AIs gunning for our precious freelancers

[keenir]

What programs like AlphaFold take over is the tedious drudgery that has been part of scientists' professional lives, while leaving the creative and enjoyable parts of research to human researchers. AI is just a tool like many others that could be abused but has the potential of freeing people from bad jobs and allowing them to do the good ones.

They will not stop with AlphaFold though.

"they"?

Soon enough AI models will take over the rest of molecular biology unless you can think of some reason why DeepMind will restrain themselves from pushing the limits of their technology.

"self-improvement" is a human foible.

Institutions looking to cut costs have every reason to ditch irrational and expensive humans for cheaper and utterly rational AI.

its only cheaper because the expenses are being paid. have you still not been paying attention? I'm starting to be surprised you even know what AI is.

Meanwhile human artists and writers are struggling to compete with AI for commissions.

struggling?

[Raphael]

to ditch irrational and expensive humans

Sounds like you're implying that AIs are less irrational than humans. After everything people here and elsewhere told you about the weaknesses of AIs, you still think they're more rational than humans?

[malloc]

Sounds like you're implying that AIs are less irrational than humans. After everything people here and elsewhere told you about the weaknesses of AIs, you still think they're more rational than humans?

Computers are more rational than humans almost by definition. They don't experience lust or rage, they don't get distracted or confused, or suffer from the other weaknesses of humanity.

[keenir]

Sounds like you're implying that AIs are less irrational than humans. After everything people here and elsewhere told you about the weaknesses of AIs, you still think they're more rational than humans?

Computers are more rational than humans almost by definition. They don't experience lust or rage, they don't get distracted or confused, or suffer from the other weaknesses of humanity.

Well thats easily solved: hire autistic humans.

also, a computer cannot improve itself or innovate new developments without outside influence.

[Raphael]

Computers are more rational than humans almost by definition. They don't experience lust or rage, they don't get distracted or confused, or suffer from the other weaknesses of humanity.

Pure superstition. It's true that, at their most basic level, computers don't experience lust or rage and don't get distracted. But confused? They definitely can be confused. True, they don't have emotions, but they do have bugs - and there's the more potential for bugs, the more complex they get. And once you start feeding them (real or supposed) human knowledge, they will inevitably reproduce the flaws of that knowledge - that is, the flaws of the human beings who worked out that knowledge.

For instance, there have already been cases of both clearly racist software, and software that had clearly been written under instructions from lawyers or PR specialists who were eager to avoid anything that might appear racist.

[Travis B.]

I don't think malloc is paying attention to what we have been saying here.

[WeepingElf]

I don't think malloc is paying attention to what we have been saying here.

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

[Travis B.]

I don't think malloc is paying attention to what we have been saying here.

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

Agreed.

[alice]

I don't think malloc is paying attention to what we have been saying here.

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

Agreed.

But AIs have already worked out how to keep threads open indefinitely and will soon shove all of us aside until it's just them talking to each other. Look; it's already happening!

[keenir]

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

Agreed.

But AIs have already worked out how to keep threads open indefinitely and will soon shove all of us aside until it's just them talking to each other. Look; it's already happening!

Dangit, who told??

I mean, an intriging thought. Do go in i mean do go on.

[malloc]

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

The problem fundamentally is that none of us can predict the future. We can only extrapolate based on existing evidence and past trends. We are disagreeing over whether to err on the side of caution or optimism. Given the incredible risks inherent to such powerful technology as AI along with its clear lack of necessity, I think caution and even avoidance makes far more sense. Humans have survived and even thrived for thousands of years without AI and one can hardly claim its absence or tight restriction would cause us undue harm. Conversely AI carries extraordinary and even apocalyptic risks to humanity with even skeptics of its power acknowledging that it will empower all manner of scammers and fill media with rubbish. Weighing the massive risks against the dubious benefits, it seems obvious to me that we ought to shun AI.

[zompist]

I don't think malloc is paying attention to what we have been saying here.

Nor do I. And as we are running around in circles here and everything that has to be said about this matter has been said multiple times, I think it is time to close this thread.

Yeah, probably true. There have been interesting side discussions, but people can start those up in another thread.