AI - The Good The Bad The Ugly

[ikeo1]

Just curious what you guys think? I just got downvoted into oblivion on Reddit for the AI graphic. In the past it was fine, but now it seems like there's a disdain for anything AI. I'm noticing the sentiment is changing pretty rapidly and learning that I need to temper some of my own enthusiasm for the tech.

It's really unlocked some technical capabilities I've always dreamed of, since i wasn't a great programmer but working with dev's we've always been able to build some really cool stuff. Now, it's like having a full time dev, BUT ai slop is prevalent.

Curious what you guys think.. I know there's some of you who are in it, but also interested in people who are not and what your thoughts are so I can understand different perspectives better. I recognize I'm biased and interested in peoples opinions.

 

[FriedChickies]

It’s a net negative for humanity imo, but the financial incentives are too great and there’s not going back. Luckily though I chose a profession that is AI-proof.

 

[ButteFlyFisher]

So without doxing myself I work for a tech company that does a mix of hardware and software. I’m more on the hardware and algorithm side of things. I’ve toyed with AI quite a bit since it came out.

The good:
If you are already an expert or competent in your domain it’s an accelerator if you give it properly sized tasks. I’m a systems guy, AI is not. I’ve heard “AI helps you cook faster but doesn’t know any new recipes”. Couldn’t agree more.

The bad:
It sometimes misses one little piece of context and then happily drives you down the wrong path. If you aren’t careful and aren’t an expert it can waste a huge amount of time. The times I’ve let AI take the wheel I spent more time debugging it than if I just did it myself in the first place.

The ugly:
It’s really good at sounding right and producing mediocre work. If you aren’t competent in the area that mediocre work gets out into the world, that may or may not be ok.

 

[davethebull]

The only thing that bothers me about it is that people stop thinking for themselves. Instead of using it as a tool they rely on it solely. And then the cherry on top is when they think others are unaware it’s AI. But everyone knows it’s AI.

 

[22plinker]

The only thing that bothers me about it is that people stop thinking for themselves. Instead of using it as a tool they rely on it solely. And then the cherry on top is when they think others are unaware it’s AI. But everyone knows it’s AI.

QFT

 

[22plinker]

A friend of a friend is in collage and she said she uses AI for all curriculum and just changes things around to her liking to make it sound better...

So in collage, she is just learning how manipulate wording instead of actual learning personal knowledge.


The more I hear about AI, the more I think "Skynet" will be the ultimate outcome.

Matt

 

[RustVendor]

The term "AI" is so broad that it's hard to classify, in the early 90s I built websites writing HTML by hand and ten years later you could use programs with a graphical interface. There's always a danger that using automation can result in errors and thats my biggest criticism. People used to argue by using a link they didn't read from Google and now they can paste the output of Google gemeni, in both cases they didn't understand the material so they are both wrong. There's a big difference in using it as an algorithm with a large database vs vibe coding without any underlying understanding. There's way too much of the latter which is why people hate it and they are right, because it's not super intelligent it's riddled with errors that you will reproduce if you don't understand the thing itself. When you use it for programming the result is testable though, it's a lot more problematic when it drives into the more subjective disciplines where nuance matters and an AI summary may not capture the necessary details. Either way no one likes AI art. I think it's fairly harmless if you are just doing a few graphics for your website though

 

[42ndDR]

When looking on Ebay if a seller has an AI generated description I auto pass on it. If they do not have the brain power or care enough to describe what they are listing I am not interested in dealing with them. It strikes me as fake and lazy and life is to short to deal with them.

As for the bigger issues revolving around AI I am concerned enough that my spidey senses are lighting up in the survival prep department. Water, food, electricity generation and of course ammo are things on top of my list that I feel important to prepare for in terms of shortages of threats.

 

[HiMapo]

Net negative, I never liked it. I wouldn’t say it was “fine in the past” it was just different. At some point it was experimenting with a new tool.

Now it’s Unironically being used and takes the soul out of human interaction.

Would you rather get send a “good morning hope your doing well” text from your parents, or an AI slop image with the same words on it?

One is intentional, the other is copy paste slop.

I’d rather look at a comic sans ms paint flyer for an event or taco truck menu than an impersonal AI photo that is soulless at best, misleading and broken at worst.

 

[Kerensky]

Specifically, I find the proliferation of AI art to be unpleasant and revolting from an aesthetic standpoint. And the fact that people either don't care about how ugly it looks, or straight up don't realize how ugly it looks, to be a bad sign for society in general.

 

[Shellbackitup]

Just curious what you guys think? I just got downvoted into oblivion on Reddit for the AI graphic. In the past it was fine, but now it seems like there's a disdain for anything AI. I'm noticing the sentiment is changing pretty rapidly and learning that I need to temper some of my own enthusiasm for the tech.

It's really unlocked some technical capabilities I've always dreamed of, since i wasn't a great programmer but working with dev's we've always been able to build some really cool stuff. Now, it's like having a full time dev, BUT ai slop is prevalent.

