Future of Artificial Intelligence

[ertyu]

I got a new phone.

The calculator app requires permissions to access your media files [pictures, video, etc] "so we can better understand your questions." It requires access to the internet "so we can obtain real-time exchange rates." For some of the apps, the "basic functions only" are still accessible without all the extra permissions those apps want, but the calculator app will not work unless one gives it all those permissions.

Elsewhere in the phone, AI will edit my pictures. Some of the resolution is lost if I don't want to hand my pictures over to the AI, bc the stated picture resolution is only achievable in "enhanced" AI mode. Basic function are available -- but if one wanted to use the calculator app ever, the mothership would get all one's media anyway.

AI would record meetings and summarize them. AI would listen and provide "real time captioning" (some of my students use this, and read my lectures on their phones in their native language instead of trying to understand my spoken English (I am good at ELI5-ing in my subject, this is what I do for a living: it isn't me).

AI would write responses to other people's social media posts "in your authentic style, including emoji!" -- both for text and image based posts. Ditto, AI would write YOUR social media posts, also "in your authentic style, including emoji!!" based on the image you are trying to upload. The dead internet theory is true, except not how we thought it would be: AIs talking to each other using our avatars.

All health data is aggregated and analyzed. The company claims to be working with medical experts. All fine and well, I'm sure the aggregate dataset has potential to be used for the betterment of humanity, except. I'm sure I don't need to detail the potential dystopias here. I've let it collect my daily step count because otherwise I won't know my steps.

Brave new world? This, or some version of it, seems to be rolling out across both Apple and Android. Is an AI-free experience going the way of the 3.5 headphone jack, so now everyone's forced to buy individual buds with degrading batteries where a corded headset used to be usable forever?

Bah.

ETA: I forgot the cpntext-dependent reminders and creative suggestions based on my location, should I care to have "the AI" know it.

ETA2: even if you want to do math in your head so the calculator app doesnt report all your media files to the AI, the moment you want to put one of your pictures as background somewhere you get "themes needs permission to access your media files and the internet." If you refuse permission via one channel, they'll get you through -some- sort of backdoor. Does one just accept all?

[candide]

Is an AI-free experience going the way of the 3.5 headphone jack, so now everyone's forced to buy individual buds with degrading batteries where a corded headset used to be usable forever?

That is a lot of food for thought. Although I think the AI is being used as the pretext to do what these techno-feudalist want. Part of what gives your revelations such power is that it obviously does not have to be this way. But this isn't really an AI story, as much as it is about our culture, and the concentration of power.

Does one just accept all?

In the Apple eco-system, yeah, and that has long been the point -- freedom given up for convenience and style. In Android, you can use F-droid to side load different apps, or the Aurora "store" to get normal apps that are de-googled. But I think we are fast approaching the day where "smart phone" isn't an oxymoron (at least not for the phone) and they'll the phones will check what you are trying to load and say something like "I'm sorry Dave, but I can't let you do that." So approaching this from a techie standpoint might have serious diminishing returns.

So maybe the way forward is device segregation. You can get a dedicated camera, or an old phone with the SIM card removed, to take photos. You could get a "feature phone" for calls and texts. You can make "burner" email accounts, if you have an app that you need one to be signed in for. I do in fact carry around a little pocket-sized paper notebook. You can even get a little calculator.

You have a lot of plays you can make.

[Scott 2]

This, or some version of it, seems to be rolling out across both Apple and Android. Is an AI-free experience going the way of the 3.5 headphone jack

Short answer - you can resist, but you'll be left behind.

The Android ecosystem lets you take control of the phone OS. LineageOS. GrapheneOS. It's a huge pain. Other than piracy, nothing works quite as well. Maps specifically, are a problem. Eventually, your device fails to play with a necessary corporate partner. So you need a secondary or sacrifice it.

We'll probably see continuation of devices like the Light Phone. Maybe they get private, on device models. If you're ok with being left behind, this is probably the path of least resistance.

Keep in mind though - every entity you interface with, is feeding your data to the AI monster anyways. This statistical aggregation of data likely connects seemingly unrelated variables, forming a proxy to identify whatever you hide. So what's the true privacy gain? IMO, not very high.

Unless one goes to extreme lengths at anonymizing, I think the choice is limited to personal experience. Does a pocket AI interface break your desired lifestyle? That's the reason to exclude it. Otherwise, I'd favor leaning in. Understand the landscape.

