Ai - the good and the bad, yet another Ai commentary

[dos2unix]

Here we go again.... maybe I miss the controversy?

Somewhere along the way... I learned how to do things. My dad was an electrician, I'm not a licensed electrcian, but I not enough about certtain things. My dad taught me how to change oil in a car. We rebuilt an entire engine from scratch. My mom taught me how to cook and balance a checkbook. I guess there was a period of time when I took it for granted that everyone's mom and dad did this, and everyone knew the things I knew.

But somewhere along we quit having shop classes, auto-machanics, home-ec, wood-working, and focused on academia.
Book learning isn't all bad. But I was afraid the next generation wasn't going to know how to anything.

Enter the internet, google and youtube. The good news is... you can learn how to do almost anything from a youtube video. Or Ai can tell you how to do do it. Auto-mechanics, wood-working, painting, lawn-care, cooking poached eggsg... you name it, it's probably on Youtube
and in Ai somewhere. I don't have to worry about the next generation being "too dumb" to do anything. You can look up anything in just a few seconds.

But I have noticed something about the internet.. the word "influencers" wasn't even a word a decade ago. We tend to point that word to one individual influencer. But what about as a whole? The internet has become our "source of truth" for everything.

Opinions, religion, politics, which Linux distro to use, which car to buy, what kind of food to eat... blah blah blah.
We no longer have to think for ourselves, all the thinking and opinions are already done for us... and our kids. If the internet is right
about how to change spark plugs and how to make a calabra... then it must be right about everything right?

We have gotten pretty good at teaching people (even the next generation) about watching out for things like phishing, and internet scams.
Viruses, Malware, and system updates are just second nature to most of us now. But families have gotten more disconnected. We
don't eat together at the dinner table anymore. We don't share personal values anymore. In fact it seems to be encouraged not to do these things. Why?

I see the problem here as.... whatever is on the inet is right... the pervasive media controls opinion, politics, religion, .. the "ahem".. news.
And no one questions it anymore... it's just the way it is... (or is it?)

Have we reached "1984". Does big brother really control us? Does "the system" really determine what we think, what we do, and what we buy?

Is free thinking already dead?

 

[Brickwizard]

Is free thinking already dead?

Much died years ago, example I am doing an urgent job and need to go into a hardware store, for a Philips no 2 screwdriver, the young counter/shop assistant taps it in his terminal and says no sorry we don't do them I can't help you, so i drive down the road to another store, I ask the same question, this time the middle-aged assistant says sorry we don't keep single bit screwdrivers, but I have one with a reversible no2/slotted bit I leave happy and get on with the job, now this is not true lateral thinking [something AI can't do] but is an example of how companies have cut training and moved to lower quality staff to save wages and an example of what is happening in the world of computer use across the world on a daily basis

 

[Trynna3]

You can look up anything in just a few seconds.

Yes, unless you are distracted with Tiktok and alikes, that you don't even think about learning anything valuable and get angry that things aren't turning the way you want them to be.
The diminishing attention span of youth has already caught attention of teachers and scientists.
And the marketing penetrating all layers of society, food delivery to your home, getting indebted for expensive cars many cannot afford even on finances (or because they are on finances from the dealership, which is quite a rip off).
When you don't know that you don't know, that's hard.
I have heard that even EU is going to gut its GDPR, like if somebody was lobbying for stripping off the privacy laws. That means more data collection and ads tailored even more closely to the individual.

 

[dos2unix]

That means more data collection and ads tailored even more closely to the individual.

Is that always a good thing? I bought a car a couple of weeks ago. I was doing quite a bit of searching, and reading reviews, watching youube videos, and asking Ai questions... (the very things I'm complaining about... yes)
since then, I have had several car brochures mailed to me. I didn't ask for them. Even here on Linux.org I get Car ads.
My facebook, my youtube... seemingly my whole life is wrapped in car ads. But I already bought the car. Enough already.

We use advertising as an excuse to collect data about you. But how much is too much? For some people they don't care.
For othrs of us... there is such a thing as knowing "too much" about someone.

