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Is Elon Musk the greatest visionary or the greatest snake oil salesman of our age?

"poet master Grunthos ... his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save humanity, leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain. "
 
DotCommunist said:
Roko's Basilisk but its specifically coming for musk and the people who helped him before self destructing.
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+1 for the Basilisk reference. Even back when I was less critical about the Singularitarian stuff, I thought that was a bit batshit. It's funny because even on its own terms, it can be defeated by just doing the equivalent of crossing your arms and saying "nope".
 
NoXion said:
+1 for the Basilisk reference. Even back when I was less critical about the Singularitarian stuff, I thought that was a bit batshit. It's funny because even on its own terms, it can be defeated by just doing the equivalent of crossing your arms and saying "nope".
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Theres a very good charles stross short story that goes on the idea that as soon as you create true AI it will always exist from that point, the future AI will then reach back using sci fi logic and empower the new born AI so as soon as you create it it goes godlike. Can't remember the title. Good story ideas but shouldn't be taken too much more seriously than that imo.
 
I seem to remember reading an AI-based short story called "The trouble with horse" back in the 1970s. But googling the title gives no results.

Anyone here remember it?
 
DotCommunist said:
Theres a very good charles stross short story that goes on the idea that as soon as you create true AI it will always exist from that point, the future AI will then reach back using sci fi logic and empower the new born AI so as soon as you create it it goes godlike. Can't remember the title. Good story ideas but shouldn't be taken too much more seriously than that imo.
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say that to jules verne
 
DotCommunist said:
Theres a very good charles stross short story that goes on the idea that as soon as you create true AI it will always exist from that point, the future AI will then reach back using sci fi logic and empower the new born AI so as soon as you create it it goes godlike. Can't remember the title. Good story ideas but shouldn't be taken too much more seriously than that imo.
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That sounds a lot like the idea that if time travel is invented, it is invented at all times simultaneously.

(no idea where that’s from - it’s just mentioned in passing in a Douglas Adams book)
 
petee said:
ringing.

View attachment 392134
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I think the full flavour of this really comes out when you see what he was replying to.

It was from this account:

Screencap of the header to the twitter account for Gino @m1stergino

The header on the x-twitter account for Gino @m1stergino.
There is an image of a bright red sunset or sunrise and in an inset an image of a chimpanzee with it's hand to it's head.
The text reads:
"EQ & trauma counselor. Love is the answer to most questions. Happiness requires truth. Primum non nocere. (r = -1)"
Sweden Joined July 2019
79 Following 394 Followers

and this is the actual x-tweet Elon was replying to:

''Gino'' an alleged 'counsellor' gives an internet diagnosis of Russell Brand


Russell Brand has not raped any woman. He used to be what we call a womanizer; promiscuous, in his own words. His drive & incentive back then was the exact opposite of forcing a woman; his game was to flirt & seduce. He was obviously skillful at it & practiced that openly for the world to see. This is clear to anyone who has a functioning brain, some life experience, & the ability to assess easily available information. I rarely waste my energy on tabloid stories, but this is provoking me to speak out.

This is a smear campaign. The word journalist has lost its value, The word rape & victim shouldn’t. One of many sad consequences of these false attacks is that they ruin the validity of genuine accusations from victims that truly have been traumatized.


I feel a rather violent "thought experiment" coming on.
 
Yossarian said:
There's no amount of money small enough for me to consider using it to pay for Twitter

techcrunch.com

Elon Musk says X will charge users 'a small monthly payment' to use its service | TechCrunch

X owner Elon Musk today floated the idea that the social network formerly known as Twitter may no longer be a free site. In a live-streamed conversation
techcrunch.com techcrunch.com
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Yes with everyones bills rising due to inflation i'm sure nobody will mind paying for "X". It's the perfect time to do this! :hmm: :D
 
kabbes said:
But there are 8 billion people in the world! He only has to get 1 billion of them paying $10 per year and then it will only take five short years to get his investment back!
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A version of this was in fact discussed on radio 4 earlier this morning.
 
DotCommunist said:
Theres a very good charles stross short story that goes on the idea that as soon as you create true AI it will always exist from that point, the future AI will then reach back using sci fi logic and empower the new born AI so as soon as you create it it goes godlike. Can't remember the title. Good story ideas but shouldn't be taken too much more seriously than that imo.
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Hang on, you don't mean Iron Sunrise do you?
 
Idris2002 said:
Hang on, you don't mean Iron Sunrise do you?
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my memory is shot but I don't think so, I recall it as a short story/novella*. Its likely he recycled the idea for Iron Sunrise in some form though, he basically span the excellent short 'a colder war' into the Laundry series and fair play to him.

*the way you could tell peoples heads or your own had been compromised by the AI was an inability to hear or see the phrase 'I love you'. In the before times when google was betterI'd be able to get to it from those clues
 
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He already does take his fanboys' money tbf, most of them are blue tickers. From the perspective of a group that has a sizeableish account (Freedom, 19.5k followers) the engagement we get from it isn't really important enough to bother paying him actual money and we're already ambivalent about still having an account, so that'd probably be it for us I'd guess. Conversion from likes to actual article reads has always been fairly crap in any case.
 
Musk is stating he wants to charge to get rid of bots, but I would have thought most bots are right-wing/conspiracy bots.
What's the point of having a bot that sends tweets like 'Well Climate Change is happening and we need to do something about it' or 'The coronavirus vaccine helps to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms' as that is the truth.

But a bot that spewing forth 'Chemtrail enhanced 5G nanoparticles causes the coronavirus, wokeness and pronouns' is going to be a lot more popular in Musks Alt-Right circlejerk, making the denizens of that echo-chamber feel more like special flowers.
So charging for an account is going to drive away a lot of sensible people and probably reduce the number of alt-rights as there is going to be a lot less echo.

In all, it seems like another 'brave' decision by Musk
 
I really hope he charges everyone soon as I think 'left twitter' should already have left the platform really and this is what will finally end it. No-one's going to want to be giving money to a known fascist.
 
Storm Fox said:
Musk is stating he wants to charge to get rid of bots, but I would have thought most bots are right-wing/conspiracy bots.
What's the point of having a bot that sends tweets like 'Well Climate Change is happening and we need to do something about it' or 'The coronavirus vaccine helps to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms' as that is the truth.

But a bot that spewing forth 'Chemtrail enhanced 5G nanoparticles causes the coronavirus, wokeness and pronouns' is going to be a lot more popular in Musks Alt-Right circlejerk, making the denizens of that echo-chamber feel more like special flowers.
So charging for an account is going to drive away a lot of sensible people and probably reduce the number of alt-rights as there is going to be a lot less echo.

In all, it seems like another 'brave' decision by Musk
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The thing is he doesn't need to justify it does he. If he wants to charge because he thinks it will make him money then he's totally free to do it. The obvious problem though is that it'll cost him most of his user base instantly. If there's one thing likely to make Threads a massive success it's this. Some waffle about Bots doesn't affect that.
 
It's a shame, the platform could be informative, activist, creative and (despite the presence of various daleks and other space lunatics) could occasionally be a force for change.

But no, the big bad had to ruin it all for everyone. Horrible man.
 
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