AI is not the new NFT but also not the new Internet. It’s the new touchscreen. Amazing in some contexts, but forced down on every other.
My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts
Submitted 3 weeks ago by anus@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://fly.io/blog/youre-all-nuts/
Comments
Phen@lemmy.eco.br 3 weeks ago
qaz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think this is a very good analogy
anus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is a brilliant take. Whoever designed my car’s screen system can kick rocks
SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
man, I’m going to steal that analogy. it’s perfect
owenfromcanada@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Developers are resentful toward AI for the same reason they resented blockchain–it becomes a buzz word that every middle manager is convinced will improve productivity, and it’s forced whether it’s actually helpful or not.
I work on safety-critical code. AI is useless here, but we have to “use” it to appease clueless shareholders.
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
What would happen if you collectively put your foot down on zero “AI code” to management, with such critical applications?
owenfromcanada@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
I’m a senior with a good boss, I pretty much just ignore it. And fortunately, at least in my company, most people have done that (especially with the safety critical stuff). But management still has a way of making your life miserable when you stand your ground on this kind of thing, so it’s also common to just tell them some bullshit and go about your job.
AstralPath@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Developers all love to preen about code. They worry LLMs lower the “ceiling” for quality. Maybe. But they also raise the “floor”.
And this is how the human element of this industry dies. This dev is the last of a dying breed, the senior dev. He’s also loading more bullets into the gun that’s pointed at the heart of the role that got him to where he is in the first place.
You don’t get to become a junior dev if that role is occupied by AI and you don’t get to ever ascend to senior dev unless you start as a junior dev.
For as analytical this person seems to be, he has a massive blindspot related to the path he himself treaded to get where he is. He’s pulling the ladder up behind him and condemning the people on the path behind to finding another way or giving up entirely.
AI is brain rot. It’s actively and aggressively atrophying humanity’s ability to reason and problem solve.
anus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If this dev doesn’t do it, the next one will
This dev is analytical enough to understand basic incentive modeling and game theory. Capitalism is a race to the bottom no less now than it always was.
beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
This guy’s argument is that he’s a 10xer because he’s using AI effectively, i.e. just proofreading its output and deleting the comments. (Also, why hire juniors when you can get the same work for $20/mo?)
I think this is a losing strategy unless all senior devs never retire and are immortal. (Or unless GAI happens in which case the world economy will collapse and who cares about strategy.)
It looks like what’s happening is that way fewer companies are willing to invest in juniors now, leading to falling enrollment in university, leading to a shortage of seniors, leading to very high dev pay, leading to increased enrollment. Eventually.
anus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This guy (a founding engineer of fly.io) isn’t claiming his 10x status in the article on the grounds that he uses AI
Indeed, he’s claiming that he gets value from AI despite being a 10xer without it
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
“AI” is not the new NFT because “AI” doesn’t even exist. It’s a far bigger and far worse grift. Sure, some dummies wasted their money on jpgs of monkeys. But nobody used NFTs to murder palestinian kids, spy on society, steal our data, etc.
“AI” is a far worse grift than NFTs.
anus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Replace AI with Excel in your argument and repeat it again. Do you see how silly you sound?
auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
The issue with AI is not that it’s not an impressive technology, it’s that it’s built on stolen data and is incredibly wasteful of resources. It’s a lot like cars in that regard, sure it solves some problems and is more convenient than the alternatives, but its harmful externalities vastly outweigh the benefits.
auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
It’s built on publicly available data, the same way that humans learn. Many are also now trained on licensed, opt-in and synthetic data.
They don’t erase credit the amplify access to human ideas.
Training consumes energy, but its ongoing usage to query is vastly cheaper to query than most industrial processes. You’re assuming it cannot reduce our energy usage by improving efficiency and removing manual labour.
“If something is made unethically, it shouldn’t exist”
By that logic, nearly all modern technology (from smartphones to pharmaceuticals) would be invalidated.
BroBot9000@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
microsoft.com/…/lee_2025_ai_critical_thinking_sur…
Already showing signs of spreading.
auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
- Self-reported reductions in cognitive effort do not equal reduced critical thinking; efficiency isn’t cognitive decline.
- The study relies on subjective perception, not objective performance or longitudinal data.
- Trust in AI may reflect appropriate tool use, not overreliance or diminished judgment.
- Users often shift critical thinking to higher-level tasks like verifying and editing, not abandoning it.
- Routine task delegation is intentional and rational, not evidence of skill loss.
- The paper describes perceptions, but overstates risks without proving causation.
kokesh@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Copilot in Code is hell. It pops code suggestions almost after every keystroke. Idiotic suggestions mostly.
Nighed@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
You can configure that I think? (The every keystroke, not the stupidity)
r3tr0_97@ani.social 2 weeks ago
I just remembered the sidequest in Cyberpunk 2077 with the guy that had a faulty Mr. Stud implanted…
just_another_person@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Remember when everybody was making “smart” toasters and fridges and shit with cameras or WiFi for absolutely no reason.
This is that all over again.
Nobody needs “AI” in their water kettles, dryers, or dildos.
mctoasterson@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Dildo-as-a-Service
InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
But if I don’t have a toilet AI how will I remember what I had to eat the other day for less than $4.99/mo?
anus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I gave you the up vote because it’s a good take, but this really has nothing to do with the article, so I can tell that you and a bunch of your 58 up voters didn’t read it
just_another_person@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I did read it, and my comment is exactly referencing the attitude of the author which is “It’s good enough, so you should use it”. I disagree, and say it’s another dumbass shortcut to cash grab on a less than stellar ecosystem and product. It’s training wheels for failure.
isekaihero@ani.social 2 weeks ago
IDK connecting a electronic masturbation device to a chatbot so it can robotically tell you how its raping you and you deserve it because you’re a worthless human is kinda hot.
humorlessrepost@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
And combined with a smart watch and a blood pressure cuff, I bet it could learn to edge you perfectly and indefinitely.
GeeDubHayduke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
“This is just plain fuckin’ stupid. Your neighbor gets a dildo that plays ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ and you wanna get one too!”
anus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is a pretty good take imo
Like AI, IoT is an important and lasting technology
But too many businesses and products jumped on a misguided bandwagon to pull stupid uniformed VC money