 

[Condobloke]

I have had several car brochures mailed to me.

mailed?....so your address is 'out there' ?

That really is a step too far. In normal circumstances, you would not invite the senders around for a cup of tea and a sandwich?

Totally Unacceptable.

 

[Trynna3]

Is that always a good thing?

I thought it was obvious that I meant it wasn't a good thing. The media around us and everything is becoming over-saturated with advertising. It is a booming industry. And we, the customers, pay for it. Some corporations make it almost a crime to refuse being exposed to this smoke. Many media outlets, like TV or radio channels seem to exist solely for the income from ads, and the programs interrupting the ads are just like btw. You pay a premium to go ad free and soon they push ads there and ask you to pay a higher premium to go ad free. Fed up with it. I haven't turned on TV for over a month now, and when I do, it is usually an iPlayer, a BBC streaming service, documentaries from nature. No ads. Something to calm my nerve irritated by commercial shallowness everywhere around.
Then you have data brokers and stolen or purchased data to target scams. And to add insult to injury, there are companies offering you to delete your data from these data brokers, which is of a little value when hackers also get your data and siphon it on the dark web and these services charging people for removing data from data brokers have no reach on those hackers' servers. People are being fleeced even if they want to protect their data. It is literally impossible these days.

 

[KGIII]

whatever is on the inet is right..

This also is heavily influenced by the sites a person visits. They tend to stay in their same bubble with all the potentially negative effects of an echochamber. If you have a particular viewpoint, you'll visits sites that confirm those views and they'll feed you misinformation that makes you outraged so that you get your daily endorphin rush.

They're never exposed to anything contrary to their views. So, they discount it it as 'fake news' when it is contrary to those views. They'll perform all sorts of mental gymnastics to hold onto those beliefs.

We've become a culture of outrage, moving from one outrage to another while being fed straight-up lies.

While I'd like to go on a rant, I need to avoid the politics thing and so I'll avoid doing so.

I think there are enough studies now to know that social media is harmful. Then again, this very site meets the definition of 'social media'. So, there's that... There are some countries that are changing their laws to stop young children from using social media. That's probably not going to work as well as they hope.

We had such high hopes when we built these things called the 'Internet' and 'World Wide Web'.

We wore rose colored glasses and pictured a truly idyllic future. The word 'Utopia' is often used and usually misunderstood. If you read the book, you'll know that it turned out that a Utopia can't exist.

I have said this before and I'll likely say it again. I sometimes think it was a mistake to make computers so easy to operate that anyone can do it. I realize that's gatekeeping but the internet has a lot of drawbacks - especially for people who are too young to even have fully developed brains.

 

[Condobloke]

I sometimes think it was a mistake to make computers so easy to operate that anyone can do it.

The vast majority of kids in the world...their first pc is windows driven. Underdeveloped brains by the tonne..and the rot is set in place, permanently....(and on and on it goes)...never ending story.

 

[KGIII]

their first pc is windows driven.

These days, it may be a Chromebook or an Apple product. Both are now widely used in education.

We had a program at my tiny local elementary school (older students are bused out quite a ways) where we gave an Apple laptop to every 3rd grade student. It was their laptop to keep, if they had permission from their parents. Students are, even at that age, expected to have a computer. If they break the device given to them, their parents are expected to replace it in a timely manner - though the school has a great IT dude who manages to keep them mostly running.

The program has been considered a success.

These days, they're just getting Chromebooks. I believe they get another one in 7th grade but I'm not 100% sure. I only have enough time/motivation to concern myself with the elementary students.

If it matters, the program we have is not funded by the tax payers directly. It's through grants and a recurrent donation specifically for that program. It is also not a large school. There are fewer than 200 kids in the system, which means it is not a high financial burden.

When my kids were in school, they used Apple products almost exclusively. Apple sells computers to educational institutes at a very steep discount. I'm sure that's not due to altruism. They also donate many millions of dollars worth to schools. Again, I'm not sure that they do so for altruistic reasons. In fact, I think quite the opposite.

