I think it's just acknowledging reality. Humanity ain't great when it comes to long-term thinking vs. short-term gains, as Hec says, and AI's unlikely to go anywhere. There are some ways its impact can be lessened [link] but I'm mostly just trying to figure out how to get to retirement age without it replacing me.

(Tragically, BTW, figuring out how to get to retirement age with a job = having Doctor Strangelove the damn tech.)

Perhaps safeguards can be imposed

It just feels like our gerontocracy in Congress didn't understand this technological shift at all, and now it's far too late to put any safeguard on it. The Tech companies already scraped all the books and data they needed to get started and there was no check on them.

I definitely think that just on the cultural side there will be AI generated pop hits (I've already heard perfectly credible contemporary country songs done by AI), children's shows and romances within a year or two. Because a lot of people consume culture because they want their tropes served up to them with no surprises.

That's the whole model of Spotify which is already working AI songs into particular mood playlists.

but I'm mostly just trying to figure out how to get to retirement age without it replacing me.

I have so many friends who've had careers which are just going to disappear. I know a few people who've supported themselves writing ad copy for catalogs. That's definitely going away.

Book and magazine layout. Menu design. Signage. Background music. Curriculum. Project management, Captioning. Copyediting, book blurbs, marketing.

All the administrative work I used to do as a secretary. Lots of programming (as noted by Sophia at the beginning of this discussion).

I just read this morning that the DOJ has started sending letters to medical journals demanding to know if the journals are accepting articles with “competing viewpoints.” I can’t even wrap my brain around that. The “competing viewpoints” are nonscientific, dangerous, and potentially deadly because they are INCORRECT. Science is about facts, not viewpoints.

Science is about facts, not viewpoints.

Surely anti-vax pseudoscience needs mainstreaming!

That could be in response to my article proposing that a diet of ice cream, pizza, and beer leads to guaranteed longevity. About time my competing viewpoint was recognized.

Joke or tremble in fear, it's a constant battle here.

my article proposing that a diet of ice cream, pizza, and beer leads to guaranteed longevity.

I would use all of my power to get that article published!

We’re trying AI at work because we need to help our instructors understand it better. One thing we’re trying is using the AI assistant to take notes in our Zoom meetings. It has been hilariously inaccurate—frequently putting the exact opposite of what we said. I.e., we said “Tool 1 is a great substitute for tool 2. We’ll explore tool 1’s ability to do x, y, and z.” And then 20 minutes talking about tool 1. And the summary substitutes the name of tool 2 everywhere we discussed tool 1.

I gave up most sweets for Lent, except for when I was visiting others (my great nephew’s first birthday cake was not to be missed). Most of my sweet indulgences come from home baking anyway. I made a cheesecake for Easter dinner tomorrow and I’ll be making a walnut coffee cake for breakfast, and i am so looking forward to both.

I have a cinnamon roll cake for tomorrow in the oven right now!