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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be worried about AI

74 replies

JamSandle · 31/03/2023 11:51

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.

OP posts:
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7
DonttouchthatLarry · 18/04/2023 18:56

Extrapepperoni · 18/04/2023 15:47

Sorry for the late bump but watched this video last night and came on here to see if anyone was talking about this.

It's an hour long (I know, but watch ten minutes and you'll be hooked) - by the guys behind Social Dilemma. If this doesn't scare you, not sure what will:

Thank you for sharing this - I found it fascinating!

rewilded · 18/04/2023 19:00

This TED talk is a worry!

Beammeupbotty · 18/04/2023 22:02

Nah it probably won’t go out of control. We can’t even make a computer that doesn’t crash yet. Let alone what it means to actually have free will and a consciousness that would mean it could start doing things we didn’t tell it to.

We are crafting the new tools of our oppression. Yeah whatever. It’s something Elon likes to talk about to get the publicity and interest and investment he so desperately craves.

Caramc20 · 18/04/2023 22:16

Yanbu already many jobs have been replaced by AI and the trend will continue. In future there will be more jobs to maintain / train the AI. We won’t need many high level developers because the AI can now write code.

I don’t like where society is headed….capitalism has run rampant, new tech is being developed to make more money without any regard for the moral implications for society. People are becoming more isolated, our behaviour is already being modified by the constant stream of bespoke advertising all around us, without us even realising it.

Companies are using tools to trawl websites like mumsnet to do a temperature check on how people are feeling about issues which in turn lets them make more targeted advertising campaigns. We are all contributing to this by using mumsnet and social media.

Before the internet, people would have done something more productive with their evening. Knitting, sewing, reading, playing games. Now we sit here wasting time, sedentary 24/7 slaves to the big greedy machine.

Wallywobbles · 18/04/2023 22:22

I use it on a pretty much daily basis in my job. My teens use it for exam practice - great for orals and interview practice. Good for social media posts. Great for translations. Good for lesson planning. Good for curriculum design. Good for spotting flaws in arguments. Good for checking you've covered all the bases. Good for presentation design for you to adapt and build. Pretty good for expensing out a project. You can't just take it as read but it gives you somewhere to start when you give it good prompts.

It's not without consequences though.

Mummybinky · 18/04/2023 22:38

BreviloquentBastard · 31/03/2023 12:54

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.

Grin I'm with you on that! I also thank Alexa

MobilityCat · 02/05/2023 14:17

Thebestwaytoscareatory · 31/03/2023 12:50

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.”

Show quote history

"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.”
Self driving vehicles are autonomous and are better drivers than we can ever be. But in a crisis, what will it decide the better option is? A childs ball rolls into the road, followed by the child
Since a collision is unavoidable, must it avoid the child and kill the mother, or the opposite?
There are many similar situations that it might face, and we have no way of predicting the outcome.

justteanbiscuits · 02/05/2023 14:21

There was a time the same was said about machines in factories. Then about desktop computers.

My life is already being enriched by AI. My yearly mammogram result is now checked by AI, by comparing with my previous mammograms. Rather than 3 - 4 weeks for a result, I get one within 48 hours. And won't be checked by an over tired clinician who can miss things a lot more easily than an AI.

whostolemycheeseagain · 02/05/2023 15:16

Chocchops72 · 03/04/2023 16:27

I don't know if I'm worried about it, but only because it's something that is beyond my control. Scientists tinker, tinker, tinker, to make new discoveries and to push the boundaries of what is possible. In the case of AI they now have huge resources at their disposal - Apple, Google, Meta - all pushing to win the commercial race.

I listened to a Lex Fridman podcast yesterday, where he interviews Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI which created Chat GPT and GPT4. It's hugely informative, but also very revealing of the situation that is driving this forward and how utterly un-equipped our institutions, particularly national governments, are to deal with this. The technology is racing ahead, pushed on by these massive tech companies, and it's beyond our ability to control how it is used or by whom or for what purpose. Sam Altman seems to have a very naive faith in humanity to to the 'right' thing, in the end.

