Google’s AI generated search results include justifications for slavery cooking tips for Amanita ocreata, a poisonous mushroom known as the “angel of death.” The results are part of Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience, or SGE.
This isn’t related to the article, but I wanted to pick at the ‘benefits of slavery’ question.
I think it’s important to acknowledge the ‘benefits’ of slavery, because it’s important to remember who it benefitted and at who’s expense. To claim that it benefits no one would be to deny the greed and callousness that spawned these human rights abuses.
Slavery in the past has brought massive advantages and benefits to many people today through the accumulation of intergenerational wealth, at the expense of minorities who are still systematically denied access to this wealth. To claim that these benefits don’t exist would be to diminish the scale of issues slavery has brought, and is still bringing, to modern day.
Yes, I think people don’t like it because they think any time you use a word with a positive connotation (“benefit”), you must be speaking positively.
Another example is “brave”. Let’s talk about the woman who got shot to death while storming the US capitol. If you say she was brave, people will assume you side with Trump and the insurrectionists. But she was absolutely brave. But also deluded.
These mental shortcuts are reinforced all the time, and we really have to force ourselves to think critically (and cynically) to overcome them.
I get what you’re saying but I don’t think she perceived she was in any danger, so I don’t think she showed bravery. She was probably too stupid to understand there could be real consequences.
“Brave” would have been facing 4 years with a president who made her uncomfortable instead of throwing a big tantrum.
you would think that a “language model” would have “connotation” high on its list of priorities - being that is a huge part of the form and function of language.
I’m convinced it’s only purpose is actually to give tech C-level and VPs some bullshit to say for roughly 18-36 months now that “blockchain” and “pandemic disruption” are dead.
Exactly correct, I agree. LLMs will change the world, but 90% of purported use cases are nothing but hot air.
But when you can tell your phone “go find a picture of an eggplant, put a smiley face on it, and send it to Bill”, that’s going to be pretty neat. And it’s coming in the next decade. Of course that requires a different model than we have now (text to instruction, not text to text). But it’s coming.
This isn’t related to the article, but I wanted to pick at the ‘benefits of slavery’ question.
I think it’s important to acknowledge the ‘benefits’ of slavery, because it’s important to remember who it benefitted and at who’s expense. To claim that it benefits no one would be to deny the greed and callousness that spawned these human rights abuses.
Slavery in the past has brought massive advantages and benefits to many people today through the accumulation of intergenerational wealth, at the expense of minorities who are still systematically denied access to this wealth. To claim that these benefits don’t exist would be to diminish the scale of issues slavery has brought, and is still bringing, to modern day.
Yes, I think people don’t like it because they think any time you use a word with a positive connotation (“benefit”), you must be speaking positively.
Another example is “brave”. Let’s talk about the woman who got shot to death while storming the US capitol. If you say she was brave, people will assume you side with Trump and the insurrectionists. But she was absolutely brave. But also deluded.
These mental shortcuts are reinforced all the time, and we really have to force ourselves to think critically (and cynically) to overcome them.
I get what you’re saying but I don’t think she perceived she was in any danger, so I don’t think she showed bravery. She was probably too stupid to understand there could be real consequences.
“Brave” would have been facing 4 years with a president who made her uncomfortable instead of throwing a big tantrum.
you would think that a “language model” would have “connotation” high on its list of priorities - being that is a huge part of the form and function of language.
Not how it works.
It’s just a fancy version of that “predict the next word” feature smartphones have. Like if you just kept tapping the next word.
They don’t even have real parameters, only black box bullshit hidden parameters.
I know, I was pointing out the irony.
I’m convinced it’s only purpose is actually to give tech C-level and VPs some bullshit to say for roughly 18-36 months now that “blockchain” and “pandemic disruption” are dead.
Exactly correct, I agree. LLMs will change the world, but 90% of purported use cases are nothing but hot air.
But when you can tell your phone “go find a picture of an eggplant, put a smiley face on it, and send it to Bill”, that’s going to be pretty neat. And it’s coming in the next decade. Of course that requires a different model than we have now (text to instruction, not text to text). But it’s coming.