Current societal views on AI and resistance

Submitted by LevelWriting t3_zh0931 in singularity

I was talking to someone recently about AI and showed them character.ai for the first time. They were so shocked, they had never interacted with a chatbot before and their mind was blown. However they kept saying this was a trap, that this was sad that people would start using ai as companions instead of humans because its not "real", even though they were having a legit moment of emotional ecstasy talking to the ai lol. (funny when we dont even know what makes a human real, just a bunch of conditioning and thoughts that give the illusion of a sense of local self but anyways). When we talked more about what this would mean to the future of society and how less people might need to work, they got really sad because again, this is not "real", life would be empty and people would lose sense of purpose. Mind you this person works as a store clerk and was actually sad about not being able to work there anymore. Got me perplexed since I never thought someone would care so much about working as a clerk but imagine others such as accountants or doctors. Also got me thinking how enslaved peoples minds are to work. Imagine being freed from having to work to do whatever you want, but feeling afraid since you wouldnt know what to do with your life. Society and the current system has done an incredible job enslaving us all mentally, by stripping us of our free will and imagination and that feels like the saddest part, not how people might start interacting with ai companions. Makes me think that the biggest hurdle to transitioning to the new world might be people unwilling to let go of the old paradigm. I talked to a friend recently who was also showing similar resistance to ai, just a bunch of non-nonsensical arguments, and I think a lot of the population might be too. I think we will clash amongst ourselves before we clash with AI. Hopefully that may not happen once people see how amazing ai can be and just give in.

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botfiddler t1_izkq795 wrote

I'm a dropout who refused to work full-time over a relevant amount of time, now early retired on some capital gains. So, yeah, I was always wondering about that mentality. On top of it, they're programmed to delegate everything to governments and society, and give quite some of their money away for welfare, where they even don't dare to ask how it is used and if this is legit, or don't even dare to think about it. This is vaguely to what the NPC meme is referring to. Many of the same people are also getting upset if someone goes into early retirement, only works part time, focuses on hobbies instead of work, or something like it.

We'll see how much resistance there will be, since there's not much anyone could do against technological progress. It's too decentralized and too much hostility between the groups which would have to work together. 🍿🧘‍♂️

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Current_Side_4024 t1_izkv749 wrote

I already went through all the sadness over the years, I finally came out the other side and I can now see AI as a blessing not a curse. Others will get there too but they may have to go thru some feels first

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I_am_unique6435 t1_izm4pdq wrote

Care to write a step by step guide?
Too amazed but working in the creative industry. My job is probably gone in a few years

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Current_Side_4024 t1_izmnari wrote

What saved me was realizing that if AI does take away peoples’ sense of purpose and makes us feel useless and shitty, then we’ll invent a way to simulate purpose. Even if it means working a “job” in a VR program that doesn’t actually serve any purpose except our own mental health. So we won’t actually lose anything bc anything we lose we can get back through simulation which we can design to be more fun than it ever was in ‘reality’

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CypherLH t1_izlhlif wrote

The most common form of resistance I see is people just refusing to believe that the current models are even real. I have discussed this with otherwise smart people who are convinced the AI was "faking it" somehow or just "mashing words or images together like a search engine", etc. Usually its people who have always been skeptical of AI and are experiencing cognitive dissonance now that AI is becoming so obviously robust. Usually these people have never bothered to try GPT-3, Dalle2, etc, or they tried it a couple times, got one response they thought was dumb, and then immediately dismissed the model as "worthless".

Or sometimes they'll admit its impressive but fall back on the old "its neat but its not REALLY understanding anything", etc. Basically spewing the worthless Chinese Room Argument.

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Toredo226 t1_izmpwr7 wrote

As someone who doesn't need much structure to keep themselves occupied and has always wanted to be financially independent and work for themselves, I've been looking forward to AI.

But I actually appreciate that there's people who enjoy being a store clerk (or whatever). You get to interact with people, be social, contribute, and have a purpose. This is not a bad thing. I actually think that these people have life figured out, being able to find meaning in and enjoy the little things. Not to mention they are meaningfully contributing to society. So you shouldn't call them "enslaved". There's room for both. And I'm sure people who don't like their job would be happy to switch to something else if they could, and that could be something like running their own shop.

Of course, in trying to explain this thought, ChatGPT did a better job, lol:

> "Enjoying one's job is an important source of personal fulfillment and happiness. If your friend enjoys their mundane job, it means that they find meaning and satisfaction in their work, which can be beneficial for their mental and emotional well-being.

> Overall, it is important to focus on the present and on finding joy and fulfillment in the work that we do, rather than worrying about speculative scenarios in the future. Your friend's enjoyment of their mundane job is not a bad thing, and it is a testament to their ability to find meaning and satisfaction in their work."

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canadian-weed t1_iznpeee wrote

> life would be empty and people would lose sense of purpose

uh you mean like now

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