To think we’re on the edge of an AI disaster? Future implications

[LittleTroubleGirl]

This might be a bit muddled so bear with me. I’ve been reading and watching a few videos recently about the developments with AI technology, some people predicting the end of humanity etc. as a worst case scenario. I’ve read about actors etc having their voices simulated, to such accuracy that it can’t be differentiated from the real person. It just got me thinking about where this will eventually lead us. Like how it could be used for serious harm - and I’m not talking about making the odd funny meme of someone but something with catastrophic consequences upon their life, e.g. the framing of someone for a crime they didn’t commit using fake CCTV, photos etc. If eventually you can’t tell reality from ‘fiction’, which becomes the ‘true’ version of reality and how could this be ‘proved’? From scientific point of view how would you test it if there is nothing to falsify? Eg in a court of law, if there is incriminating CCTV imagery however it is of such detail and accuracy that it cannot be proved to be “fake”, where will this lead us? Sounds like a hugely scary prospect for us all

At some point the bubble will burst and it will make the DotCom crash look small.

You should read If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, op.

It's not generative AI in and of itself, but the way in which humans are using it that frightens me.

as far as I can see, generative AI knows a lot of words and knows how to construct an argument using those words.

some people seem to see that as wisdom. I don't think it is. I think wisdom comes through being alive and being reflective.

for example, I'm not convinced generative AI can actually know what embarrassment, shame, love ect can feel like, because it's not,itself, a feeling entity.

but I think it's dangerous to believe that a non feeling entity can be wise. I think AI can be knowledgeable. But wise? I'm yet to be persuaded.

It was my own work. This is the ChatGPT version with the typical AI idiosyncrasies, but overall better written and more compelling

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I see it quite differently — I think we’re on the brink of a creativity revolution, not a disaster. For the first time in history, the barriers to art, design, and storytelling are falling away. People who have the imagination but not the physical ability to paint, compose, or code will finally be able to bring their ideas to life. And those who already excel creatively will have tools that amplify their talents, not replace them.

In the same way that the Industrial Revolution freed people from back-breaking physical labour, the AI revolution has the potential to relieve us of repetitive mental drudgery. Instead of spending our days on routine tasks, we could focus on the more meaningful, interesting, and deeply human parts of work — creativity, connection, and problem-solving.

Of course, there are risks to manage — just as there were with any major technological leap — but I think it’s also important to recognise the extraordinary opportunity here: to reshape society around curiosity and imagination rather than exhaustion and admin.

I think this is one of the points we need to be careful about. I would argue it's the opposite of creativity. When you ask AI to write a novel or make a picture it's really just creating based on other people's work. We may get to the point sooner time in the future where it can create something original, but for now it's little more than a SIM of ours unless.

I think we’re on the verge of a few disasters tbh. New world order and all and the concept there are unlimited resources without any consequences. Mankind’s demise will be our own making.

I completely agree with you Op. It's hard to know what's real or fake these days. Worrying times

I worry about the fake videos. Some are so real looking. Imagine the panic it could cause if a video was made for example of the primer minister declaring war, or a threat of a missile attack. There would be quite a few people who’d believe it. And then it becomes a bit like the boy that cried wolf. So many fake videos, you don’t then know what it actually real.

Hypernormalisation - when theres no way of distinguishing reality from non-reality. Something similar happened as communism was ending in Russia. Richard Curtis has made some excellent documentaries on how humanity have arrived at this point.

Although I find this clip of Boris talking about ChatGPT absolutely hilarious 🤣 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP6WcIDEwhl/?igsh=MWdneG03ZTJ5Z2xodQ==

In the 1980s we had the New Romantics
In the 2020s we have the New Luddites

Loads of things can already be faked, you don't need AI. Money for example. 1 in 30 of the old pound coins were thought to be fake.

Besides MNers would love it, they're obsessed with 'identifying' trolls and AI posts already. They should probably all be working in cyber security.

Adam Curtis.

Richard Curtis makes films of a very different kind!

The A.I you are seeing today is based on "old tech". The stuff that is "current", which we won't see for two to three years is a universe away from Chat GPT or Grok 4.

I don't think k there are words to describe how much our world is going to change in the next five to ten years.

Imagine being able to talk normally to any machine or device, and have that machine answer you in a manner that is virtually indistinguishable from another person. "Robot" pets will be a thing. Your car will become "alive".

These things are coming.

The effect on the job market will be incalculable.

I wouldn't mind an AI android to keep me company at home, like Kryten from Red Dwarf.

It’s ruined tiktok for me, so many videos now are AI and they are so convincing. Saw one earlier of a cat repeatedly knocking balls into a ball feeder for the dog. Wasn’t real.

obviously that’s a fairly innocuous video but i can’t be arsed with made up shit and yes I worry how realistic it all is.

The job market is already so badly affected. Dd is a junior architect and already architect firms are hiring less juniors as AI can do it. Years of training for what!

people are just going to be unemployed. I laughed when someone said well AI can do it all and people will be paid a wage for sitting at home. Who’s going to pay that wage? The owner of a company who has sacked all their staff? Or is that business owner just going to make more profit? The chasm between the haves and the have nots will get bigger and the majority aren’t going to be on the right side.

😂

You're optimistic. We're all going to be out of work and starving.