AI seems like a cult

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use AI to write all the time, but I don't have AI do the writing. Because it will do it wrong.

But I use the AI bot embedded in Word to ask questions, get ideas, find synonyms, even think through a problem I'm having. I use it like a combination of a more convenient/efficient search engine and a coworker who will let me bounce ideas of them when I need to.

It has made me a more productive writer because when I'm working on something and hit a wall, instead of leaving my document and doing something else (including time wasters like looking at social media or playing a game on my phone, the stuff I used to do for procrastination) I just ask the AI chatbot how to push through. Like literally a fifth of my queries to the chatbot are stuff like "ugh I don't feel like finishing this section, how can I make myself do it?" And it will actually give me useful ways to do it. It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!

I could never turn in work that I literally submitted AI to write. I'd feel ashamed. Also, I'm a control freak about my writing and I'd wind up going through and editing it and probably changing the whole thing. But as a tool to help me get my work done? Hell yes, I love it.

So AI is just a replacement for you accessing the extremely simple concepts you (should have) learned in middle school? You readily admit that you aren’t familiar with the concept of writer’s block or taking breaks? My kindergartener already knows about brain breaks.

Every example the folks in this thread give of the “power” of AI is just another data point proving the theory that it is a silky tool used exclusively by lazy idiots.

You have reading comprehension problems. Here, I'll excerpt the part you skipped right over without comprehending:"It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!"

Yes, obviously I know about "brain breaks" and writer's block. I'm also a professional writer who writes somewhere in the ballpark of 5-15k words a week, and often edits twice that. Some days are harder than others, and I have to have a broad variety of tools for breaking writer's block because I don't want to fall behind. I've found that AI can be a useful tool with that. I also have a really good office, listen to very specific music when I write, schedule meals and beverages to facilitate my writing, use workouts as motivators and body breaks, etc. My job is hard and not many people can do it. AI definitely can't do it. But it is a useful tool in helping me do it, so I use it.

Why do you care?

I care because the widespread use of AI is BAD for ALL OF US you moron.

Well my actual experience with AI is that it's just a more sophisticated and useful version of a search engine. Do you think widespread use of search engines is BAD for ALL OF US? Before AI, I used various search engines all the time for work (and still do). I knew that sometimes the results could be unreliable, and knew how to check sources and verify information. I continue to have these skills when I use an AI chatbot, but I appreciate the advantages of the chatbot over a traditional search engine.

What exactly is the problem with AI that makes it so much worse than search engines? Or, for that matter, a computer keyboard that allows me to write without my hand constantly cramping or having to use tons of paper to handwrite or write on a typewriter? Am I supposed to reject the internet as a concept? Without it, you couldn't come on here and call me a moron. Think what a loss that would be for us all.

Ask ChatGPT to analyze your logical reasoning and get back to us. I’m sure the results will be fascinating.

[Anonymous]

As an aside:

“Luddite” used as a pejorative is the result of capitalist propaganda. I suggest some of you investigate the arguments of the actual Luddites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Wow. I’m all for integrating new technology into your life in a thoughtful way but your post reflects a complete lack of knowledge of what AI even is.

“AI” and machine learning have been in development for decades. It’s not a “fad.” It’s not limited to chatGPT doing your kid’s homework. It’s an incredible scientific advance on par with the internet itself.

And just like the internet is capable of being used for a lot of bad things, it’s also created advances that we previously would not have imagined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use AI to write all the time, but I don't have AI do the writing. Because it will do it wrong.

But I use the AI bot embedded in Word to ask questions, get ideas, find synonyms, even think through a problem I'm having. I use it like a combination of a more convenient/efficient search engine and a coworker who will let me bounce ideas of them when I need to.

It has made me a more productive writer because when I'm working on something and hit a wall, instead of leaving my document and doing something else (including time wasters like looking at social media or playing a game on my phone, the stuff I used to do for procrastination) I just ask the AI chatbot how to push through. Like literally a fifth of my queries to the chatbot are stuff like "ugh I don't feel like finishing this section, how can I make myself do it?" And it will actually give me useful ways to do it. It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!

I could never turn in work that I literally submitted AI to write. I'd feel ashamed. Also, I'm a control freak about my writing and I'd wind up going through and editing it and probably changing the whole thing. But as a tool to help me get my work done? Hell yes, I love it.

So AI is just a replacement for you accessing the extremely simple concepts you (should have) learned in middle school? You readily admit that you aren’t familiar with the concept of writer’s block or taking breaks? My kindergartener already knows about brain breaks.

