You know how in the early 1900s, radium was discovered and people started putting it into a bunch of random products that were marketed as having any number of magical or healing properties because "ooooo cool it glows" and because radioactivity was such a new concept that no one understood the danger? Or how asbestos was used in like, everything for a while?
This is what generative AI is like, but for the service economy. Future generations are going to treat this shit like toxic waste.
It's not that I think generative AI systems shouldn't ever be used. I just think they should be treated in the same way that strong radiation sources are: limited to highly regulated environments where only trained professionals with adequate PPE are allowed to interact with them.
If you want to use a LLM, that's fine, but you need to have a dozen certifications and be in a metaphorical hazmat suit to do it.
And to be clear, I don't view gen AI as hazardous in the way the hype masters like to talk about it. I don't think it's going to become sentient or whatever and turn everyone into paperclips or become Skynet.
The danger is very similar to radiological sources, in that it's cumulative, related to exposure, and its effects are degrading in nature. The more someone interacts and uses one of these AI systems, the more likely it becomes that it will fuck them up and reduce anything of value to slop.
Mallory's Musings & Mischief
in reply to Mallory's Musings & Mischief • • •You know how in the early 1900s, radium was discovered and people started putting it into a bunch of random products that were marketed as having any number of magical or healing properties because "ooooo cool it glows" and because radioactivity was such a new concept that no one understood the danger? Or how asbestos was used in like, everything for a while?
This is what generative AI is like, but for the service economy. Future generations are going to treat this shit like toxic waste.
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Mallory's Musings & Mischief
in reply to Mallory's Musings & Mischief • • •It's not that I think generative AI systems shouldn't ever be used. I just think they should be treated in the same way that strong radiation sources are: limited to highly regulated environments where only trained professionals with adequate PPE are allowed to interact with them.
If you want to use a LLM, that's fine, but you need to have a dozen certifications and be in a metaphorical hazmat suit to do it.
Mallory's Musings & Mischief
in reply to Mallory's Musings & Mischief • • •And to be clear, I don't view gen AI as hazardous in the way the hype masters like to talk about it. I don't think it's going to become sentient or whatever and turn everyone into paperclips or become Skynet.
The danger is very similar to radiological sources, in that it's cumulative, related to exposure, and its effects are degrading in nature. The more someone interacts and uses one of these AI systems, the more likely it becomes that it will fuck them up and reduce anything of value to slop.