25+ yr Java/JS dev
Linux novice - running Ubuntu (no windows/mac)

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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: October 14th, 2024

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  • Not sure who you’re used to dealing with, but I use AI all the time — damn near every day — and have done for 6 years. I’ve written a discord AI dungeon master. I’ve written hundreds perhaps over a thousand short stories often starting from a scenario I’ve written and watched them all play out time and again. I know LLMs inside and out. I’ve jailbroken them to see how far they can be pushed in terms of violence, evil, and intimacy.

    I’m no professional author to be sure, but because I lack the knack for storytelling, not because I don’t understand the craft. So I understand the tools pretty well, and I can tell when they are poorly employed.

    And I’m irritated because I 100% can tell, and I wish you were right.



  • First, I rarely am fully self-confident about factual matters. I’ve been around the block a few times but I can’t possibly have experienced everything from every perspective or maybe there’s an unspoken assumption that another person has that differs from mine. I see that in a lot of code discussions. You have to do this or that is always bad, but they just work in a different industry and what has been true every single time for them has never been true for me.

    Second, I never block anyone just because they disagree. I block them because they are being an asshole about it or maybe because I’m emotionally compromised and need to prevent myself from engaging with them. On Bluesky I’ve created a timeout block list I throw people in when it’s me and not them, and I clear it out every so often.

    Anyway, sometimes it’s just not fruitful or pleasant to talk with some people even if they are good people. I wish Lemmy had something I could use as a timeout like named block lists or block reasons. I don’t know who is a spammer, who is an asshole, or who was just on the other side of an issue or post I needed some distance from.

    I’ve blocked a couple of people who just wanted to harp on one thing ask day every day and even though I agreed with them or at least didn’t hate them I needed to block them for my blood pressure. I’m not letting any of you fuckers give me a heart attack in the name of civil discourse.

    But also, it is doing everyone a favor. I am an AI enthusiast / realist, which means a lot of people who just hate everything AI probably have me blocked. And that’s a good thing for us because we aren’t constantly bickering about it, but also good for the community because no one really likes to watch people constantly argue, no matter how considerately.



  • I remain hopeful that interest will drop in AI generated products because the quality just isn’t there. You can tell the voices aren’t right, the pictures are soulless, the prose is stilled and often self-contradictory. I think people will respond negatively to that.

    But how long it will take for that to be clear to CEOs and CFOs, I don’t know, and lives are being destroyed in the meanwhile. I think AI is a good tool, but I don’t know how to keep it as a tool but prevent amateurs from thinking the output is professional level when any professional will tell you it isn’t.

    I’ve generated a lot of text — mostly code and fiction. I’ve seen AI write some really good phrases I’d never have thought of. But I’ve never seen it generate so much as half a page before it writes something that requires editing. If you don’t write like 90% of a thing, its voice takes over and everything sounds terrible and flat even if you keep it from making factual errors.

    And even the great bits require context or it won’t have any impact. AI is god awful at artistry. Sometimes I’ll ask it to analyze something I’ve written and it always wants to rewrite the bits that have style or panache and replace them with the most generic crap. I’m a terrible visual artist but I’m going to assume it does the same thing with image generation.




  • It is. I’ve cautiously broached it with a lot of skeptical openness and the sycophancy is really going to harm people. It’s like going to AITA or relationshipadvice — it’s going to tell you that you are completely justified and should get a divorce, stand up to your boss, do the self-righteous thing, etc.

    And that’s great, sometimes those are the answers. But other times maybe loneliness will be worse than accepting the other person. Maybe you aren’t being treated fairly at work but it beats being unemployed. Getting pumped up to storm in and demand satisfaction isn’t always the best way to handle things and sometimes we need a little more self-awareness and encouragement to look within ourselves for change.

    ChatGPT doesn’t get any of that because Reddit never got any of that (certainly not enough). And when folks blow up their lives, it’s not ChatGPT that will suffer.

    That being said, if you just want a sympathetic ear to listen and you take it like Charlie from work, who has never had a relationship last longer than a case of PBR, telling you to divorce that bitch — it can help people feel heard, help them voice and be aware of their feelings. In some cases it is better than nothing, but I think few people will approach it with the awareness to take the good and leave the bad.

    And that doesn’t even cover the privacy concerns. I wouldn’t want to be in a situation to have my ChatGPT history to be subpoenaed.





  • Mate, I don’t really care. I responded with the idea that you were frustrated in good faith and just struggling with a bout of well-intentioned 'tism. I’ve been there before so I could relate.

    Also, welcome to the internet has been cringe for over twenty years, and I’ve been here since social media was alt.rec.your.mom.

    Of course you got accused for defending Kirk because there is no fathomable point to your post other than being disagreeable. The qualitative difference between what was said and your correction is nil. You knew what would happen, your preemptive protestations did nothing but make it clear you knew what you were doing and chose violence. But somehow “Lemmy” is the problem and not your comment.

    Well, have it your way. I’m moving on.


  • I mean I’ve felt that way before, too. In my case, when I’m not on my ADHD meds, I’m truly a worthless person, contributing nothing at work, waiting around to get fired, etc. I also needed my wife and family to unlock my self-worth in other ways, but that’s a lot more personal and fraught. Maybe there is something that can unlock your worth however you choose to measure it. Good luck, bother.




  • I can’t know why you were downvoted. I generally don’t downvote and didn’t in this case. But were I to speculate…

    You pointed out a distinction without a difference. And the way you defended yourself preemptively makes you sound like you knew very well you were being pedantic and what the result would be. It doesn’t contribute anything of value to the conversation and leaves one with the impression you disagree it was outrageous to fire her — else why issue a meaningless “correction”?

    I don’t know why you did that, but I strongly suspect your downvotes are related to that thought-process.


  • Hey, friend. Just remember that broken trust speaks ill of them, not you. And as for a bad track record, I find that the most trusting people are also the most trustworthy. Right now that’s pretty much all I know about you, but it’s enough to believe you’re making the world around you better. I don’t think your problem is trust, but rather being in a position where broken trust leaves you in an untenable situation.

    I don’t know your reasons for hating yourself. Those belong to you. But whatever they are, whether they are valid or not, you don’t deserve hate. Hell, I wouldn’t waste my time hating anyone — hate has never solved a single problem. Give yourself some grace and room to make mistakes and improve. And then to stumble and do it again. We all have.

    No lie, part of life is just luck, and for that part I hope yours is good. But the rest of it is in your hands, and those sound like decent hands to be in.