Every example the folks in this thread give of the “power” of AI is just another data point proving the theory that it is a silky tool used exclusively by lazy idiots.

You have reading comprehension problems. Here, I'll excerpt the part you skipped right over without comprehending:"It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!"

Yes, obviously I know about "brain breaks" and writer's block. I'm also a professional writer who writes somewhere in the ballpark of 5-15k words a week, and often edits twice that. Some days are harder than others, and I have to have a broad variety of tools for breaking writer's block because I don't want to fall behind. I've found that AI can be a useful tool with that. I also have a really good office, listen to very specific music when I write, schedule meals and beverages to facilitate my writing, use workouts as motivators and body breaks, etc. My job is hard and not many people can do it. AI definitely can't do it. But it is a useful tool in helping me do it, so I use it.

Why do you care?

I care because the widespread use of AI is BAD for ALL OF US you moron.

Well my actual experience with AI is that it's just a more sophisticated and useful version of a search engine. Do you think widespread use of search engines is BAD for ALL OF US? Before AI, I used various search engines all the time for work (and still do). I knew that sometimes the results could be unreliable, and knew how to check sources and verify information. I continue to have these skills when I use an AI chatbot, but I appreciate the advantages of the chatbot over a traditional search engine.

What exactly is the problem with AI that makes it so much worse than search engines? Or, for that matter, a computer keyboard that allows me to write without my hand constantly cramping or having to use tons of paper to handwrite or write on a typewriter? Am I supposed to reject the internet as a concept? Without it, you couldn't come on here and call me a moron. Think what a loss that would be for us all.

FYI, it's a more sophisticated and less useful version of a search engine. AI is not a search engine, that's one of the biggest problems. It's not a search engine and people have the idea that it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/woman-married-ai-robot-claims-011823744.html

I’m sure many posters on this thread don’t see any sort of issue with this dystopian weirdness. I can’t wait for an AI relationships forum on DCUM. There are already people using it as a therapist.

I totally us it as mental health coach and find it a lot more helpful for breaking my ruminative thought patterns and process emotions.

The alternative is another dystopian technology…psychotropic medications.

I don't use it as a therapist per se, but I have figured out a way to use a chatbot to help with CBT, which is really useful for me when I'm under a lot of stress or dealing with social anxiety. I've actually never found a human therapist who was particularly good at CBT -- before using AI, I relied on a workbook I bought years ago, with self-guided worksheets. But the chatbot is better because it's interactive. I can prompt it to provide me with a CBT process for a specific issue, and then ask it to guide me through that process with with a question and answer session. There is something about going through it that way that is more effective than just doing the worksheet on my own.

My one major concern is privacy. I only use chatbots that allow me to wipe the data I've input at the end of a session, and don't store it or use it for machine learning. I do think using it as an actual therapist with the idea that as it gets to know you, it will provide you with better therapeutic responses is a bit dangerous. I would not do this unless I fully owned the machine. I'm not just going to start talking to Chat GPT about all my personal issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use AI to write all the time, but I don't have AI do the writing. Because it will do it wrong.

But I use the AI bot embedded in Word to ask questions, get ideas, find synonyms, even think through a problem I'm having. I use it like a combination of a more convenient/efficient search engine and a coworker who will let me bounce ideas of them when I need to.

It has made me a more productive writer because when I'm working on something and hit a wall, instead of leaving my document and doing something else (including time wasters like looking at social media or playing a game on my phone, the stuff I used to do for procrastination) I just ask the AI chatbot how to push through. Like literally a fifth of my queries to the chatbot are stuff like "ugh I don't feel like finishing this section, how can I make myself do it?" And it will actually give me useful ways to do it. It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!

I could never turn in work that I literally submitted AI to write. I'd feel ashamed. Also, I'm a control freak about my writing and I'd wind up going through and editing it and probably changing the whole thing. But as a tool to help me get my work done? Hell yes, I love it.

So AI is just a replacement for you accessing the extremely simple concepts you (should have) learned in middle school? You readily admit that you aren’t familiar with the concept of writer’s block or taking breaks? My kindergartener already knows about brain breaks.

Every example the folks in this thread give of the “power” of AI is just another data point proving the theory that it is a silky tool used exclusively by lazy idiots.

You have reading comprehension problems. Here, I'll excerpt the part you skipped right over without comprehending:"It's not groundbreaking stuff -- it will be like "some people find it useful to break up a piece of writing into smaller sections as a way to make it seem more manageable -- can you split the section up into sub-sections or paragraphs and just take them one by one?" Sure, that's something I should and can come up with on my own. But it's more effective when it comes from someone else!"

