the number of skull-crushings, the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a skull-crushing hammer, is a good guy with a skull-crushing hammer
The reason we can argue for banning guns and not hammers is specifically because guns are meant to hurt people. That’s literally their only use. Hammers have a variety of uses and hurting people is definitely not the primary one.
AI is a tool, not a weapon. This is kind of melodramatic.
GenAI is a great tool for devouring text and making practice questions, study guides and summarize, it has been used as a marvelous tool for education and research. Hell, if set properly, you can get it to give you the references and markers on your original data for where to find the answers to the questions on the study guide it made you.
It is also really good for translation and simplification of complex text. It has its uses.
But the oversimplification and massive broad specs LLMs have taken, plus lack of proper training for the users, are part of the problem Capitalism is capitalizing on. They don’t care for the consumer’s best interest, they just care for a few extra pennies, even if those are coated in the blood of the innocent. But a lot of people just foam at the mouth when they hear “Ai”.
Those are not valuable use cases. “Devouring text” and generating images is not something that benefits from automation. Nor is summarization of text. These do not add value to human life and they don’t improve productivity. They are a complete red herring.
Who talked about image generation? That one is pretty much useless, for anything that needs to be generated on the fly like that, a stick figure would do.
Devouring text like that, has been instrumental in learning for my students, especially for the ones who have English as a Second Language(ESL), so its usability in teaching would be interesting to discuss.
Do I think general open LLMs are the future? Fuck no. Do I think they are useless and unjustifiable? Neither. I think, at their current state, they are a brilliant beta test on the dangers and virtues of large language models and how they interact with the human psyche, and how they can help bridge the gap in understanding, and how they can help minorities, especially immigrants and other oppressed groups(Hence why I advocated for providing a class on how to use it appropriately for my ESL students) bridge gaps in understanding, help them realize their potential, and have a better future.
However, we need to solve or at least reduce the grip Capitalism has on that technology. As long as it is fueled by Capitalism, enshitification, dark patterns and many other evils will strip it of its virtues, and sell them for parts.
We once had played this game with friends where you get a word stuck on your forehead and you have to guess what are you.
One guy got C4 (as in explosive) to guess and he failed. I remember that we had to agree with each other whether C4 is or is not a weapon. Main idea was that explosives are comparatively rarely used in actual killing opposed to other things like mining and such. Parallel idea was that is Knife a weapon?
But ultimately we agreed that C4 is not a weapon. It was invented not primarily to to kill or injure. Opposed to guns, that are only for killing or injuring.
Take guns away, people will kill with literally anything else. But give an easy access to guns, people will kill with them. Gun is not a tool, it is a weapon by design.
And neither does AI? The massive data centers are having negative impacts on local economies, resources and the environment.
Just like a massive hammer factory, mines for the metals, logging for handles and manufacturing for all the chemicals, paints and varnishes have a negative environmental impact.
Saying something kills the planet by existing is an extreme hyperbole.
I personally think of AI as a tool, what matters is how you use it. I like to think of it like a hammer. You could use a hammer to build a house, or you could smash someone’s skull in with it. But no one’s putting the hammer in jail.
Seriously, the AI hate gets old fast. Like you said it’s a tool,
geyget over it people.👁️👄👁️🤖 🏳️🌈
Edited. That’s what I get for trying to type fast while my dog is heading for the door after doing her business.
Yeah, except it’s a tool that most people don’t know how to use but everyone can use, leading to environmental harm, a rapid loss of media literacy, and a huge increase in wealth inequality due to turmoil in the job market.
So… It’s not a good tool for the average layperson to be using.
Stop drinking the cool aid bro. Think of these statements critically for a second. Environmental harm? Sure. I hope you’re a vegan as well.
Loss of media literacy: What does this even mean? People are doing things the easy way instead of the hard way? Yes, of course cutting corners is bad, but the problem is the conditions that lead to that person choosing to cut corners, the problem is the demand for maximum efficiency at any cost, for top numbers. AI is is making a problem evident, not causing it. If you’re home on a Friday after your second shift of the day, fuck yeah you want to do things easy and fast. Literacy what? Just let me watch something funny.
Do you feel you’ve become more stupid? Do you think it’s possible? Why wouild other people, who are just like you, be these puppets to be brain washed by the evil machine?
Ask yourself. How are people measuring intelligence? Creativity? How many people were in these studies and who funded them? If we had the measuring instrument needed to actually make categorizations like “People are losing intelligence.” Psychologists wouldn’t still be arguing over the exact definition of intelligence.
Stop thinking of AI as a boogieman inside people’s heads. It is a machine. People using the machine to achieve a mundane goal, it doesn’t mean the machine created the goal or is responsible for everything wrong with humanity.
Huge increase in inequality? What? Brother AI is a machine. It is the robber barons that are exploiting you and all of the working class to get obsenely rich. AI is the tool they’re using. AI can’t be held accountable. AI has no will. AI is a tool. It is people that are increasing inequality. It is the system held in place by these people that rewards exploitation and encourages to look at the evil machine instead. And don’t even use it, the less you know, the better. If you never engage with AI technology, you’ll believe everything I say about how evil it is.
This is like the most pro-illiteracy thing I’ve ever read.
My muscles were weaker until I started training. As it turns out, the modern convenience that allows me to sit around all day doesn’t actually make me stronger by itself.
Yes, what if the billionaires simply chose not to, hm? Have I ever thought of that? Probably not, I’m very stupid.
Hard agree. Lmao.
