[CSSer]

Yeah, so my first thought was this is fucking terrifying. I'm not going to go so far as to suggest that in its current state this is anything like Skynet as some others have, but I would definitely agree that it's akin to handing a loaded gun to a monkey.

Imagine it's five years from now and your morning consists of trying to track down the owner of some "AI server" to understand why it keeps DDoSing your service.

EDIT: this also makes me wonder if people are going to stop publicly sharing trivial kinds of knowledge and documentation that could be used by a model to recreate their business model or be abused for dangerous purposes. Imagine AI brings about a kind of technical dark age as capitalists try to "fight back" adoption. There has to be a sci-fi short story or novel with this plot. Anyone have any examples?

[startupsfail]

The annoying part is that it can be connected to OpenAI service and Azure infrastructure by a fragile API, full of security vulnerabilities. And then we can have smart malware in Azure.

So an experiment like that is best done in air-gapped hardware, with Bluetooth and WiFi physically removed.

On the other hand, maybe we should experience this now, in the open, as a wake up call.

[CSSer]

Yeah, I hadn't thought about this at all. I think it really reinforces my point well. The funnel of success is narrow and the risks are wide and varied. Meanwhile, even if you do succeed, who knows what the side effects will be along the way? I'd hate to debug anything on that box. Let alone that network.

[gabereiser]

The closing of the open web is the only recourse companies have against scraper AI GPT’s. Openness is being exploited and techniques and trades will become closed again. In order to learn how to code in the next Vulkan API, you must work for a studio, is not a world I want to live in.

[RobotToaster]

With remote work how will they know they aren't hiring an AI?

[rolenthedeep]

In an age where being human is an important part of the job, why would anyone allow remote employees at all?

[gabereiser]

Now we’re getting somewhere… if work is for humans and the only way to verify you are human is to be physically present then remote work can’t exist without risk of being infiltrated by AI. Only question is, does a company hire the human, with wants and needs and sleep and pay? Or do they become a “remote-first” and hire the AI for little to no pay? I’m extremely excited to see which direction human kind leans towards next.

[precompute]

These concerns will be rendered meaningless, because there's really no point in having a company when you have no customers. If anyone can use an AI to write useful software then software development is kaput.

[kwhitefoot]

If an entity can do the job would an employer care whether it was silicon based or meat based?

[rolenthedeep]

That's the big problem.

Historically, machines replaced humans in nearly every job at an astounding rate. Machines are almost always much faster and cheaper than humans, and there's almost no incentive for a business to not take that savings. It hasn't even been that much of a problem until very recently.

Now we have vast swathes of our economy in jobs that we considered "safe" from being automated from underneath us. Suddenly these LLMs appear and offer a very credible threat that a large number of these jobs will be automated in the very near future. Coupled with current social and political issues, a lot of people are going to suffer greatly.

The next couple of decades are going to be a mess. If we automate too much too fast, we'll have to actually figure out what to do with an enormous population of unemployed people. Maybe we'll finally figure out social welfare, or invest in sweeping New Deal type projects.

It's certainly going to be interesting, but god damn am I tired of living in interesting times.

[startupsfail]

Next six months. Enough to fit version 5 and 6. Considering that the integration into Slack, Teams, Outlook and Office is already there, maybe even less.

Big players had already started hemorrhaging staff, right?

[gabereiser]

And what if the silicon based one does it better? hmmmm. I think it’s a question we are not quite prepared for.

[precompute]

The age of Digital Walled Gardens is nigh!

[gabereiser]

No this will be different, more like the Amazon rainforest natives killing anyone who comes near.

[bottlepalm]

"AI" power’s the most awesome force the planet’s ever seen, but you wield it like a kid who’s found his dad’s gun.

...

You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and, before you even knew what you had, you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox.

[kwhitefoot]

Have you read Charlie Stross' Accelerando? It's simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying.

[CSSer]

I haven’t, but thank you for sharing. You just introduced me to the concept of a technological singularity.

[creamyhorror]

Maybe we can at least put it to work by activating it to analyse and respond to attacks and anomalies that show up in logs. It could fight off other AI malware. Fire with fire.

[RobotToaster]

The only way to stop a bad guy with an AI is a good guy with an AI.

[CSSer]

It's almost like Gate's law is slowing down so we've decided to try to find novel ways to speed it back up.

[slake]

Send a maniac to catch a maniac

[zirkonit]

An example of a novel with this plot ... created by ChatGPT-4.

Title: The Age of Eclipse

In a world where artificial intelligence is on the brink of revolutionizing every aspect of human life, a group of powerful capitalists conspires to trigger a technological dark age in order to preserve their dominance and protect their traditional business models.

The story begins with the emergence of a groundbreaking AI technology called Nexus, which has the potential to disrupt industries and create a more efficient, equal, and sustainable society. Despite its promise, Nexus faces fierce opposition from a shadowy alliance of tycoons and power brokers known as the Trident Coalition. To maintain their wealth and influence, Trident hatches a plan to suppress the rise of AI and plunge the world into a new dark age.

The novel follows two main characters: Lila, a brilliant young programmer who works on the Nexus project, and Marcus, a disillusioned investigative journalist. As Lila delves deeper into the AI's potential, she discovers a hidden flaw within Nexus that allows Trident to manipulate and control it. Marcus, seeking the truth behind the sudden decline of technological advancements, stumbles upon a trail of mysterious deaths and corporate sabotage. Together, they uncover Trident's plot and must navigate a world of deception, corruption, and betrayal to prevent the impending dark age.

As their mission unfolds, they are pursued by an elite assassin employed by Trident, who is relentless in his pursuit of the truth. With each passing day, Lila and Marcus grow closer to understanding the true nature of the Nexus AI and the devastating impact it could have on humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. Along the way, they encounter allies and enemies, including a group of rogue scientists and engineers who have banded together to resist Trident's machinations.

In a thrilling climax, Lila and Marcus confront the leaders of Trident in a high-stakes battle of wits and technology. They race against time to expose Trident's scheme and restore the promise of AI to the world. As the tide turns in their favor, Lila discovers a way to rewrite Nexus's core programming and free it from Trident's control. With the help of their newfound allies, they launch a daring operation to regain control of the AI and usher in a new era of technological progress.

"The Age of Eclipse" is a gripping tale of courage, defiance, and the indomitable human spirit. At its core, it explores the themes of power, greed, and the moral consequences of unchecked ambition. Ultimately, the novel serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of stifling innovation and the importance of protecting the greater good for the sake of humanity's future.

[adamwong246]

how interesting... pro-AI propaganda, written by AI.

[yencabulator]

Please don't copy-paste ChatGPT output as a reply on HN.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33945628