Yes, obviously I know about "brain breaks" and writer's block. I'm also a professional writer who writes somewhere in the ballpark of 5-15k words a week, and often edits twice that. Some days are harder than others, and I have to have a broad variety of tools for breaking writer's block because I don't want to fall behind. I've found that AI can be a useful tool with that. I also have a really good office, listen to very specific music when I write, schedule meals and beverages to facilitate my writing, use workouts as motivators and body breaks, etc. My job is hard and not many people can do it. AI definitely can't do it. But it is a useful tool in helping me do it, so I use it.

Why do you care?

I care because the widespread use of AI is BAD for ALL OF US you moron.

Well my actual experience with AI is that it's just a more sophisticated and useful version of a search engine. Do you think widespread use of search engines is BAD for ALL OF US? Before AI, I used various search engines all the time for work (and still do). I knew that sometimes the results could be unreliable, and knew how to check sources and verify information. I continue to have these skills when I use an AI chatbot, but I appreciate the advantages of the chatbot over a traditional search engine.

What exactly is the problem with AI that makes it so much worse than search engines? Or, for that matter, a computer keyboard that allows me to write without my hand constantly cramping or having to use tons of paper to handwrite or write on a typewriter? Am I supposed to reject the internet as a concept? Without it, you couldn't come on here and call me a moron. Think what a loss that would be for us all.

FYI, it's a more sophisticated and less useful version of a search engine. AI is not a search engine, that's one of the biggest problems. It's not a search engine and people have the idea that it is.

Do you use it? I have found it more useful than a search engine for many things. I understand the underlying technology is different, but often I use it in substantially the same way and get more useful results than I would through a search engine.

I was surprised by this usage and only started doing this recently, and it really opened my eyes to the benefits of using AI in a work setting. I recently used it to help me find a bunch of phone contacts for people who have the same title at a bunch of different organizations, and then had it put their names and numbers into a spreadsheet for me which I used as a call list. There were a few names and numbers that were incorrect, but accuracy was about 80%, and since the chatbot had pulled the info from the web anyway, I don't think a manual search would have given me better results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Wow. I’m all for integrating new technology into your life in a thoughtful way but your post reflects a complete lack of knowledge of what AI even is.

“AI” and machine learning have been in development for decades. It’s not a “fad.” It’s not limited to chatGPT doing your kid’s homework. It’s an incredible scientific advance on par with the internet itself.

And just like the internet is capable of being used for a lot of bad things, it’s also created advances that we previously would not have imagined.

LOL. No. WTF are you even talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Opposite here. I encourage my kids to use AI for school projects and their own personal creative projects. I use it for my business and make WAY more money, I can take on 4x as many clients while I work fewer hours and hire fewer people.

It's just the latest panic for kids. When I was a kid, my parents banned me from all internet and social media for the same reasons. Now I own a successful digital marketing agency.

I teach my kids it's okay to be obsessed with a technology, just figure out a way to get ahead of everyone else and make money off of it. In college I spent hours a day obsessing over social media, which gave me the insights on how to make money off it. Don't just be a consumer, be a creator.

[Anonymous]

These debates over whether to use AI as a substitute for a human therapist has had an unforeseen but useful result: it reveals that most human therapists are frauds & a waste of your money. Carolyn Hax, are you reading this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Opposite here. I encourage my kids to use AI for school projects and their own personal creative projects. I use it for my business and make WAY more money, I can take on 4x as many clients while I work fewer hours and hire fewer people.

It's just the latest panic for kids. When I was a kid, my parents banned me from all internet and social media for the same reasons. Now I own a successful digital marketing agency.

I teach my kids it's okay to be obsessed with a technology, just figure out a way to get ahead of everyone else and make money off of it. In college I spent hours a day obsessing over social media, which gave me the insights on how to make money off it. Don't just be a consumer, be a creator.

So, about that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Wow. I’m all for integrating new technology into your life in a thoughtful way but your post reflects a complete lack of knowledge of what AI even is.

“AI” and machine learning have been in development for decades. It’s not a “fad.” It’s not limited to chatGPT doing your kid’s homework. It’s an incredible scientific advance on par with the internet itself.

And just like the internet is capable of being used for a lot of bad things, it’s also created advances that we previously would not have imagined.

LOL. No. WTF are you even talking about?

Great argument. Clearly you are very knowledgeable about this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These debates over whether to use AI as a substitute for a human therapist has had an unforeseen but useful result: it reveals that most human therapists are frauds & a waste of your money. Carolyn Hax, are you reading this?

