Comment by xtiansimon

> “…LLM vendors [are responsible for the message?] We should be afraid […] The purpose here is not to responsibly warn us of a real threat. If that were the aim there would be a lot more shutting down of data centres…”

Let’s not forget these innovations are on the heels of COVID. Strong, swift action by government, industry, and individuals against a deadly pathogen is “controversial”. Even if killer AI was here, twice shy…

I’m angry about a lot of things right now, but LLM “marketing” (and inadequate reporting which turns to science fiction instead of science) is not one of them. The LLM revolution is getting shoehorned into this Three Card Monte narrative, and I don’t see the utility.

The criticisms of LLM promise and danger is part of the zeitgeist. If firms are playing off of anything I bet it’s that, and not an industry wide conspiracy to trick the public and customers. Advertising and marketing meets people where they’re at, and “imagines” where they want to go, all wrapped up with the product. It doesn’t make the product frightening. It’s the same for all manner of dangerous technologies—guns, nuclear energy, whatever. The product is the solution to the fear.

> “The LLMs we have today are famously obsequious. The phrase “you’re absolutely right!” may never again be used in earnest.”

Hard NO. I get it, the language patterns of LLMs are creepy, but it’s not bad usage. So, no.

I can handle the cognitive dissonance of computer algorithms spewing out anthropomorphic phrasing and not decide that I, as a human being, can no longer in humility and honesty tell someone else they’re right, and i was wrong.