Activists are organizing to combat generative AI and other technologies—and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process.

The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down::Activists are organizing to combat generative AI and other technologies—and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process.

  • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    9 months ago

    I wonder how much support this will get - it’s not the tool that’s the problem, but how it gets used.

    • as a tech person, generative AI is already a useful tool, similar to how search engines are. However I’m not afraid of it taking my job because someone still needs to tell it what to do, plus it’s still pretty limited. I liken it to previous attempts to outsource software to the lowest bidder in the cheapest country. In general that was a failure and companies are looking for ability even in cheap labor markets, not just cheapness
    • as someone who reads news and opinions online, I see the enshittification overtaking that industry over the last decade. Most content is clearly no longer written by journalists nor adhering to any standards for informing the user, but written by formula and template for SEO, and invoking outrage or other emotion. As someone watching videos, I see more choices than ever, but mostly poorly written and produced. It feels like these industries are racing for the bottom and not stopping. Generative AI can actually do a better job than most of the crap, and the most important skill of an online citizen is how to wade through the oceans of crap to find those morsels of journalism. How do we bring back journalism as a whole, regardless of what tools the hacks use to fill our attention and sell ads?
    • laskoune@lemmy.worldEnglish
      122·
      9 months ago

      It was actually the same thing with the original luddites. They didn’t oppose the new tool but the way it was used.

      From the article :

      The first Luddites were artisans and cloth workers in England who, at the onset of the Industrial Revolution, protested the way factory owners used machinery to undercut their status and wages. Contrary to popular belief, they did not dislike technology; most were skilled technicians.

    • realharo@lemm.eeEnglish
      31·
      9 months ago

      However I’m not afraid of it taking my job because someone still needs to tell it what to do

      Why couldn’t it do that part too? - purely based on a simple high-level objective that anyone can formulate. Which part exactly do you think is AI-resistant?

      I’m not talking about today’s models, but more like 5-10 years into the future.

      • anlumo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        9 months ago

        That’s what I’ve been arguing with a fellow programmer recently. Right now you have to tell these programmer LLMs what to do on a function-by-function basis, because it doesn’t have enough capacity to think on a project level. However, that’s exactly what can be improved by scaling the neural network up. Right now the LLMs are limited by hardware, but they’re still using off-the-shelf GPUs that were designed for a completely different use case. The accelerators designed for AI are currently in the preproduction phase, very close to getting used in the AI data centers.

    • laurelraven@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      Best explanation of the problem with AI and our jobs I’ve seen:

      I’m not worried that AI can do my job. I’m worried that my boss will be convinced it can.