One of the things that is amazing about AI derangement syndrome is that when you call someone out for buying into that shit -- someone you've previously been on quite good terms with for decades -- their response to you saying, "hey, you should stop doing that, there is no ethical use of this tech" is a level of offense as if you have just fucked their cat.
Some of you probably know who I'm talking about. If not, you probably have examples yourselves.
@jwz I don't know how many IT folks talked about ethics when they were creating automation systems to replace factory workers, ecommerce sites to harm physical stores, social media algorithms to basically rip the social fabric, and mass surveillance systems.
I think it's too late for virtue signalling.
I am neutral toward AI development and use where needed and accept what it might bring in the future. The cat is already out of the box, and it's a rogue one.
@jwz For some reason there is also a large intersection for people suffering from AI derangement syndrome with people who are used to bullshit their way through life or believe every esoterical conspiracy.
@jwz me, an engineering manager trying to not succumb to the AI cult all around me. It's an existential crisis. I've been slow-walking and avoiding it, yet it is becoming central to my business.
If you haven't read the great, short book by Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone Around the World, there's an interesting parallel. He was a captain of merchant vessels in the age of sail, steamships replaced that technology quickly. He was older and could not, or would not adapt. That's the basis for the book, he decides to build a small sailing vessel by hand, himself, and use it to do some local trading in New England. It doesn't pan out, and eventually he says 'Fuck it, I'm going to sail alone around the world,' and he does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_Alone_Around_the_World
@jwz It probably didn’t help when I suggested the C-floor was infested with Tech Bros. They prefer to be called the new owners.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@jwz/116091612435973402
"were you abused", they asked, when I said "no I don't wish you be a drug dealer"
@jwz Human work derangement syndrome is when people talk down human work and praise machines, even though their job might be next on the chopping block.
@jwz Men...and it's always Men, who will stick up for Fancy Autocorrect more than they would a human being. Just yelling to the rest of us that they should be avoided, weird, lonely,...anti-Human creeps.....
@jwz
Oh boy, do I know what you're talking about.
@jwz Debates about AI can quickly turn personal because they touch on values, identity, and the future people envision. Strong reactions often reflect fear or deep conviction, not just the technology itself. Honest conversations work best when they stay respectful, even in disagreement.
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@jwz it's replacing our natural bond with other humans, our attachments... On top of the hijacking of attention and capacity to execute things we already know how to do. It's addictive, like an abusive relationship. It's a dangerous beast to the mind. And! And! And! I don't have to preach to this choir.
@jwz OK but first I need to know: DID you fuck their cat?
@jwz i can't tell you how many people are precisely this guy
@davidgerard It's really feeling like a contagion!
It's a cult or perhaps a religion.
Anyone questioning the irrational beliefs of the faithful are automatically heathen unbelievers and to be shunned.
@simonzerafa @davidgerard @jwz TESCREAL as a whole is *definitely* a religion—a very familiar looking one to those of us who weren't raised in any variety of Christianity but in another religion, and therefore get to observe Christian behaviour from outside. And I'm telling you the singularitarian/AI bros are just speedrunning the emergence of pre-Nicean Xtianity as a syncretistic evangelical faith (this time without Jesus/God but with the usual salvationist/AI uploading heaven bullshit).
@cstross @simonzerafa @davidgerard @jwz I would argue that it is very familiar looking one to those of us who *were* raised in any variety of Christianity…
@cstross @simonzerafa @davidgerard @jwz yeah, doesn't sound like a scam at all
@ehproque @cstross @simonzerafa @davidgerard @jwz Joel Osteen gave me a virus
@cstross @simonzerafa @jwz falling for the chatbot is not the same as TESCREAL (even as there's crossover). what would this one be?
@davidgerard @simonzerafa @jwz Cognitive bias reinforced by Christian doctrine centering around "souls" and mind/body dualism. I want to see a survey of chatbot believers enquiring into whether they believe in soul/afterlife/etc: I suspect there will be a broad tendency towards "yes" (so crediting chatbots as being a soul embodied in a machine).
@cstross @davidgerard @simonzerafa @jwz I was (sneer-)reading that rathbun post earlier and the twit literally has a `SOUL.md` for the prompt seed. as I remarked in the gc “that soul.md reads like shitty reddit advice to someone on the edge of a PUA community join-up”
the link, if you long to have a reason to bleach your eyes: https://crabby-rathbun.github.io/mjrathbun-website/blog/posts/rathbuns-operator.html
@cstross @jwz @davidgerard @simonzerafa The proselytizing Christian behavior is also there. They get ofended if you are not sharing their fate. My respectful, but not enthused reaction to their religious talk is answered with anger. In fact, my recent interaction with devout Christians were more chill
