Machine Learning

Because we do not live in the Star Trek-inspired rational, humanist world that Altman seems to be hallucinating. We live under capitalism, and under that system, the effects of flooding the market with technologies that can plausibly perform the economic tasks of countless working people is not that those people are suddenly free to become philosophers and artists.

Ted Chiang has penned an insightful column on trends in A.I. and it’s dangers as an accelerant for the worst elements of late-stage capitalism. His comparison to McKinsey— whose role in corporate policies has been destructive to the middle class —is especially apt.

I’m personally skeptical that LLMs provide enough benefit to outweigh their potential harm, and so I deeply appreciate those who are attempting to make them work without relying on pixie dust.