this post was submitted on 30 May 2026
357 points (99.7% liked)
Fuck AI
7192 readers
2062 users here now
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Why are we assuming that if we acquire the knowledge of how to cure a disease that the cure will be made accessible to all?
Why are we assuming anything positive would happen for the vast majority of humanity? Is our allegiance to the tech billionaire’s verbatim propaganda completely predicated on optimistic vibes?
It is extremely important for everyone to understand that intelligent people are not necessarily less likely to be deceived. In fact, without specialized training, a more intelligent person may in fact be better at compartmentalizing their beliefs, and have a very robust ability to internalize false beliefs without letting it decay their ability to function within their field of specialization.
Indeed, if we observe cult recruiting tactics, being an extremely capable high achiever often just puts a bigger target on your back, attracting more robust efforts to indoctrinate you into the fold.
All of which is to say, you are not immune to propaganda, regardless of being a phd researcher.
We had an absolute flood of reporting about “ai” breakthroughs across different fields of science. There have been countless examples of these stories being investigated, and it turns out the “breakthrough” was either unrelated to AI or blatantly fabricated. I myself work in one of these cutting edge industries and I personally know of two major international companies who have heavily marketed and sold “AI” systems, complete with public press releases detailing the breakthroughs, when in reality the systems are literally and totally unrelated to anything AI. In one case they simply affixed an “AI” sticker to an existing device without changing the programming or capabilities whatsoever.
Just be careful out there friend. This whole affair is rotten to the core. Have optimism that we can protect one another from what’s coming. Don’t be optimistic that the billionaires are simply waiting until the right moment, when they are satisfied with the power they have amassed, to finally share their prosperity with us
We aren't. I was answering the point of the OP about why there is such a divergence in beliefs. Just illustrating what the other side thinks as I've seen it. To your question, though, I don't think it will. I think it'll be about the same distribution it currently is.
Again we aren't. I know that I wouldn't trust the billionaire salesman's pitch. But I would argue that having zero access to a medication is worse than having some access to it, though. There's definitely room for an unequal distribution of resources to be had, but I don't know if that can be blamed on AI, specifically.
Couldn't agree more. Being educated doesn't preclude being stupid.
I mean, these examples aren't really a mark against AI so much as the industry and the state of research, isn't it? Fabricating research, lying about AI use, or scamming is kinda just... people, right?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for skepticism. Most AI is just garbage and not useful, and even less of it is useful for actual research, but the idea that there is nothing good being developed at all, that it has zero benefit, strikes me as the inverse of the pure, unadulterated optimists have where they think that a total system collapse from 'the big breakthrough' wouldn't be absolutely catastrophic for a ton of people, too.
I just think it is more complex than the current discussion around AI. That's all.
I know friend, I’m addressing the people you are speaking for, regardless of who amongst us here agrees with them. I apologize for the confusion
This comes up a lot.
Are you familiar with the story of The Lorax?
To summarize briefly, a billionaire creates a comfortable scarf, made from felled trees. He aggressively markets this fashion item to the point where it becomes a worldwide sensation, and all the trees are felled in the pursuit of manufacturing more scarves. In the end, without any trees, there is no more fresh air to breathe. Ah but, worry not, the billionaire rises to the occasion, and graciously begins selling the populace canned air so they can survive.
In this story, do you consider the many objectively good qualities of the scarf to be relevant in any way? How comfortable it is? How warm? How stylish? Would you dismiss the pleas of environmentalists for being too narrow minded in their denial of these many clear benefits?