Comment by minimaltom
8 hours ago
Take a look at the thread below yours, but basically if the prediction has to be wishy-washy or just interpreted as 'direction', theres way more noise and way less signal. Why not just state the underlying trend/forces instead? Why lean into the online culture of predictions and do it badly.
Bad (form) prediction: OAI is gonna be wobbly in a bit Good (form) prediction (could be totally wrong): OAI as we know it today is going to collapse due to running out of money around/at 20xx.
And sure we can be pedantic about detail, but the litmus test is: is the prediction useful if you had a crystal ball and you could know if it was true/false a priori?
> OAI as we know it today is going to collapse due to running out of money around/at 20xx.
Now what happens if that prediction is published in a popular, widely-consumed way?
Pundits and analysts who are widely read, talking about a prediction that OpenAI will run out of money by a given date, will change when OpenAI runs out of money.
This is why directional accuracy is more valuable.
Who cares about predictions to this extent? They’re practically always incorrect or flawed in some way, and most people understand and accept that. No need to be so neurotic about it.
That’s the crux of it!! You don’t have to agree but people do care, and I think (ignoring the obvious partisans) that’s the two dominant camps of commenters on this thread.
One pony’s trash is another pony’s treasure, so I guess here one persons pedanticism is another persons hobby.
Apparently you do, or you wouldn't keep asking?