To be worried about AI

[JamSandle]

We recently had a presentation at work (my role has very little to do with AI at present) about changes coming in the future on a more macro level (not specifically to our workplace but to the world).

I feel we were being sold it as a positive thing but I found it terrifying.

Today I read an article talking about how in the future models will be replaced with AI.

Sure there will be some positives. But I can only see more bad.

Yanbu - AI is going to cause lots of job loss and problems.

Yabu - it's the future! Get on with it.

No I hate it, I’m with you.

I think it's sensible to be deeply concerned about AI, especially as in many cases we don't fully understand how it works -- I mean even the experts running AI programmes don't understand how it produces various outputs.

There is a high potential for 'good' AI programmes to be repurposed to evil goals -- e.g. an AI programme intended to discover new medicines can with one small change invent new bio-warfare compounds

But at the same time there is a lot of hype about AI, e.g. people freaking out about the new ChatGPT4 which mimics human thought pretty well but is still just copying us.

The most important thing we can all do is make it clear to our governments that we are deeply concerned and want strong regulations in place

I just don't really want to live in a world where this is normal:(

It feels so stressful and like we're all becoming less and less human.

YANBU but at the same time no point getting stressed over something you can't control

I'm with you. It pretty much freaks me out.

Have you read about Silicon Valley's opinion on AI development?
Elon Musk agrees with you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65110030

DH works in tech and his sector are deeply concerned. It will change the world for sure, and probably not for the good of humankind in general.

I think it’s mad that we are sleepwalking into being completely redundant. How can anyone think it’s a good thing?!

It’s terrifying.

I find it so worrying. What jobs will be left for people? How do you raise kids for an AI world? I find myself longing more and more for simpler times.

I'm in tech and it scares the shite out of me.

On a basic level it never ends well when robots are involved every disaster movie tells you that. I'm sure they will try incredibly hard to regulate the sector but it will do nothing to prevent bad people using it for bad things.

Heartily co-signed. I feel sad for my dc that they will have to deal with this.

Sorry , was replying to @JamSandle there.

Scares me too

I think that Terminator is not really science fiction any more. I can totally see Judgement Day happening.

I think on a societal level it will be a big change but will be fine, in the same way that every other advance has been.

I'm a university lecturer though and I think it has huge implications for assessment. I no longer trust anything that wasn't done on pen and paper in an exam hall (although with plagiarism and essay mills it was already heading in that direction anyway).

Counterpoint

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/23/tech-guru-jaron-lanier-the-danger-isnt-that-ai-destroys-us-its-that-it-drives-us-insane

I think those in tech are worried because it will make their sector more accessible to the average person, their ability to command high wages. They've made a killing ensuring tech is only accessible to a few by making it more and more complex (the same way law professionals try to keep the average Joe for being able to understand laws through jargon and technicalities).

Suddenly there's a product on the horizon that means the average person can write copy, produce code, design websites, interpret complex topics/documents, etc, to a high standard and those who make their living in those areas are shitting it and trying to close the gates as quickly as possible.

As Lanier says “This idea of [AI] surpassing human ability is silly because it’s made of human abilities. It’s like saying a car can go faster than a human runner. Of course it can, and yet we don’t say that the car has become a better runner.”

I fear it will be like plastic - seemed like a great idea with lots of positive potential, but as humans we don’t look far enough into the future and I’ve no doubt it will be a mess in a few decades. We’ll be trying to
migration some terrible things which are happening as a result of its use, most likely.

I don't pretend to know the first thing about how any of it actually works, but I always say please and thank you to my Google Assistant. At least when the robot uprising happens I'll be in their good books.

Hopefully Elon will save us from it. But it's a sad state of affairs when the whole world has to rely on one maverick, incredibly wealthy, man and not their own governments and leaders. The level of intelligence among the global political class is extremely low. Most of them with no greater IQ or forward thinking than town councillors.

I work in Data Protection and privacy as a consultant and what I see is the main issue is that people don't want to scrutinise services enough so they don't understand that data protection laws are based on protecting Human rights not just about cyber security. Information security is a legal requirement but it is not the sole purpose of these laws. Things like profiling or surveillance of our whole lives through the sharing of data is not really questioned if the service makes life easier in the immediate. I think it is also a problem that most 18 year olds now only want to study STEM subjects so subjects that are Art based like philosophy, English lit that understand the metaphysic are forgotten about, we don't really care about that side of humanity anymore and that is going to come at a cost in my mind. Does AI have the input of a whole array of thinkers at the development stage. No it does not. It is a problem.

I mean we talk about regulation but look at the Internet/social media. This has been around for a long while now and we're still crap at regulating it and still so far behind keeping ahead of the pitfalls social media has created in society.

Yes everyone seems to be pushing STEM careers. Makes me wonder if I should change jobs. I was sitting next to a teen coding on the train the other day. Just feel like everything is so quickly becoming updated. I'm off an age where I can keep up or fall behind. But I HATE AI.

Yanbu. We no longer live in a democracy. Our governments work for big corporations and our wants/needs don’t matter.

I actually work with ai, we do understand how it works! I dont know whete anybody has got that nonsense from.

I also agree with the use of ai for replacing human models. If you read, Levis are currently facing backlash for suggesting they will use ai models. But i actually agree with them. The insutry is toxic, competitive anorexia, filled with predatory men, with often young women in the firing line. Ai is actually more ethical for many such things.

Ai can't actually do anything humans can't do. It can just do it much much faster. I think it's a case of embrace it or be left behind. It has many positives.