[latexr]

> The fault is on me, to be clear, as LLMs are just a tool.

This is like blaming yourself for an addiction to alcohol, junk food, gambling, or something else you have been relentlessly advertised to.

Sure, some of it falls on you, but there are corporations with infinite money spending most of it to manipulate your psyche into wanting the thing, trusting the thing, feeling empty without the thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj4aRhHJOWU

[globular-toast]

Yeah, I used to be in the "it's your own fault, moron" school of thought. But as I've grown up I've seen all the ways people prey on the hopes and fears of others, and take advantage of the basic animal instincts in all of us.

I used to think obesity was self inflicted, for example. But then you notice how junk food companies are allowed to do whatever they want to get people hooked on their stuff. They can put up huge billboards, vending machines up a few metres from where you work, they even pump their smell out into the streets.

So let's not aim for a society where we blame victims of predatory marketing and carefully engineered addictive products. We all have weaknesses. Let's help each other out, not take advantage.

[senordevnyc]

Genuine question: for me as an individual, what is the utility of framing myself as a helpless victim rather than an actor with agency and responsibility for myself?

[latexr]

> Genuine question: (…) framing myself as a helpless victim

If you engage with the argument genuinely and steel man, you’ll see that is not what I said. I even emphasised it:

> some of it falls on you

You’re not a “helpless victim” but you’re also not fully to blame. Understanding that means understanding the problem and being more powerful to fix it. For example, if you’re addicted to TV or social media, you can make a concerted effort to improve your life by removing the problems at the external source (sell your TV, delete an account and app from your phone).