[everdrive]

It's incredibly depressing that the concept of "bias" has been shrunken down to solely mean "bad attitudes about an ethnic or gender ground" (and perhaps on the right, "bad attitudes about conservatives")

Bias could mean so, so many other things. Was the amyloid hypothesis incorrect? How should we use semicolons? How do you know when meetings waste more time than not? etc. People understand the world via mental shortcuts, via theory-rather-than-fact. We're stuck doing this because we're limited in so many ways. We are so biased about so many things, and this could interact in so many interesting ways. But damned if anyone cares about that. The only thing they seem to care about is how you feel about the "right" or "wrong" groups of people. It's a catastrophic waste of time and energy.

[krapp]

It's incredibly depressing that you believe arguing about semicolons is more important than argument about human beings, power hierarchies, prejudice and the way these are encoded and expressed by the systems we create and use to influence and control society, but I guess it takes all kinds.

[everdrive]

In general, people who complain about power hierarchies do not want an end to hierarchies. They just want the hierarchies to be reshuffled so that they are the ones on top. There are exceptions, there are certainly true believers, but for the most part it's just another tired power grab by another name.

[krapp]

So to be clear, you believe that Timnit Gebru doesn't actually believe anything she claims, that she just wants power? Just for herself? For women? For black people? Are all black people and women involved in this conspiracy of lies? All leftists? Only black women who criticize the systemic bias in AI?

Help me - clearly you understand the truth of the matter far more than those of us who are apparently wasting our time discussing the matter rather than blithely dismissing it. How exactly can you tell that she's a liar who doesn't actually want to end hierarchies? Help us to be as discerning as you are.

[morpheos137]

its incredibly depressing ostensibly intelligent people get depressed about others having different points of view or set up fallacies of the excluded middle / xor fallacies where not warranted.

[krapp]

They aren't expressing a point of view, they're engaging in lazy performative cynicism. It's incredibly depressing so few people here can tell the difference.

[morpheos137]

kinda meta lol but my incredible depression was performatively cynical.