[jacob]

Brave new world? This, or some version of it, seems to be rolling out across both Apple and Android. Is an AI-free experience going the way of the 3.5 headphone jack, so now everyone's forced to buy individual buds with degrading batteries where a corded headset used to be usable forever?

Ask the friendly AI about "usb c to headphone adapters" It'll cost a few bucks. You can also get them in pigtail or dongle configurations.

[7Wannabe5]

I think it might be the case that the more eccentric you are in your habits/preferences, the more difficulty the tech-giants have in tracking/nailing you. Also, it is possible to feed in bad data along with the good and/or create multiple identities. For example, based on the feed/ads I get, I think one popular site might believe that I am a young Latino man. Otherwise, I do not know why I am getting Spanish language recommendations for new video games that are "boobtastic."

[zbigi]

Brave new world? This, or some version of it, seems to be rolling out across both Apple and Android. Is an AI-free experience going the way of the 3.5 headphone jack, so now everyone's forced to buy individual buds with degrading batteries where a corded headset used to be usable forever?

Apple's corded headsets are definitely still available, I just bought one couple months ago. The only difference is that it connects over Lighting and not minijack.

[C40]

[deleted] - realized I was replying to quite an old post

[suomalainen]

11 Things I Hate About AI

Can't say I disagree with any of these. To me, the most salient point is the one about how skipping the hard parts of learning isn't a feature; it's a bug.

[Henry]

The level of compute available in the world will increase by orders of magnitude in the next five to ten years. The monster will only become more powerful and more sophisticated. Compute will be sold from those who develop it to those who need it much in the same way AWS became the growth driver for AMZN. Any discussion on how to circumvent AI or adapt AI to your own terms is a waste of time. Compute will become the most valuable asset in the world, the borderlands between sovereign nations. Who will be the brain surgeon? Who will be teaching the brain surgeon? I don't think we can know at this point. At this point, I think we are getting hit by falling debris. The ton of bricks has yet to fall.

[ertyu]

11 Things I Hate About AI

AI is being rolled out across workplaces in different white-collar industries. Employees are being sent to conferences on how to use it and asked to use it as much as possible on the job. Whether it actually is, businesses believe it to be cost-saving.

The tech companies believe it would trap us in their ecosystems and make them money.

Last but not least, it seems to have become the arena of the cold war tech arms race between the states and China. I believe both countries view developing it as a matter of national security. It also helps you monitor your own people -- all that facial recognition and ability to single out data from the general pattern.

I found the article persuasive and I want it to go away, too. Literally nothing will be better. But there are too many tail winds. Brave new world, and all that.

[jacob]

11 Things I Hate About AI

Can't say I disagree with any of these. To me, the most salient point is the one about how skipping the hard parts of learning isn't a feature; it's a bug.

I read it but as a fun exercise, I substituted in the following subset of words where appropriate: ("asking for help", "teamwork", "outgoing people", "millennials", "party people", "enabling relative", "TV personality", "community", "hippies"). In doing so, the article reads just as well but now I agree much more

Since these substitutions kinda fall under a common theme of a certain demographics (*emotional extroverts*), I wonder whether this demographic (and/or those who are sympathetic to its values) comprise those who are most opposed to LLM, because LLM is a now a direct competitor for other people's attention.

[ertyu]

because LLM is a now a direct competitor for other people's attention.

emotional one who likes attention here: no.

[7Wannabe5]

It seems to me that AI is more of a direct competitor with my primary/secondary NeTi than my tertiary Fe (emotional extrovert.) Mainly because my tertiary Fe is attached to a good deal of physicality, and one thing AI can't yet do is give somebody a hug and a warm bowl of soup. However, when set for More Creative, it can grab a number of random elements and combine them into a coherent whole, which is also basically what NeTi does. OTOH, at this juncture, it seems to me that collaborative value-add is still possible through processes akin to "knowing the right question to ask' and/or "tasteful curation" and/or "chaotic edge real world experience and innovation." What I mean by the last is that to the extent humans become dependent upon AI, AI will likely start to vibe more like the "grown-up", and adolescent humans or the adolescent-within-humans will always view themselves as "cooler" than the 'grown-ups."

[jacob]

emotional one who likes attention here: no.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean? I also don't think I was being particularly clear in what I said---I rewrote it a couple of times.

