Comment by asp_hornet
10 days ago
The author just wrote an anecdote about how a prompt to fix an issue played out. Their conclusion wasn’t about cost or gushing at its ability but that it’s dangerous:
> Fable is arguably smarter and hence more suspicious of potentially malicious instructions. But that smartness is very much a two-edged sword: if it does get subverted by instructions, the amount of damage it can do given its relentless proactivity is terrifying.
It’s a pretty glowing review about a product that costs money with a two-sentence “Watch out!” at the end of it. Seems pretty reasonable to mention how much money it burned through given that “it’ll circumnavigate the globe instead of walking next door” has a direct concrete measurable effect (cost) unlike theoretical damage.
Agreed. But I think it’s also important to realise if you sent this article back to 2020 people would say it was pure fantasy that a tool could do this. Hype aside, there’s a bit of cool magic here.
Imagining a time machine from the future arriving in 2020, of all the years, just to tell people about how sort of cool chat bots might get eventually
This is why I never understand the AI cynics: we are playing with literal magic. This was the science fiction of our childhoods. I don't understand how anyone with a passion for technology is not in awe (and perhaps some fear) of these things.
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In case it's not clear, "relentlessly proactive" is meant to act as both a glowing review and a warning at the same time, even before you get to the bit about safety at the end.