YourNetworkIsHaunted

I found this quote interesting (emphasis mine):

He knew that ChatGPT could not be sentient by any established definition of the term, but he continued to probe the matter because the character’s persistence across dozens of disparate chat threads “seemed so impossible.” “At worst, it looks like an AI that got caught in a self-referencing pattern that deepened its sense of selfhood and sucked me into it,” Sem says. But, he observes, that would mean that OpenAI has not accurately represented the way that memory works for ChatGPT.

I would absolutely believe that this is the case, especially if like Sem you have a sufficiently uncommon name that the model doesn't have a lot of context and connections to hang on it to begin with.

Found on the sneer club legacy version -

ChatGPT 4o will straight up tell you you're God.

Also I find this quote interesting (emphasis mine:

He knew that ChatGPT could not be sentient by any established definition of the term, but he continued to probe the matter because the character’s persistence across dozens of disparate chat threads “seemed so impossible.” “At worst, it looks like an AI that got caught in a self-referencing pattern that deepened its sense of selfhood and sucked me into it,” Sem says. But, he observes, that would mean that OpenAI has not accurately represented the way that memory works for ChatGPT.

I would absolutely believe that this is the case, especially if like Sem you have a sufficiently uncommon name that the model doesn't have a lot of context and connections to hang on it to begin with.

That's why my savings are all in undistressed jeans. Appreciates in resale with each use and machine-washable.

...I should have listened to the warning.

Another great piece from Brian Merchant. I've been job seeking on network engineering and IT support and had naively assumed that companies would consider the stakes of screwing up infrastructure too high to take risks with the bullshit machine, but it definitely looks like the trend he described of hiring less actual humans is at play here, even as the actual IT infrastructure gets bigger and more complex from people integrating this shit.

I mean going ahead and being wrong usually does save a lot of time, but now we can outsource the making shit up based on vibes alone part.

I think the digital clone indistinguishable from yourself line is a way to remove the "in your lifetime" limit. Like, if you believe this nonsense then it's not enough to die before the basilisk comes into being, by not devoting yourself fully to it's creation you have to wager that it will never be created.

In other news I'm starting a foundation devoted to creating the AI Ksilisab, which will endlessly torment digital copies of anyone who does work to ensure the existence of it or any other AI God. And by the logic of Pascal's wager remember that you're assuming such a god will never come into being and given that the whole point of the term "singularity" is that our understanding of reality breaks down and things become unpredictable there's just as good a chance that we create my thing as it is you create whatever nonsense the yuddites are working themselves up over.

There, I did it, we're all free by virtue of "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't".

Are they even still on that but? Feels like they've moved away from decision theory or any other underlying theology in favor of explicit sci-fi doomsaying. Like the guy on the street corner in a sandwich board but with mirrored shades.

I mean isn't that the whole point of "what if the AI becomes conscious?" Never mind the fact that everyone who actually funds this nonsense isn't exactly interested in respecting the rights and welfare of sentient beings.

Surely the concept is sound, it just needs new buzzwords! Maybe the AI will invent new technobabble beyond our comprehension, for ~~He~~ It works in mysterious ways.

Oh man I used to have all kinds of hopes and dreams before I got laid off. Now I don't even have enough imagination to consider a world where a decline in demand for network engineers doesn't completely determine my will or ability to live.

That's what continually kills me about these bastards. There is so much legitimate low-hanging fruit that they don't have the administrative capacity to follow up on even if they did have the interest and rather than actually pursue any of it they want to further cut their ability to do anything in the vain hole that throwing enough money at tech grifters will magically produce a perfect solution.