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by dgxyz 68 days ago
I’m at the fucking loom smashing stage personally.

We don’t have to accept things.

2 comments

I hear you, but let me point out that Ned Ludd didn't stop the industrial revolution.

I think in the foreseeable future we have open models running on commonly available hardware, and that is not a change that can be stopped (and arguably it's the commons getting back their own value). What we can do is fight for proper taxation, for compensatory fees, for regulation that limits plagiarism, for regulation of the most extreme externalities.

But it makes no sense, to me, to fight the technology tout court.

How long can you afford to stay in this phase? Is there some framework you can suggest where this path works?
My existence is defined not but what I adopted but what I sabotaged or refused to deal with. 30 years in I haven't made a mistake and I don't think I am making one here. The positive bets I made have been spot on as well. I think I have a handle on what works for society and humanity at least.

When I say AI, I mean specifically LLMs. There isn't a single future position where all the risks are suitably managed, there is a return of investment and there is not a net loss to society. Faith, hope, lies, fraud and inflated expectations don't cut it and that is what the whole shebang is built on. On top of that, we are entering a time of serious geopolitical instability. Creating more dependencies on large amounts of capital and regional control is totally unacceptable and puts us all at risk.

My integrity is worth more than sucking this teat.

When you say sabotage, how exactly?

Or is it limited to refusal to use LLM, which is a strategy, but more like becoming a hobbyist programmer then.

Well it's mostly making sure the risks are properly traded off with suitable demonstrations.
I guess a long way from "fucking loom smashing" then. Makes this whole thread moot.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

— George Bernard Shaw

The antidote to runaway hype is for someone to push back, not to just relent and accept your fate. Who cares about affording to. We need more people with ideals stronger than the desire to make a lot of money.

Sure, hype pushback is fine.