 

[Trynna3]

The vast majority of kids in the world...their first pc is windows driven. Underdeveloped brains by the tonne..and the rot is set in place, permanently....(and on and on it goes)...never ending story.

I think that the majority of kids' computer experience is either via phones or tablets these days. Computers are still reserved for older kids.
This should say tablet:

 

[MikeRocor]

I think that the majority of kids' computer experience is either via phones or tablets these days. Computers are still reserved for older kids.
This should say tablet:
View attachment 26820

When you were 3, you ate a tablet?

I'm pretty sure I was a potato when I was three - I don't remember any specifics from that age, but whatever I did, it didn't involve electronics of any kind.

The first time I ever touched a computer was in college. Fast forward a few decades to today, when computers are pretty easy to use (especially if you're not trying to do anything out of the ordinary with them) and my sister-in-law (in her mid 60's) uses a tablet to access facebook messenger as her only messaging platform - because she's convinced she's "too dumb to use email".

 

[Mike-BTU]

These days, it may be a Chromebook or an Apple pr, ...

When my kids were in school, they used Apple products ...

When I went to school (graduated HS class of '72; 1973 for the wifey) there were NO computers in school.

Just sayin'.

 

[dos2unix]

Along these same lines... the Ai browser wars. Of course Microsoft wants you to use Edge (even on Linux) for coPilot
However the "real" coPilot isn't free. It's about $30 (US) extra per month on top of your already existing office365 subscription.

Enter Chrome Enterprise

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It's very similar to the Microsoft model, but of course you use Chrome instead of Edge, and you use Gemini instead of coPilot.

Is one better than the other? I don't know, who would you rather give your money to?

 

[Brickwizard]

who would you rather give your money to?

Neither 30 bucks would get me 2 reasonably good bottles of Claret

 

[KGIII]

I don't know, who would you rather give your money to?

In my situation, I have no compelling reason to pay for AI. I'm not against paying for tools and I don't mind paying for software. At this moment in time, in my particular situation, I do not use AI enough to matter.

 

[dos2unix]

I do not use AI enough to matter

I personally hope all this Ai stuff, is just a passing fad. Or at best... a niche market for specialist industries.
But if all the hype is true... (doom and gloom forecast ahead). Ai will become as relevant to our identity as email is.

We are all already profiled. They have our facial features, fingerprints, voice samples... some you won't need a drivers license,
or passport, possibly even credit cards. Just speak some words here, look at that camera, put your finger on this pad.

Viola, we know who you are, where you live, your bank account number, your religious and political views, we
know where you work, who your spouse is and where you were born. You won't be who you say you are... you will be
who the system says you are,

 

[dos2unix]

This also is heavily influenced by the sites a person visits. They tend to stay in their same bubble with all the potentially negative effects of an echochamber. If you have a particular viewpoint, you'll visits sites that confirm those views

I think THIS is the problem. I get my viewpoint from site A, because it agrees with me.
..or.. I get my viewpoint from site B because it agrees with, there fore I will avoid site A.

This is exactly my point... what if you avoid both site A and site B. Go look out the window.
Forget about commentaries and opinions ( like mine here ) and look at how the decisions affect you
and your values.

How did that decision affect you? Are taxes higher or lower? Is crime higher or lower? Is government based education
and healthcare better or worse? Please don't answer these questions here. I don't want this to be political.
The point is... life doesn't revolve around someone opinion on the internet. You can agree or you can disagree that's up
to you. But don't base it on the input you're watching on the .. {news, internet, cell phone.. etc...)
Base it on how it affects you in real life.

 

[lizardfromoz]

Have we reached "1984". Does big brother really control us? Does "the system" really determine what we think, what we do, and what we buy?

Big brother has been around in every civilization but its been limited. Now you have technology which can overcome those limitations.

 

[lizardfromoz]

mailed?....so your address is 'out there' ?

That really is a step too far. In normal circumstances, you would not invite the senders around for a cup of tea and a sandwich?

Totally Unacceptable.

Same thing happened to me. I did one search online for a certain thing and in a few days I received a bunch of mail from local places for the thing I searched.