Artificial Intelligence and the Post Truth Era

Beyond that, when this technology becomes indistinguishable from reality on an even grander scale (incorporated seamlessly with virtual reality) what is going to stop people from believing we are actually in the matrix? Not trying to be conspiritorial here, but if (when) we develop the tech to enter into a different reality indistinguishable from our own people are going to disconnect completely because they won't know whats real and whats fake even within their own experience. Hard to say how quickly we could get to that point because this tech advances exponentially. The difference between 2 years ago and now will seem like child's play 2 years in the future. 

 
teachercd said:
I was not alive when the calculator became something we used all the time but I am guessing there was a lot of "Now no one will learn math" gripes, and all that has happened is we have built more amazing plans, cars, roads, buildings and so on, all while using math.

I remember when the internet came out and we were told things like "Well, you think you will always just be able to look things up on your computer, you NEED to know how to use the Dewey Decimal System!"

I was not around when the first remote controls came out but I am guessing there was a lot of "What...are you that lazy that you can't get up and change the station???"

I think it is fair to argue that "things were better back in ______" And somethings were better.  I can also remember my mom having to hurry to the bank on Friday to get money out for the weekend because it was have cash or write a check.  There were no ATMs.

There will be negatives with AI and there will be positives.  The intent of AI is not to hurt, just like the intent of the car is not to hurt, but there will be things that get hurt but for the most part things will be net-positive.  
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There are also examples of socially corrosive technological advancements that seemed not harmful at the time of creation. The development of plastics come to mind. Just because it was invented to make our lives better doesn't mean it will be a net positive on society. There are many examples of technologies that were deemed dangerous at the time yet helped advance our society to a better place. But that doesn't mean we can expect all technological advancements to be a net positive on society because other non related advancements were. We have to see what the actual impact is. Its also important to consider the potential drawbacks or negatives of any technology in order to improve on its safety and effectiveness in helping our society. Cars didn't start off with seat belts. They were very dangerous but over time, these dangers and issues people had were resolved through more innovation. Letting technology advance unchecked by guardrails can absolutely lead to dangerous and harmful outcomes.

 
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teachercd said:
I was not alive when the calculator became something we used all the time but I am guessing there was a lot of "Now no one will learn math" gripes, and all that has happened is we have built more amazing plans, cars, roads, buildings and so on, all while using math.

I remember when the internet came out and we were told things like "Well, you think you will always just be able to look things up on your computer, you NEED to know how to use the Dewey Decimal System!"

I was not around when the first remote controls came out but I am guessing there was a lot of "What...are you that lazy that you can't get up and change the station???"

I think it is fair to argue that "things were better back in ______" And somethings were better.  I can also remember my mom having to hurry to the bank on Friday to get money out for the weekend because it was have cash or write a check.  There were no ATMs.

There will be negatives with AI and there will be positives.  The intent of AI is not to hurt, just like the intent of the car is not to hurt, but there will be things that get hurt but for the most part things will be net-positive.  
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The intent of new technologies is never to hurt. We’ll learn how to deal with it.

I was around for all the things you mentioned. I don’t recall the internet ever being cautioned as a big problem. Everyone seemed pretty excited about the possibilities. Remotes also weren’t a feared thing. Saved a lot of kids from being the remote control for their parents. There definitely were some concerns about calculators being used instead of old fashioned math. People are worse at math as a result but they’ve been a net positive.

I’m not so sure AI will be a net positive. Heck, smartphones are awesome and I wouldn’t want to live without them but it’s pretty clear they’ve been a net negative. They are maybe the most useful tool we have (much like how you use AI to perform tasks for you) but the trade off has been people that struggle to effectively communicate in person, addiction and obsession, loss of privacy, etc. 

I’m not saying “the sky is falling” but there definitely are going to be serious problems with people being unable to discern fact from fiction. That’s already a problem so it’s not limited to being blamed on AI but AI will exacerbate it.

 
I was teaching when the internet started, in schools, and it was a big "the sky is falling" moment in education.  We literally had meetings about "what to do with this internet stuff", we now have meetings about "what to do with AI"

I guess plastics are bad if you are an enviro-bro, I am not.  I also don't use plastic water bottles at all, so maybe I am an enviro-bro.  I also never through out my older plastic containers.

My god...it appears I DO love the environment and I might be a hoarder.  

 
teachercd said:
I was teaching when the internet started, in schools, and it was a big "the sky is falling" moment in education.  We literally had meetings about "what to do with this internet stuff", we now have meetings about "what to do with AI"

I guess plastics are bad if you are an enviro-bro, I am not.  I also don't use plastic water bottles at all, so maybe I am an enviro-bro.  I also never through out my older plastic containers.

My god...it appears I DO love the environment and I might be a hoarder.  
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What is beneficial about plastics vs other types of packaging other than cost? There are microplastics in all of our brains now because of its creation as well. I'd say its impact is beyond envirobros. Its generally considered subpar to everything made with other materials. Its not entirely bad I'd say because there are so many different kinds and some are used for very specialized purposes, but overall I think most people can argue they are a net negative on society.

AI has a potential to go either way at this point I would say. There are amazing things that can be accomplished with this technology, but it can also be incredibly dangerous. Much more so than things like calculators or the internet and in a vastly different way than things like cars and planes. We are entering uncharted territory here and much is yet to be determined. 

 
teachercd said:
I was teaching when the internet started, in schools, and it was a big "the sky is falling" moment in education.  We literally had meetings about "what to do with this internet stuff", we now have meetings about "what to do with AI"

I guess plastics are bad if you are an enviro-bro, I am not.  I also don't use plastic water bottles at all, so maybe I am an enviro-bro.  I also never through out my older plastic containers.

