@futurebird I frequently talk about this as search abandoning the concept of delivering what the user wants in favor of trying to mold the user to want what it's willing to give. I wish I believed this was incompetence rather than a malicious attempt to reshape people into more docile and lucrative consumers/subjects, but at this point I really think big tech has undeniably shown they are out to control, not serve, the public

@funkula @futurebird it's infuriating. I'm a fiction writer. I often search for specific things & the computer overlords are sure I'm looking for something else.

I search: garnet ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet and ring

I try: garnet "ant" ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "and" ring

I try: garnet "ant" ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "aunt" and ring

I try: garnet "ant" ant insect ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "aunt" and insect ant ring

This is a wonderful technology that makes search so much easier. This was on etsy.

@futurebird
Did this Etsy creator follow a DIY SEO guide, but they got the sign wrong on the optimization?

@funkula

It gives me the same sad feeling I get when I hear people talking about how much they "depend" on an LLM.

But... it's just sanding all of the difference out of everything. Doesn't that make you sad too? Doesn't it feel gross to get any sense of validation from such a source?

One woman said she didn't want to bother real people with all her insecure questions. It's just sad all around.

@funkula

It gives me the same sad feeling I get when I hear people talking about how much they "depend" on an LLM.

But... it's just sanding all of the difference out of everything. Doesn't that make you sad too? Doesn't it feel gross to get any sense of validation from such a source?

One woman said she didn't want to bother real people with all her insecure questions. It's just sad all around.

@funkula

Sometimes I feel very confident that the possible social and economic impact of AI is being overblown because so much of it is like a toy whose novelty wears off.

I remember that people talked to the chat bot ELIZA for many hours before growing bored with it and seeing the limitations.

But, I do wonder if I'm just wrong. Maybe there are a lot of people who will want to use LLMs a lot and they will never stop. And it will slowly start to shape our world.

@funkula

It gives me the same sad feeling I get when I hear people talking about how much they "depend" on an LLM.

But... it's just sanding all of the difference out of everything. Doesn't that make you sad too? Doesn't it feel gross to get any sense of validation from such a source?

One woman said she didn't want to bother real people with all her insecure questions. It's just sad all around.

@funkula

I don't think any serious person really believes in the AGI fairy-tale anymore. "The machine will learn to improve itself and become god like!"

But there is a softer version of LLMs growing to dominate our world. If a significant portion of the population decides to treat these systems like their best friend and confidant all of those people become very easy to manipulate.

And this is exactly how the people creating these systems expect to cash in.

Forget traditional advertising.

@funkula

I have recently been feeling very self-conscious and dissatisfied with the interior design of my apartment. I've posted about it a lot recently and by interacting with people on this website I've decided that I don't need to throw everything away and buy new items, I can elevate my space through organization and repairs.

Where might I be if I talked to an LLM instead? I suspect I'd be thinking more about spending money. And couldn't a company pay to make that more likely to happen?

@funkula

Our political opinions, our purchasing decision, even our emotional well being are shaped by interactions with other people.

Everyone rubs off on you a little. You are who you choose to talk to.

Who do you become if you talk to an LLM most of all? Whoever they want you to be I suppose.

And it seems likely that the LLMs are *already* designed to keep people using the product. So, the first brainwashing is "I'm the best one to talk to" then "Only I can really understand you."

@funkula

I *could* be convinced that I "need" to spend 10k on a bathroom renovation. But the people in my life: my family, my friends, their needs and values but also the people I choose to interact with online can make that rather large decision go the other way.

If I wanted to sell things to people and didn't have morals I'd want them ONLY talking to my LLMs and those LLMs would work on the assumption that buying my product was normal and essential.

Why doesn't this scare people more?

@funkula

I *could* be convinced that I "need" to spend 10k on a bathroom renovation. But the people in my life: my family, my friends, their needs and values but also the people I choose to interact with online can make that rather large decision go the other way.

If I wanted to sell things to people and didn't have morals I'd want them ONLY talking to my LLMs and those LLMs would work on the assumption that buying my product was normal and essential.

Why doesn't this scare people more?

@futurebird I believe, people think they’re being manipulated “anyway”, and it “won’t get much worse” - but it can get a 100 times worse. We westerners just aren’t used to those considerations…

@funkula

It gives me the same sad feeling I get when I hear people talking about how much they "depend" on an LLM.

But... it's just sanding all of the difference out of everything. Doesn't that make you sad too? Doesn't it feel gross to get any sense of validation from such a source?

One woman said she didn't want to bother real people with all her insecure questions. It's just sad all around.

@promovicz

I mean. "we are already being manipulated" is already true. One of the reasons I started thinking about renovation is due to all of the interior design videos and magazines enjoy. And these all have an undercurrent of "renovate and spend" because ... well, consider who makes them.

But that was easier for me to compartmentalize than a conversation. If everyone on here was posting about their renovation it WOULD make me wonder "why can't I do that too?" and "should I do that?"

@futurebird @funkula Yeah... That's a thing Eliza also brought out: people want to talk to some/one/thing they know won't judge them or remember what was said.

@funkula

I have recently been feeling very self-conscious and dissatisfied with the interior design of my apartment. I've posted about it a lot recently and by interacting with people on this website I've decided that I don't need to throw everything away and buy new items, I can elevate my space through organization and repairs.

Where might I be if I talked to an LLM instead? I suspect I'd be thinking more about spending money. And couldn't a company pay to make that more likely to happen?

@futurebird @funkula

Ok the topic of organization:

My apartment comes with basement storage (5 apartment brownstone so the basement is divided in 5 zones and each unit gets one)

Something I did recently which has undeniably made my life better was measure the shelves in my apartment and basement, find a box that would fit well on those shelves and buy 40 of that box.

Now moving things around is super easy and a bunch of previously unusable shelf space opened up

I search: garnet ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet and ring

I try: garnet "ant" ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "and" ring

I try: garnet "ant" ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "aunt" and ring

I try: garnet "ant" ant insect ant ring
Search "corrects" it: garnet "aunt" and insect ant ring

This is a wonderful technology that makes search so much easier. This was on etsy.