My framework is that there is an economy "other people's attention". Some people (e.g. emotional extroverts) have a higher demand for other people than others (e.g. thinking introverts, etc.). I note that extroverts often feel entitled to other people's attention, basically trying to tell other people to put down their book or smartphone, to "come out of their shell" or "stop (over)thinking", ... and instead engage with the extrovert in a conversation of smalltalk for that "genuine human connection". They are almost offended when one shows no interest in engaging with them.

Now, LLMs enter on top of books, phones, silent contemplation, ... thus further reducing the availability of people whom extroverts can "harvest" for small talk, help, or boring conversation. Naturally, they aren't pleased with this loss of [dopamine inducing] "supply".

Not all complaints about "AI taking over" are about this, but I'm pretty sure some (much?) of them are. It's basically the same complaints [some] people had about [other] people staring at their phones (or before that, books) instead of engaging in conversation whenever another human is present.

[7Wannabe5]

I would mostly become concerned at the level it limited my ability to "harvest" other humans for genuine human sexual connection. Or at least that remains my working theory for what would be first limiting factor to the length of my solo stay in cabin in the woods well-stocked with books and other supplies. I would say that the easy availability of internet porn has already limited my "harvesting" ability to some extent, but not enough to be at all worrisome if not trapped in monogamous contract.

ETA: This is not to imply that Social Introversion/Extroversion, Emotional Introversion/Extroversion, and Sexual Introversion/Extroversion are very well correlated. In my experience, they are not very well-correlated, except to the extent that they are simultaneously "demanded' for "harvest." For example, if/when somebody insists on a weekly date night outing or says something like "Look at me when I am fucking you, you little bitch." Also, I would even break Social Extroversion down into at least a couple sub-categories, such as Physical vs. Conversational and Managing vs. Collaborating. For example, a Socially Extroverted Physical Managing type would frequently feel compelled to go out and physically visit humans in their social circle and making use of a minimal number of words tell them how they might better fix their truck, paint their house, care for their children, cook-their-eggs, etc. IOW, the type that is sometimes referred to as a Busybody. If/when AI starts functioning like a Busybody, some humans will probably start breaking machines.

[Jean]

As annoying as human interaction can be, i think nearly all humans need some.
It's just that introvert are very often overfed with it. Especially if they are in a relationship or have a job.

[Henry]

I live in a 500 person town. We have a church, a post office, and a deli. I got into a fight with the church because they were letting the mentally disabled guy give homilies on Tom Cruise movies which I had to inform these yuck yucks are subversive advertisements for Scientology, and the deli guy because he gauged me on a Thanksgiving Cheese Cake. I knew not to get into a fight with the post office guy. Why? Because I have no optionality in where to pick up my mail. But with regard to the church and the deli guy, I own this thing called a car which allows me to drive by both the Church and the deli guy with my middle finger out my window while passing the Church and deli guy on my way to another church and deli guy whereby if this was a hundred years ago my proclivity to get into fights with people would have completely fucked myself out of both God and mutton. So you can make the argument that the car has allowed me to circumvent some type of all encompassing balls to balls brain to brain belly to belly human interaction where I would say I am not held hostage to negotiating with your usual consortium of local asshole/idiot types. Same issue with AI.

[chenda]

and the deli guy because he gauged me on a Thanksgiving Cheese Cake.

What does this mean? Also what films of his are scientologist propaganda? Weird cults are one of my interests.

[Henry]

Deli asshole guy marked up a cheese cake like 50% because it was Thanksgiving and I needed a desert. Piece of shit. I can walk there but fuck if I ever give him a dollar again. Tom Cruise's remake of War of The Worlds is a repristination of the Scientology origin story as created by L.Ron Hubbard who admitted he made it up. There is a documentary Going Clear. Tom Cruise is like an asshole robot. If they ever make celebrity bots, don't buy the Tom Cruise. He's a complete fucking wack job. Bot Tom Cruise will talk to you like a child and then flash you a big shit eating grin after he tells you how stupid you are for buying a specific brand of laundry detergent and that he has cancelled your therapy sessions because there is not such thing as psychoanalysis. The John Travolta bot will tell you not to bring your child to the doctor despite the fact that he's bleeding from both ears but at least it will teach you how to dance like nobody's business.

[chenda]

He's a complete fucking wack job.

He sure is. And he definitely isn't gay. There's something particularly strange about him. His films are a bit strange as well. The only decent film he's made was Valkyrie imo. Although admittedly his action films are more watchable than Liam Neeson's, which are a consistent abomination. I'll watch the documentary and subversive film.