That’s some real “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” apologist speak.
The only way to stop a bad robber Baron using AI is a good robber Baron using AI? C’mon.
I know that’s not exactly what you said, but it applicable.
I work with these tools every day, both as a tool my employer wants me to use, and because I’m part of the problem: I integrate LLMs into my company’s products, to make them “smart”. I’m familiar with the tech. This isn’t coming from a place if ignorance where I’ve just been swayed by Luddites due to my lack of exposure.
When I use these tools I absolutely become temporarily stupider. I get into the rhythm of using it for everything instead of using it selectively.
But I’m middle aged; which means both that I’ll never be as good with it but also that it’s harder to affect me long term, I’ve already largely finished developing my brain. I only worry that it’ll be a brand new source of misinformation for my generation, but I worry that that (with the escalating attacks on our school system) it’ll result in generations of kids who grow up without having developed certain mental skills related to problem solving, because they’ll have always relied on it to solve their problems.
I know it’s not the tool’s fault, but when a tool can do easily cause massive accidental harm, it’s easiest to just regulate the tool to curb the harm.
A hammer doesn’t consume exorbitant amounts of power and water.
What about self hosting? I can run a local GenAI on my gaming PC with relative ease. This isn’t consuming mass amounts of power.
Do you think hammers grow out of the ground? Or that the magically spawn the building materials to work on?
Everything we do has a cost. We should definitely strive for efficiency and responsibile use of resources. But to use this as an excuse, while you read this in a device made of metals mined by children, is pretty hypocritical.
No consumption is ehical under capitalism, take responsibility instead for what you do with that consumption.
Most of the material used in hammers does come from the ground.
Neither does an algorithm.
No, it actually does.
https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
The algorithm is a bunch of math. It’s not until someone wants to run it that it needs any energy.
No shit, chumly. How many times a second do you think that math is “run”?
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”
My skull-crushing hammer that is made to crush skulls and nothing else doesn’t crush skulls, people crush skulls
In fact, if more people had skull-crushing hammers in their homes, i’m sure that would lead to a reduction in the number of skull-crushings, the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a skull-crushing hammer, is a good guy with a skull-crushing hammer
Guns don’t kill people. People with guns kill people.
Ftfy
Hey, that level of pedantry is my job
Secure your guns. Toddlers kill an insane number of people. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/toddlers-killed-americans-terrorists/
Bad faith comparison.
The reason we can argue for banning guns and not hammers is specifically because guns are meant to hurt people. That’s literally their only use. Hammers have a variety of uses and hurting people is definitely not the primary one.
AI is a tool, not a weapon. This is kind of melodramatic.
GenAI is a bad tool that does bad things in bad ways.
GenAI is a great tool for devouring text and making practice questions, study guides and summarize, it has been used as a marvelous tool for education and research. Hell, if set properly, you can get it to give you the references and markers on your original data for where to find the answers to the questions on the study guide it made you.
It is also really good for translation and simplification of complex text. It has its uses.
But the oversimplification and massive broad specs LLMs have taken, plus lack of proper training for the users, are part of the problem Capitalism is capitalizing on. They don’t care for the consumer’s best interest, they just care for a few extra pennies, even if those are coated in the blood of the innocent. But a lot of people just foam at the mouth when they hear “Ai”.
Those are not valuable use cases. “Devouring text” and generating images is not something that benefits from automation. Nor is summarization of text. These do not add value to human life and they don’t improve productivity. They are a complete red herring.
Who talked about image generation? That one is pretty much useless, for anything that needs to be generated on the fly like that, a stick figure would do.
Devouring text like that, has been instrumental in learning for my students, especially for the ones who have English as a Second Language(ESL), so its usability in teaching would be interesting to discuss.
Do I think general open LLMs are the future? Fuck no. Do I think they are useless and unjustifiable? Neither. I think, at their current state, they are a brilliant beta test on the dangers and virtues of large language models and how they interact with the human psyche, and how they can help bridge the gap in understanding, and how they can help minorities, especially immigrants and other oppressed groups(Hence why I advocated for providing a class on how to use it appropriately for my ESL students) bridge gaps in understanding, help them realize their potential, and have a better future.
However, we need to solve or at least reduce the grip Capitalism has on that technology. As long as it is fueled by Capitalism, enshitification, dark patterns and many other evils will strip it of its virtues, and sell them for parts.
Video games are dangerous.
Fox News is dangerous. It turns your grandpa into a lunatic.
Hm… how do we square that one.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xC03hmS1Brk
We once had played this game with friends where you get a word stuck on your forehead and you have to guess what are you.
One guy got C4 (as in explosive) to guess and he failed. I remember that we had to agree with each other whether C4 is or is not a weapon. Main idea was that explosives are comparatively rarely used in actual killing opposed to other things like mining and such. Parallel idea was that is Knife a weapon?
But ultimately we agreed that C4 is not a weapon. It was invented not primarily to to kill or injure. Opposed to guns, that are only for killing or injuring.
Take guns away, people will kill with literally anything else. But give an easy access to guns, people will kill with them. Gun is not a tool, it is a weapon by design.
Yet gun control works.
Same idea.
Extreme oversimplification. Hammers don’t kill the planet by simply existing.
And neither does AI? The massive data centers are having negative impacts on local economies, resources and the environment.
Just like a massive hammer factory, mines for the metals, logging for handles and manufacturing for all the chemicals, paints and varnishes have a negative environmental impact.
Saying something kills the planet by existing is an extreme hyperbole.