Cory Doctorow, of all people, was suggesting LLMs might have a use supporting writing as therapy.
I guess that’s just an iteration of the Eliza chat bot trick/joke in a way and I wonder could other traditional, lightweight, potentially not data protection nightmare, AI systems not do that job better?
As an aside I often point to Weisenbaum’s exasperated tone when describing how people reacted to the cheap parlor trick that was ELIZA as a way to think about how people anthropomorphise the output of these tricks.
No. The original alchemists (like, say Isaac Newton) were at it while everything was still “natural philosophy” and, as you say, had to work with what they had at the time. Just as scientists do now. They do not need to be excused. The usual mountebanks, quacks and so on aside, they were proto scientists who tried to learn and explain stuff.
Guys like Kalanick are stupid, greedy, entitled assholes in search of a quick buck and an ego massage.
The reckless implementation of it feels quite manic. Business just don’t want to fall behind so they feel the need to implement it regardless of the benefit or cost. That’s why I’m thankful my company has decided to wait, after all the kind of work we do directly impacts employee and customer safety, and there’s a lot of confidential data and info, so AI hallucinations would have very negative impacts.
It’s not just the A.I. encouraging students not to think for themselves—it’s the A.I.-enthusiastic world around them. Last week, the American Federation of Teachers announced a partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft to train educators across the country in how to use A.I. On June 30, the Trump administration announced a nationwide “A.I. education pledge,” featuring commitments from more than 60 education and tech companies—e.g., McGraw Hill, OpenAI, Workday—to generate curricula and educational materials on artificial intelligence for K–12 learners. One of the pledge sponsors, Google, simultaneously introduced a suite of custom A.I. tools at the ISTE ed-tech conference, ranging from “expert” and “reading-buddy” chatbots for students to study-guide generators for teachers; the Big Tech giant is also partnering with Pearson to “develop AI-powered tools that aim to transform educational environments around the globe,” according to Technology magazine. (The surging carbon emissions from Google’s A.I. infrastructure have gone conspicuously unmentioned.) A few Chicagoland area schools have publicized their intent to roll out more classroom A.I. this fall, including programs from the startup MagicSchool—another education pledge signatory—that let children “talk” with an A.I. Abraham Lincoln. Within the higher-ed sphere, the incoming freshman class at Ohio State University will be the first Buckeyes required to attain “A.I. fluency,” no matter their major, through a new series of courses and workshops.
The school year may be over, but A.I.’s rampage across the education sector certainly isn’t. It’s only going to get harder to be one of the students who’s had enough.
Planning on raising a nation of obedient bots? “reading-buddy” chatbot, tabarnac!
With AI in one’s eyes and ears for one’s entire life, what happens when they get refined and, perhaps, push a common viewpoint or ideology? Social media has shown considerable power to influence public opinion but that will be nothing compared with this. Though, I suppose, the two will join together with AI likely running social media. They’re already participating.
I’ve never been worried about AI eliminating humanity. I do worry, however, about a few people using it to subjugate the vast majority of humanity.
Yeah, that… part of what I find so frustrating is how the threat keeps getting misunderstood… it’s not some weird sci-fi scenario where it kills us all with nukes cause it’s too smart for us, it’s about the environmental impact, replacing jobs that pay livable wages, and the dis/mis-information being pushed via AI.
My privilege as an older person in education and also as a librarian, I’m not judging anyone, made me focus this year on collecting student testimonies about how their education was being ruined by AI.
Most particularly by how group projects were rendered worthless with AI slop but also, shamefully, how they were given AI learning materials in some circumstances.
A few years ago nobody was saying “we need to support and help students using essay mills” but now people are saying just that about “AI”.
They won’t know shit if that’s what they do do get their qualifications.
Do you want to use a bridge from an AI qualified engineer? Cos I do not at all. And it’s not my ignorance and lack of technical nous that makes me think that. It’s the precise opposite.
My favorite local deli had a very obviously AI-illustrated sign today advertising their breakfast special. It looked like utter garbage, they’d have been better off using only plain text. I don’t know how people can create a horrible AI slop piece of trash and think “Yeah, this looks fine” and make it the face of their business. How do they not see it?
