alt Hacker News> AI makes people feel icky
Yes!
> it’s important for us to understand why we actually like or dislike something
Yes!
The primary reason we hate AI with a passion is that the companies behind it intentionally keep blurring the (now) super-sharp boundary between language use and thinking (and feeling). They actively exploit the -- natural, evolved -- inability of most people on Earth to distinguish language use from thinking and feeling. For the first time in the history of the human race, "talks entirely like a human" does not mean at all that it's a human. And instead of disabusing users from this -- natural, evolved, understandable -- mistake, these fucking companies double down on the delusion -- because it's addictive for users, and profitable for the companies.
The reason people feel icky about AI is that it talks like a human, but it's not human. No more explanation or rationalization is needed.
> so we can focus on any solutions
Sure; let's force all these companies by law to tune their models to sound distinctly non-human. Also enact strict laws that all AI-assisted output be conspicuously labeled as such. Do you think that will happen?
Replies
I believe that’s the main reason why you dislike AI, but I believe if you asked everyone who hated AI many would come up with different main reasons why they dislike it. I doubt that solution would work very well, even though it’s well intentioned. It’s too easy to work around it, especially with text. But at least it’s direct, as really my main point is we need to sidestep the emotional feelings we have about AI and actually present cold hard legal or moral arguments where they exist with specific changes requested or be dismissed as just hating it emotionally.
> They actively exploit the -- natural, evolved -- inability of most people on Earth to distinguish language use from thinking and feeling
Maybe this will force humans to raise their game, and start to exercise discrimination. Maybe education will change to emphasis this more. Ability to discern sense from pleasing rhetoric has always been a problem. Every politician and advertizer takes advantage of this. Reams of philosophy have been written on this problem.