Re. work, he said - and I agree with him - that society doesn't seem o know what it wants: people to work more or people to work less? Every time that technology relieves some section of society from some form of labour, we don't share the benefits in the form of increased leisure time. Instead, we continue to extend retirement ages and demand that everyone 'works'. At what point do we let the machines do it, and we collectively reap the benefits. He's hugely in favour of UBI - in fact he sees it as inevitable.

I remember listening to some interviews done to some Silicon Valley self-appointed 'world owners' 5 or 6 years ago. I was left with a very real sense of dread, the belief that evil actually exists, and hence God must exist too (which was somewhat comforting)

Anyhow, who determines how much Universal Basic Income is enough? £1k, £2k a month? This is all very worrying, dehumanising and against human liberties andnrights. It should be stopped

whostolemycheeseagain · 02/05/2023 15:19

Goldenbear · 31/03/2023 12:55

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.

True. People are lazy and would do anything for what they perceive as 'convenience'. Plus, there's a lot of ignorance involved and corporations are exploiting it.

MrsKeats · 02/05/2023 15:44

I just marked an essay clearly written using AI.
Total fail as it's not clever enough to understand the objectives of the question.
It's making students lazy lots will fail exams as they have no feedback on their actual work and how to improve.

greyhairnomore · 02/05/2023 15:51

YANBU

Veryverycalmnow · 19/05/2023 07:31

I am concerned about the wider picture and the speed at which changes are occurring, but I am also wondering if when these apps 'create' art based on the style of an artist, they are basically using art from the whole internet copyright free? That must be rubbish for artists.

Peverellshire · 19/05/2023 07:49

Poss why we’ve not found any other civilisations out there, ‘this’ is the ‘great filter’?

MrsPerfect12 · 19/05/2023 07:54

Yes I'm terrified.
I remember thinking terminator was unlikely to ever be real but now....

MobilityCat · 31/08/2023 09:37

How about a fridge that scans and weighs all your groceries, then checks online for best deals on food when your butter or milk etc need replacing?.

A driverless van will collect your fridges order from an automated warehouse conveyor then bring it to your home, deploy a small robot trolley which will come to the door and your robot companion will take it to the fridge for scanning.

Humans are becoming an endangered species. Soon with factory automation, automated tills, drones, driverless vehicles there will be no need for humans and AI will decide we're redundant.

When the Terminator comes for us, we must find and protect John Connor who can bring down Skynet and save us all. Otherwise we're doomed.

Original poster
JamSandle · 31/08/2023 09:43

justteanbiscuits · 02/05/2023 14:21

There was a time the same was said about machines in factories. Then about desktop computers.

My life is already being enriched by AI. My yearly mammogram result is now checked by AI, by comparing with my previous mammograms. Rather than 3 - 4 weeks for a result, I get one within 48 hours. And won't be checked by an over tired clinician who can miss things a lot more easily than an AI.

I think medically it's revolutionary.

OP posts:
FelicityFlops · 31/08/2023 10:19

I can see tremendous advantages to implementing AI in certain areas, but also great disadvantages.
As previous posters have stated, there is little to no transparency around how AI actually works or where it obtains its "knowledge". However, as with all computer-related actions, they are only as good or thorough as the people programming them - I think this week's NATS fiasco is a good case in point. Clearly at least one use case was missed!
I have recently been testing the basic version of AI to produce small work-related pieces, such as a high-level overview of the steps needed to migrate system A to system B or to produce a script that collects certain data from source A and sorts it in a particular way.
Both examples produced acceptable answers, BUT they still needed someone (me) with the knowledge and experience to check the output and test the script. My conclusion is that AI can prove very useful and give a fast result in given situations, provided that it is monitored robustly.
An example of the need for having results checked by suitably able humans come from an early machine translation, which offered "The Amazing Whistle" as a translation for "Die Zauberflöte", which, as we all know, is "The Magic Flute" in English!

WandaWonder · 31/08/2023 10:20

Well I think it is all weird and will create issues in the future but I can't see worrying stops it or helps

Lilolilibet · 31/08/2023 10:25

It is extremely concerning.

mogsrus · 31/08/2023 10:26

Zager & Evans haunting lyrics all coming true

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