I don't think they're frauds, so much as it's really hard to see progress when you meet with someone once a week for an hour. If you only exercised one hour a week, or practiced the violin an hour a week, or trained your dog one hour a week, you also wouldn't see much progress. Some, but not much.

AI has the benefit that it can be used as often as necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These debates over whether to use AI as a substitute for a human therapist has had an unforeseen but useful result: it reveals that most human therapists are frauds & a waste of your money. Carolyn Hax, are you reading this?

Agreed. I also think it's introducing some important conversations about what therapy is for, and what makes a therapist "good."

I do think AI could be used to design an effective CBT program to address a lot of common mental health issues -- anxiety and mild or moderate depression. There were already shifts toward virtual, group based programs for CBT as a cost-effective model to deliver one of the most proven effective mental health approaches to more people. AI could be a step beyond that. CBT, ultimately, is effective as a self-directed program, but most people need guidance and people struggling with mental health especially need support.

But do they need to spend an hour a week talking about their childhood with someone who is very likely to be mediocre-to-bad at talk therapy? In my personal experience: no. It can sometimes be helpful to talk to a person, even a crap therapist, when you are really struggling with depression. But the initial benefit of talking to a person and taking action rapidly disappears as the person is revealed to be inept or fraudulent. Using a robot administering an effective program is preferable to this because at least you go in knowing what you are getting.

A truly skilled therapist is worth their weight in gold, which is why they often cost about that much. Plus there are too few of them, certainly not enough to actually treat all the people who could benefit from talk therapy. The threat of AI may be the push the industry needs to figure out how to recruit and train truly good therapists. I'd much rather see an effective human therapist than use a CBT bot. But I'd rather use a CBT bot than go to yet another bad therapist. Hopefully the industry gets this and starts looking at how they train and develop therapists because what they are doing now isn't working for the most part.

Who knows, maybe AI could be used to train therapists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular take which I hope is true: AI is a bubble and will be laughed at in a decade. It does have uses, but people will increasingly see anything it touches as tainted. Involved parents already see the danger and are banning its use by kids. Successful kids will wean themselves from it, and write and do math without, standing out even more from the masses. Our whole family is staying away, not because we are luddite, but because we think it will ruin our happiness and future success.

Wow. I’m all for integrating new technology into your life in a thoughtful way but your post reflects a complete lack of knowledge of what AI even is.

“AI” and machine learning have been in development for decades. It’s not a “fad.” It’s not limited to chatGPT doing your kid’s homework. It’s an incredible scientific advance on par with the internet itself.

And just like the internet is capable of being used for a lot of bad things, it’s also created advances that we previously would not have imagined.

LOL. No. WTF are you even talking about?

Great argument. Clearly you are very knowledgeable about this topic.

I’m not the one who made the outlandish claim. Why you don’t you back it up with some examples? Or let’s be real, why don’t you ask ChatGPT to make up some examples of what a scientific achievement it is, and how it’s on par with the internet itself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These debates over whether to use AI as a substitute for a human therapist has had an unforeseen but useful result: it reveals that most human therapists are frauds & a waste of your money. Carolyn Hax, are you reading this?

Agreed. I also think it's introducing some important conversations about what therapy is for, and what makes a therapist "good."

I do think AI could be used to design an effective CBT program to address a lot of common mental health issues -- anxiety and mild or moderate depression. There were already shifts toward virtual, group based programs for CBT as a cost-effective model to deliver one of the most proven effective mental health approaches to more people. AI could be a step beyond that. CBT, ultimately, is effective as a self-directed program, but most people need guidance and people struggling with mental health especially need support.

But do they need to spend an hour a week talking about their childhood with someone who is very likely to be mediocre-to-bad at talk therapy? In my personal experience: no. It can sometimes be helpful to talk to a person, even a crap therapist, when you are really struggling with depression. But the initial benefit of talking to a person and taking action rapidly disappears as the person is revealed to be inept or fraudulent. Using a robot administering an effective program is preferable to this because at least you go in knowing what you are getting.

A truly skilled therapist is worth their weight in gold, which is why they often cost about that much. Plus there are too few of them, certainly not enough to actually treat all the people who could benefit from talk therapy. The threat of AI may be the push the industry needs to figure out how to recruit and train truly good therapists. I'd much rather see an effective human therapist than use a CBT bot. But I'd rather use a CBT bot than go to yet another bad therapist. Hopefully the industry gets this and starts looking at how they train and develop therapists because what they are doing now isn't working for the most part.

Who knows, maybe AI could be used to train therapists.

Welcome to the matrix.