My god...it appears I DO love the environment and I might be a hoarder.  
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Hidden video of teach….

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Nebfanatic said:
What is beneficial about plastics vs other types of packaging other than cost? There are microplastics in all of our brains now because of its creation as well. I'd say its impact is beyond envirobros. Its generally considered subpar to everything made with other materials. Its not entirely bad I'd say because there are so many different kinds and some are used for very specialized purposes, but overall I think most people can argue they are a net negative on society.

AI has a potential to go either way at this point I would say. There are amazing things that can be accomplished with this technology, but it can also be incredibly dangerous. Much more so than things like calculators or the internet and in a vastly different way than things like cars and planes. We are entering uncharted territory here and much is yet to be determined. 
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Dude, you hate plastic, I get it.  

As far as something being more dangerous than the internet?  Every school shooter in the last 20 years has had searches on the internet about killing and school shootings.  (Okay, maybe not everyone, but almost all of them)

 
Nebfanatic said:
What is beneficial about plastics vs other types of packaging other than cost? There are microplastics in all of our brains now because of its creation as well. I'd say its impact is beyond envirobros. Its generally considered subpar to everything made with other materials. Its not entirely bad I'd say because there are so many different kinds and some are used for very specialized purposes, but overall I think most people can argue they are a net negative on society.
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You just talking packaging, or literally everything you interact with? Because to argue plastic overall have been a net negative for society would be more than foolish.

 
teachercd said:
I was teaching when the internet started, in schools, and it was a big "the sky is falling" moment in education.  We literally had meetings about "what to do with this internet stuff", we now have meetings about "what to do with AI"

I guess plastics are bad if you are an enviro-bro, I am not.  I also don't use plastic water bottles at all, so maybe I am an enviro-bro.  I also never through out my older plastic containers.

My god...it appears I DO love the environment and I might be a hoarder.  
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I’m sure it is much different in schools/teaching than with my type of work. So far I have basically ignored AI as I don’t yet see any benefit for my business.

I have used AI for only 3 specific things. I’ve tried to use it help write a wedding speech/toast because I am absolutely horrible with public speaking. I’m still not at all happy with what it has provided, probably because I don’t really know how to use it effectively.  And I’ve used it to generate images of a couple DnD characters. No, I am not a nerd but I did agree to try DnD in a group with my kids. Had a lot of success with getting images based on my written descriptions. But I haven’t used it even once for anything work related and I doubt I ever will.

 
ZRod said:
You just talking packaging, or literally everything you interact with? Because to argue plastic overall have been a net negative for society would be more than foolish.
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How would it be more than foolish? We are trading short term convenience for forever consequences. This stuff is in all of our brains. There are islands of the stuff floating in our oceans. In less than 200 years we have done more irreversible damage with plastic than with any other material in human history combined. What makes it a net positive? 

I dont want to torpedo the thread in the wrong direction. I think plastics are an incredible innovation that have been recklessly implemented causing a wide variety of unforseen and permanent harms. 

 
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JJ Husker said:
I’m sure it is much different in schools/teaching than with my type of work. So far I have basically ignored AI as I don’t yet see any benefit for my business.

I have used AI for only 3 specific things. I’ve tried to use it help write a wedding speech/toast because I am absolutely horrible with public speaking. I’m still not at all happy with what it has provided, probably because I don’t really know how to use it effectively.  And I’ve used it to generate images of a couple DnD characters. No, I am not a nerd but I did agree to try DnD in a group with my kids. Had a lot of success with getting images based on my written descriptions. But I haven’t used it even once for anything work related and I doubt I ever will.
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As a former DnDer...when your 40th level Knight dies in a battle..DO NOT KILL YOURSELF.  It will be okay...

But it will f#&%ing hurt!

 
teachercd said:
As a former DnDer...when your 40th level Knight dies in a battle..DO NOT KILL YOURSELF.  It will be okay...

But it will f#&%ing hurt!
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It’s not really my thing. I like playing the game with family but otherwise apparently I am not a big fan of role playing games without hard and fast rules. We also struggle with any coop games. We’re all too cutthroat. We’ve only done two sessions so maybe it will grow on me.

Developing the character backstory was fun.  I went with a half orc that is basically just a stupid but heroic Hulk smash womanizing type. My AI generated image looks a lot like Jason Momoa 🤣 

 
Nebfanatic said:
How would it be more than foolish? We are trading short term convenience for forever consequences. This stuff is in all of our brains. There are islands of the stuff floating in our oceans. In less than 200 years we have done more irreversible damage with plastic than with any other material in human history combined. What makes it a net positive? 

I dont want to torpedo the thread in the wrong direction. I think plastics are an incredible innovation that have been recklessly implemented causing a wide variety of unforseen and permanent harms. 
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You're entire modern existence is because of plastics. It's the reason why things are cheap and productivity goes up. The problem isn't plastic it's lazy a$$ people and corporations not doing the right thing when disposing of them. And not all plastics are part of the forever chemical health problems.

 
ZRod said:
You're entire modern existence is because of plastics. It's the reason why things are cheap and productivity goes up. The problem isn't plastic it's lazy a$$ people and corporations not doing the right thing when disposing of them. And not all plastics are part of the forever chemical health problems.
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I would completely agree. Plastics have made alot of things possible in the medical field and allow for much better access to water around the world. Reckless use of the technology is more of a problem than the technology itself and it has been extremely beneficial to society. I'd say the same can be true of AI going forward as with most true innovations I suppose.

 
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