Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by lp0_on_fire 165 days ago
If someone who has serious mental issues walks into a place of business and a real live employee _consistently_ and _repeatedly_ encourages the mental delusions _to the point this mentally ill person kills themselves and another person_ I bet you'd be singing a different tune.
2 comments
mtmickush 165 days ago
I think there's a difference between a single individual causing another harm and a product which also provides massive benefits causing harm.

It seems similar to Waymo which has a fairly consistent track record of improved safety over human drivers. If it ever causes a fatality in the future I'm not sure it would be a fair comparison to say we should ban it even though I'd want to be fairly harsh for a single individual causing a fatality.

We should work to improve these products to minimize harm along with investigating to understand how widespread the harm is, but immediately jumping to banning might also be causing more harm than good.

link
TheSkyHasEyes 165 days ago
Yup. The poster above would have a difference in opinion if it happened to someone close to them. It takes a village even with AI.
link
ares623 165 days ago
Don’t take away my coding machine away from me please.
link
bongodongobob 165 days ago
Nope. I live in the Midwest and have had more than a handful of friends die from drugs and alcohol. I don't think the rest of the population should have their freedoms taken away because of it. Bad things happen and blaming a drug/substance/tech for it is lazy.
link
lp0_on_fire 165 days ago
You are making the exact argument the tobacco companies made when they were called to account for their nonsense which essentially boiled down to “It’s not our fault people choose to smoke”. This was after they spent decades hiding adverse effects and telling people it was _actually good for them.

To be clear, I am not blaming the tech. I am blaming the people designing it who are well aware of the flaws/dangers but are doing little to nothing to mitigate that because it would affect their bottom line.

And I want those people held accountable for their reckless negligence.

link
bongodongobob 165 days ago
Yeah, I know. And I disagree with you. Tobacco companies should be allowed to advertise. Cocaine shouldn't put you in jail.
link