Curious what you guys think.. I know there's some of you who are in it, but also interested in people who are not and what your thoughts are so I can understand different perspectives better. I recognize I'm biased and interested in peoples opinions.

I have very mixed thoughts on AI. Especially since I work in electronics manufacturing, which is seeing a boom because of AI.

Ultimately, AI replaces a human.

AI Graphics: replaces a human artist or graphic designer
AI Code: replaces a dev/programmer
AI music: replaces the musician

In my opinion, AI output is inferior to human output. Not just technically inferior, but morally inferior.

But like I say, I have mixed thoughts. As it CAN be used to AUGMENT human ingenuity, and organize, collate, and present information in a much faster way than humans can.

AI also can be used to completely cut out humans, artists and skilled laborers especially, and there is rightfully a push-back by those very humans and those who appreciate and support them.

All that skilled labor costs money, and for small companies, enterprises, restaurants, etc. where costs are a major concern, the temptation to use it in place of humans is understandable.

And I haven't even touched on the environmental concerns, which are I believe the most important to understand, measure, and regulate.

Do I fault you for using AI? No, not at all.

Do I wish you didn't? Yes, but mostly I wish there wasn't a situation that encourages, if not forces you to, just out of financial reasons.

 

[ikeo1]

A lot of really good points...

 

[Gawernator]

I love AI makes some things so much easier and just keeps improving every year. Reddit is a hivemind, not real life generally and not the people that make money moves. You can't really get much out of their hostile reaction because the way the platform censorship works, it is designed to concentrate and push narrow viewpoints

 

[chiroken007]

I am apprehensive as a bystander.

There seems to be a large concern for the consumption of valuable resources such as fresh water, rare earth minerals, and of course energy sources.

The potentials for rapid processing of data, Threat assessment, efficiency in labor, advancement in science and tech are astounding. What does it cost society though?

Not to mention the dooms day fear of AI being used to wreak havoc on a grand scale with vulnerable infrastructure such as the power grid, banking systems and all.

I guess to sum up my concern.. it’s incredible tech with amazing potential. However, just as Nobel discovered, A great achievement may come with a cost too great to bare when used for other means such as war/defense etc.

Market dominance and Sovereign integrity may require us to invest heavily in AI, but it could come at terrible costs.

On the other hand it will create jobs, advance healthcare science, research, wellness, life balance, economic growth and all. As long as the growth of the tech is done with respect to resources, consequences, and the communities impacted.

 

[ikeo1]

As long as the growth of the tech is done with respect to resources, consequences, and the communities impacted.

This is my biggest issue with it. People aren't integrating it with environmental concerns in a more synergistic way. There's a lack of balance.

 

[chiroken007]

Investors want ROI.. business have to move quick and get results. That oftentimes comes at a cost they don’t carry. The communities around them carry that cost.

 

[Gawernator]

I am apprehensive as a bystander.

There seems to be a large concern for the consumption of valuable resources such as fresh water, rare earth minerals, and of course energy sources.

The potentials for rapid processing of data, Threat assessment, efficiency in labor, advancement in science and tech are astounding. What does it cost society though?

Not to mention the dooms day fear of AI being used to wreak havoc on a grand scale with vulnerable infrastructure such as the power grid, banking systems and all.

I guess to sum up my concern.. it’s incredible tech with amazing potential. However, just as Nobel discovered, A great achievement may come with a cost too great to bare when used for other means such as war/defense etc.

Market dominance and Sovereign integrity may require us to invest heavily in AI, but it could come at terrible costs.

On the other hand it will create jobs, advance healthcare science, research, wellness, life balance, economic growth and all. As long as the growth of the tech is done with respect to resources, consequences, and the communities impacted.

The water concern is pretty bogus since they use closed loop systems

 

[Shellbackitup]

The water concern is pretty bogus since they use closed loop systems

Closed loop in these cases typically means 'no discharge'. There is still make up water consumption, which is absolutely less.

But the majority of water usage comes from evaporative cooling. They are not using large scale condensation like in nuclear systems, they just cool the closed loop with an open air evap system.

Plus the concern is not just consumption of water but especially the contamination.

 

[Gawernator]

Closed loop in these cases typically means 'no discharge'. There is still make up water consumption, which is absolutely less.

But the majority of water usage comes from evaporative cooling. They are not using large scale condensation like in nuclear systems, they just cool the closed loop with an open air evap system.

Plus the concern is not just consumption of water but especially the contamination.

Guess the almond farmers will have to give up some of that watuh.

Older facilities rely on open evaporative cooling towers that evaporate millions of gallons, but modern AI data centers increasingly use closed-loop liquid cooling (similar to a car radiator) or air-based systems. Once filled, closed-loop systems recirculate fluid inside sealed pipes rather than continuously evaporating water.

 

[decius_mus]

My take is that AI is overly hated. Take your graphic for example OP. In order to make graphics in the past, you either had to learn how to use programs to make them or pay someone. I'm not going to do any of those things if I just want to make a public service announcement graphic like the one you posted in the other thread about not getting scammed.