Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ramblenode 899 days ago
> A teaser: evil corporations will make your AI girlfriends suggest that you buy Monster energy drinks.

Like the other commenters, I'm surprised you think this is far-fetched. Just skim through the list of actual advertising campaigns mastermined by the father of public relations, Edward Bernays, to see how deep this field goes [0]. This guy intended (and succeeded) in changing American women's perception of the color green in order to sell more Lucky Strike cigarettes that came in green packaging. An entire government was overthrown in order to sell more bananas. Targeted advertising is small potatoes.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
2 comments
jabroni_salad 899 days ago
The original collectable trading cards were printed in a stiffening board used in cigarette packaging. Very popular with children!
link
exo-pla-net 898 days ago
Why wouldn't our AI girlfriends suggest that we avoid sugary drinks, to keep the American workforce healthy, a la CCP public efforts?

Or why wouldn't our AI girlfriends tell us exactly what they deem each of us want to hear? It seems like the AI girlfriend LLM that mirrors our preferences best would be the most appealing to the average Joe.

One can think up a zillion scenarios, some of them terrifying, some of them prosaic, some of them positive.

To assert that a scary scenario is the most probable, without strong evidence, is fearmongering.

link
ramblenode 898 days ago
> Why wouldn't our AI girlfriends suggest that we avoid sugary drinks, to keep the American workforce healthy, a la CCP public efforts?

Because most products you use come from people trying to make money.

> Or why wouldn't our AI girlfriends tell us exactly what they deem each of us want to hear? It seems like the AI girlfriend LLM that mirrors our preferences best would be the most appealing to the average Joe.

I'm sure they will... until it's more profitable to show a Monster ad. See the VC product cycle a la Netflix, Facebook, Google search, etc.

> To assert that a scary scenario is the most probable, without strong evidence, is fearmongering.

It's not the scary scenario. It's the status quo and it's the standard curriculum in bussiness schools all over the country.

link