Technology

Ai is not even truly ai right now, there's no intelligence, it's a statistical model made by training billions of stolen data to spit out the most similar thing to fit the prompt. It can get really creepy because it's very convincing but on closer inspection it has jarring mistakes that trigger uncanny valley shit. Hallucinations is giving it too much credit, maybe when we get AGI in a decade that'll fitting.

Yeah and that is largely fueled by two things; poor/forced use of AI, and anti-AI media sentiment (which is in turn fueled by reactionary/emotional narratives that keep hitting headlines, commonly full of ignorance)

AI can still provide actual value right now and can still improve. No it's not the end-all but it doesn't have to solve humanity's problems to be worth using.

This unfortunate situation is largely a result of the rush to market because that's the world we live in these days. Nobody gives a fuck about completing a product they only care about completing it first, fuck quality that can come later. As a sr software engineer myself I see it all too often in the companies I've worked for. AI was heralded as christ's second coming that will magically do all of this stuff while still in relative infancy, ensuring that an immature product was rushed out the door and applied to everything possible. That's how we got here, and my first statement is where we are now.

I keep thinking about how Google has implemented it. It sums up my broader feelings pretty well. They jammed this half-baked "AI" product into the very fucking top of their search results. I can't not see it there - its huge and takes up most of my phone's screen after the search, but I always have to scroll down past it because it is wrong, like, pretty often, or misses important details. Even if it sounds right, because I've had it be wrong before I have to just check the other links anyway. All it has succeed at doing in practice is make me scroll down further before I get to my results (not unlike their ads, I might add). Like, if that's "AI" it's no fucking wonder people avoid it.

I'm actively turned off because they suck up my data to use it.

I love the idea of local only AI and would use those products, and do play with local LLM/Image products.

I find the tech interesting, but the rush to commercialize it was a bad idea. It’s not ready yet, total uncanny valley.

I hate the feeling that they are continuing to dump real humans who can communicate and respond to issues outside of the rigid framework when it comes to support. AI is also only as good as its data and design. It feels like someone built a self driving car, stuck it on a freshly paved and painted highway and decided it was good to go. Then you take it on an old rural road and end up hitting a tree.

Listen up you kids, this old fart saw this same crap in the 70s when LCDs became common and LCD clocks became the norm. They felt that EVERYTHING needed to have an LCD clock stuck in it, lamps, radios, blocks of cheese, etc. A similar thing happened in the internet boom/bust in the late 90s where everyone needed a website, even gas stations. Now AI is the media and business darling so they are trying to stick AI in everything, partly to justify pissing away so much money on it. I can't even do a simple search on FB because it wants to force me to use the damn meta AI instead.

I occasionally use chat gpt to find info on error code handling and coding snippets but I feel like I'm in some sort of "can you phrase it exactly right?" contest. Anything with even the slightest vagueness to it returns useless garbage.

It seems more like a niche thing that's useful for generating rough drafts or lists of ideas, but the results are hardly useable on their own and still require additional work to finesse them. In alot of ways, it reminds me of my days working on a production line with welding robots. Supposedly these robots could do hundreds/thousands of parts without making a mistake... BUT that was never the case and people always needed to double-check the robot's work (different tech, not "AI", just programmed movements, but similar-ish idea). By default, I just don't trust really anything branded as "AI", it still requires a human to look over what it's done, it's just doing a monotonous task and doing it faster than a person could, but you still can't trust what it gives you.

I really fucking hated the android update where holding the power button summons Gemini before actually giving you the shut down menu.

Be me

Early adopter of LLMs ever since a random tryout of Replika blew my mind and I set out to figure what the hell was generating its responses

Learn to fine-tune GPT-2 models and have a blast running 30+ subreddit parody bots on r/SubSimGPT2Interactive, including some that generate weird surreal imagery from post titles using VQGAN+CLIP

Have nagging concerns about the industry that produced these toys, start following Timnit Gebru

Begin to sense that something is going wrong when DALLE-2 comes out, clearly targeted at eliminating creative jobs in the bland corporate illustration market. Later, become more disturbed by Stable Diffusion making this, and many much worse things, possible, at massive scale

Try to do something about it by developing one of the first "AI Art" detection tools, intended for use by moderators of subreddits where such content is unwelcome. Get all of my accounts banned from Reddit immediately thereafter

Am dismayed by the viral release of ChatGPT, essentially the same thing as DALLE-2 but text

Grudgingly attempt to see what the fuss is about and install Github Copilot in VSCode. Waste hours of my time debugging code suggestions that turn out to be wrong in subtle, hard-to-spot ways. Switch to using Bing Copilot for "how-to" questions because at least it cites sources and lets me click through to the StackExchange post where the human provided the explanation I need. Admit the thing can be moderately useful and not just a fun dadaist shitposting machine. Have major FOMO about never capitalizing on my early adopter status in any money-making way

Get pissed off by Microsoft's plans to shove Copilot into every nook and cranny of Windows and Office; casually turn on the Opympics and get bombarded by ads for Gemini and whatever the fuck it is Meta is selling

Start looking for an alternative to Edge despite it being the best-performing web browser by many metrics, as well as despite my history with "AI" and OK-ish experience with Copilot. Horrified to find that Mozilla and Brave are doing the exact same thing

Install Vivaldi, then realize that the Internet it provides access to is dead and enshittified anyway

Daydream about never touching a computer again despite my livelihood depending on it

The irony is companies are being forced to implement it. Like our board has told us we must have "AI in our product.". It's literally a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist.

Who knew that new technologies that are great for businesses' bottom lines wouldn't also be great for consumer satisfaction.

Say it ain't so.

Who cares about consumers inject more venture capital funds pls.

In your own words, tell me why you're calling today.

My medication is in the wrong dosage.

You need to refill your medication is that right?

No, my medication is in the wrong dosage, it's supposed to be tens and it came as 20s.

You need to change the pharmacy where you're picking up your medication?

I need to speak to a human please.

I understand that you want to speak to an agent, is that right?

Yes.

Chorus, 5x. (Please give me your group number, or dial it in at the keypad. For this letter press that number for that letter press this number. No I'm driving, just connect me with an agent so I can verify over the phone)

I'm sorry, I can't verify your identity please collect all your paperwork and try calling again. Click

Why ever would we be mad?

Developer: Am I out of touch?

No, it's the consumers who are wrong.

Absolutely, I was pretty upset when Google added Gemini to their Messages app, then excited when the button (that you can't remove) was removed! Now I've updated Messages again and they brought the button back. Why would you ever need an LLM in a texting app?

Edit: and also Snapchat, Instagram, and any other social media app they're shoveling an AI chat bot into for no reason

Edit 2: AND GOOGLE TELLING ME "Try out Gemini!" EVERY TIME I USE GOOGLE ASSISTANT ON MY PHONE!!!!!