'Techno-Optimism' Is Not Something You Should Believe In

Re:'Techno-Optimism' Is Not Something You Should Believe In by sfpotter on Sunday October 22, 2023 @11:48AM (#37976390)

“We believe Artificial Intelligence is our alchemy, our Philosopher’s Stone – we are literally making sand think.”

Uhh, does Marc Andreesen know how things went down historically for alchemy…? Or how the word “alchemy” is used colloquially?

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Re:'Techno-Optimism' Is Not Something You Should Believe In by tomjakubowski on Sunday October 22, 2023 @03:54PM (#37978509)

What went down historically for alchemy? Its latter-day practitioners (Paracelsus, Robert Boyle) adopted the scientific method and those who went along with it eventually became known as "chemists".

"Fox turned into a hardcore porn channel so gradually I didn't even notice."

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Re:'Techno-Optimism' Is Not Something You Should Believe In by sfpotter on Sunday October 22, 2023 @06:11PM (#37979542)

Well, as far as I can tell, we don’t have any philosopher’s stones kicking around…

There are more than a few parallels between AGI and philosopher’s stones.

Base metals were never successfully turned into gold, and we are literally not making sand think.

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