Yes. This.

We need to start talking about "cost" differently.

“resources it has pointlessly drawn away from other, more important work”

Now I'm thinking about the beginning of “Idiocracy”.

Under capitalism the vast majority of human labour is steered towards a myopic focus: profit for the capitalist class, that means more hours on the job less time spent with people you care about.

"
The evil of the present system is therefore not that the “surplus-value” of production goes to the capitalist[...]The evil lies in the possibility of a surplus-value existing
" Pëtr Kropotkin - The Conquest of Bread
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I don't think it is a coincidence that the demographics most responsible for pushing AI out onto people are also demographics that have learned to become frighteningly good at both personal and cultural levels of deflection.

Historically, certain groups have been really good at deflection and changing subjects and focus away from any topics that could disrupt the status quo around inequities and privileges.

So yeah: agree that AI is and has been a huge cultural level ...distraction

I've been quite happy to quietly switch off Ai whenever it pops up everywhere, but was terrified to see it leak into my companies accounts package where one must formally agree that Ai makes mistakes and then also accept I'm fully responsible for submissions to the Tax authority. Gulp.

Please stop helping!

The amount of resources it is using, especially when compared to how much the same work would take when done by a human, is... greatly exaggerated, a Chat GPT prompt (with a modern model) uses as much energy as ~10 seconds of Netflix afaik.

You're absolutely right on your second point though. While AI is definitely going to change the world, your site for ordering takeout burgers or whatever does not need three AI assistants.

1000% agree
Im furious about AI. It's being sold as this amazing resource that is so good for us all. But it isn't.
Apart from the VAST drain on energy (that we none of us can afford financially or resource-wise globally) it's a drain on us individually. We WILL become stupider and less capable in all sorts of ways.

Im sick of it all. And we are never given a choice about it.
Sick of business interests telling me i need this or that technology that I really don't need and really don't want.
Sure there are exceptions:
disabled ppl or elderly need AI and huge cars and Alexa/Siri and driverless vehicles to make their lives way way easier. And that's what it should be there for.

But for the majority of ppl those things are superfluous. We don't need them. We really don't.
But we are being MADE to want them bc the market gives lucrative profits for a select few if we ALL have to use them to pay for the research and development. I don't need things delivered to my frigging garden by done, but a small number of ppl do. God forbid someone develops these things out of the goodness of their hearts bc elderly need help. But no, let's squeeze the cash out of everyone on the planet telling them they need some delivery bc it's cool apparently.

So we are made to use internet banking bc then they take cash away. We have streamed entertainment rather than going out and making our own bc all the pubs and cinemas are shutting. We are made to use chat bots on phones bc the take ppl away. It makes me effing furious

#AI #aiwillkillus #aiwillbeourdownfall #aiwillnotfixit #aiwilleliminateusall