Science Memes
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
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- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
If you are here asking: "Is this a science meme?"
Probably, yes. We use the Dawkins definition of meme: a replicating idea, not just an image macro with a fact on it. A good post here doesn't need to teach you something. It needs to make you ask something: who, what, where, when, and especially why or how.
Science isn't a filing cabinet of facts, it's a conversation. For example, a photo of an eel or other localized wildlife counts because most people never see one, and wonder is the first step of inquiry. A car meme counts if it makes you curious about what's under the bonnet. If you want to talk about something you noticed in the world, chances are someone else wants to talk about it too.
We moderate for vibe, not category. Pruning is light, especially where a post creates interesting discussion. Experimenting is encouraged.
See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.
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That’s blaming technology for a human problem.
———
If you remove AI from the scenario, that human is still a problem.
AI in the hands of a human without those issues, is a non-issue.
Therefore, the problem is very clearly in front of the screen, not behind it.
This is a whataboutism. In the same way that I view nicotine, gambling, alcohol companies as wrong to try to trigger existing neuroses in their customers with their ads, ai companies are unethical for their role in triggering antisocial behavior, and even promoting it, in their users. "What about psychotic people" isn't a valid defense of llms.
They are "guns don't kill people"-ing it. Ignore them.
AI doesn't have to be sycophantic, but it is. If people really believe it can be used to change the world for the better, they're going to have to start by acknowledging what human traits have made the world so fucked up in the first place.
It reminds of one of the best parenting tips I was ever given by somebody who was raised by a parent with a maternal instinct in the negative range. She basically said something like when I'm not sure what to do as a parent, I start by thinking about what my mom would have done in the situation. "Step one: Ok, don't do that..."
Even if there can be no consensus on how AI should be used to improve the world, it does seem like we should at least be able to agree on the maladaptive traits we know we want to avoid passing on since they definitely aren't doing us any favors as a species.
This sounds like guns don't kill people, people do!