Let’s pay people to use AI to pay people to do the job we used to pay people to do anyway, but this time it’s rent seekers all the way down. Can’t wait.

I’m pretty against AI for most of the same reasons, but it seems really self righteous to write this. I understand wanting to get your feelings out and at this point it really is just screaming into the void, so I’m glad this guy has an outlet, but his anger is at the wrong people. He is the exact person he’s talking about.

He’s upset that someone said “it is what it is” after trying and failing to resist the AI push then goes on to say:

At some point soon, I will have to figure out how to work with AI coding tools if I want to stay in the industry I’ve put my entire adult life into.

People have different lines, and he seems to be upset at people whose lines are ever so slightly before his. He makes it clear he’s not lambasting that particular person, but most people with the “it is what it is” mindset are not champions of AI. They are seeing dramatic changes to their industries and are unable to stay afloat and keep payroll without making drastic changes. He talks about how Amazon and android and these other big companies are terrible, and yet he still uses them. Is he not then also part of the problem? The thing is, there are alternatives to all of the services. We could all just go live in the woods if we really wanted. He seems to be directing his anger at the wrong people. I don’t know this guy’s exact politics, but this does not feel in line with class solidarity. Most people that resign themselves to that mindset feel as though they do not have the power to make a change. Generally, those are not the people that are making the decisions. His ire is misdirected. I’m not saying that we don’t all individually have a responsibility to the planet and each other, but without solidarity movements crumble. This kind of article does not help build solidarity. Would love to have seen him talk about how this experience has made him willing to pay more and get less, and more willing to be inconvenienced in order to avoid these big companies, but no, he fails to see this as an option still. People are still out there resisting Amazon and Google and they could write the same exact article about him. This is his pet issue, so this is the only line worth still defending to him. Seems hypocritical to call others viewpoints selfish when he is unable to see it in himself. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the anger and frustration, but I’d love to see what he’s doing about it other than pointing the finger at a bunch of people that have made the decision that he admitted to potentially also making.

Yeah, I was figuring similarly, but still. I’ve seen enough “harmless” “local” environmental changes spiral to know that at least some thought is warranted about it. I absolutely did not mean to suggest it would be harmful, just that I don’t know enough about it and would hope that somebody knowledgeable looks into it before they recommend scaling.

Yeah, I was figuring similarly, but still. I’ve seen enough “harmless” “local” environmental changes spiral to know that at least some thought is warranted about it. I absolutely did not mean to suggest it would be harmful, just that I don’t know enough about it and would hope that somebody knowledgeable looks into it before they recommend scaling.

In addition to the other comments about how it’s still not bad for efficiency, I’d like to point out the potential political and environmental benefits if we’re still using oil anyway. Oil drilling has a huge negative impact on the environment. Oil spills, pipeline leaks, and the extraction itself can devastate ecosystems. I understand that electronic components in general are bad to produce, but this may allow for minimizing at least one avenue of environmental damage and exploitation. Additionally, oil is a huge part of international politics. Not needing to rely on oil rich nations would relieve some complications regarding international affairs. I don’t know what scaling this looks like, but even if it had a worse conversion rate, it’s still of interest for those reasons. Of course, all of that supposing we cannot switch to an entirely oil free society in the interim.

I do wonder how the removal of water and carbon dioxide from the air will affect local areas though. I imagine more research needs to be done on that.

Yes! Exactly this! Does anyone remember those big “SALE” signs stores used to have? It just said the word sale in big bold letters. Nothing else. It’s a sale. I really don’t need a fancy graphic to encourage me to potentially save money if I was going to buy the games anyway or to get new games on the cheap.

There’s a post elsewhere with an excerpt from a job posting for GOG devs that paints a bleaker picture. In the post they state you need to be familiar with AI tools and encourage the use in your team. I think they’re in it too deep at this point.