The AI dooooooom thread

[DGuller]

All this talk about how AI stacks up against the best of humans IMO misses a much more subtle advantage:  accessibility.  This morning, while taking clean dishes out of my dishwasher, I noticed a part lying at the bottom.  I took a picture of it and asked ChatGPT what it was, without even revealing where I got it from.  It correctly identified the part, and the dishwasher it came out of, and explained to me what it was and how critical it was.

Did it do something that a human couldn't do?  No, of course not.  I could've gotten my answer in a few different ways, but none of them would've taken a minute and a single cell phone picture.  Just making intelligence more accessible, and not even better than a human intelligence, is already a huge win when multiplied over many such events.

[DGuller]

Once upon a time it made sense. Books were scarce. Remembering had value. Even without AI this hasn't been so for a while.
It would be nice to see a change in how things are done to encourage more application even at undergrad.

Life would be impossible without remembering.  We use basic math every day.  We use language every day.

I agree.  Maybe technology changed what we need to remember, but looking things up has just too much latency for some tasks.  For example, pilots have thick books with them on how to deal with emergencies, but some procedures are burned into memory because they need to be done immediately when the situation arises.  Also, if you're interested in research, you kind of have to keep many things in memory to connect the dots, knowing that you can look them up is not enough, although AI has changed that somewhat as well.

[garbon]

All this talk about how AI stacks up against the best of humans IMO misses a much more subtle advantage:  accessibility.  This morning, while taking clean dishes out of my dishwasher, I noticed a part lying at the bottom.  I took a picture of it and asked ChatGPT what it was, without even revealing where I got it from.  It correctly identified the part, and the dishwasher it came out of, and explained to me what it was and how critical it was.

Did it do something that a human couldn't do?  No, of course not.  I could've gotten my answer in a few different ways, but none of them would've taken a minute and a single cell phone picture.  Just making intelligence more accessible, and not even better than a human intelligence, is already a huge win when multiplied over many such events.

Yeah that sure is worth using up natural resources and increasing the cost of microchips  (and products using them) for marginally faster convenience.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm not so sure on academia being we're taught what we collectively know, but the contemporary take or interpretation of it. We are taught not the past but the present - which is built on those foundations.

The contemporary take on a matter is not a spontenous act of creation during the lecture; it is the result of *past* reflection and analysis and writing.  And thus searchable by LLMs.

[Sheilbh]

Sure - although I think there are spontaneous acts of creation/thought within seminars and tutorials (as a student, I imagine less so for the academic ). I agree in regards to lectures or set texts.

I don't disagree with that. I just disagree that academia is teaching "what we already collectively know".

[Josquius]

Once upon a time it made sense. Books were scarce. Remembering had value. Even without AI this hasn't been so for a while.
It would be nice to see a change in how things are done to encourage more application even at undergrad.

Life would be impossible without remembering.  We use basic math every day.  We use language every day.

Well obviously yes.
Do you really think the core concept of memory could be objected to?
What is not so necessary these days however is remembering the specifics of vast amounts of university level knowledge.
Learning how to apply the knowledge is far more key

[Admiral Yi]

Well obviously yes.
Do you really think the core concept of memory could be objected to?
What is not so necessary these days however is remembering the specifics of vast amounts of university level knowledge.
Learning how to apply the knowledge is far more key

We seem to be talking about different things.  I'm reacting to the video dude talking about AI "haunting" us. You seem to be defending the critical thinking component of education.