Discussion
“AI” boosters calling themselves “AI critics” or claiming to be critical of the technology seems to be such a common thing to do.
No doubt they believe it themselves, but what’s worrying is that so many people concerned about the tech then accept their position unexamined and assume anything more critical is unfounded extremism
It’s frustrating to watch so many fall for this
and having that label get widely accepted as true
@baldur It's a cult and it works exactly like one. And in difficult times, more people search for simple answers and gurus.
My fear is that more and more people will loose their ability to think for themselves. The fascist techbros like that.
We can hardly fight cultists. But we can fight for those who are still using their brain. And for democracy.
@baldur it's the old goalpost moving strategy of "the truth must be somewhere in the middle". The rational big boy desire to be "the voice of reason". Compromise itself is seen as wisdom and virtue regardless of what the actual points being compromised towards
@VileLasagna @baldur This applies to so many arguments/topics nowadays 😞 It's like some people aren't willing to take a proper stand over anything.
@baldur I wonder how many of those people are actually boosters?
There's something like Nuremberg Defense in disguise going on. Like "I don't like this AI thing because it's bad for $longListOfReasons, but I have to use it at work."
The initial "superior order" came from AI mandates. Now they're coming from a "choice" between using AI or losing employment.
@elricofmelnibone The people I have in mind are independent—freelancers and the like. They have no mandate and keep talking about the useful possibilities of the tech while hand-waving the issues. They then turn around, call themselves “critical” and their readers all repeat the label
@baldur Yeah that's pretty bad.
I'm ending my current freelance contract in part because the AI mandates are trickling down to me. That and the general organizational dysfunction at my current gig. I have to admit that I'm very worried about finding new clients, because clearly the software dev market is an absolute shitshow at the moment.
Anybody who is constantly trying to find a middle ground between personal benefit on the one hand and horrendous ethical and environmental violations on the other while a financial crisis bubbles in the background, is a fence sitter at best. Calling them critical is a ridiculous statement
I just call them fascists.
@baldur assuming you realize your criterion applies to literally everyone including you (unless you live in some peaceful socialist vegan cruelty-free car-free paradise, don't use social networ... oops, it applies to you for sure). Because, you know, problems didn't start when y'all became overfocused on one aspect. Nor are you not complicit. You just decided where to draw the line and declared everything behind it horrendous to be able to claim superiority.
@baldur Sitting on the fence is what they tell themselves to sleep at night.
In reality, they are supporters who don't want to be seen as not giving a shit about anything. There is nothing to weigh.
Remember Upton Sinclair:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”
@baldur That's Cory Doctorow. I want to warn people that he loves being seen as an "AI critic" but he loves his LLM for typo checking! 🙃🙃🙃
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@baldur it's not unlike how political centrists / center-right people describe themselves as being "on the left", to erase and invalidate everyone to their left and establish a new framing wherein their cynical hopeless nothingburger ideology is some sort of valuable corrective.