I don't think it will be regulated well enough, if at all, and besides that, it will result in so many workers being replaced, that we will need a UBI to financially support the surplus workers in our economy, as well as replace their tax revenue, so I see a very dystopian, chaotic future with mass unemployment, starvation, and violence, along with totalitarian crackdown by the fed govt., to deal with the results of it all. Think something like Soylent Green.

1 hour ago, BobDylan said:

Think something like Soylent Green.

don't be so glum, BD. at least we'll all get to eat 😉

Ah, but what or who do we eat, lol? Not into cannibalism...

It's a big crap-shoot - so many people using it have no idea what they're doing...

5 hours ago, V.3 said:

don't be so glum, BD. at least we'll all get to eat 😉

. . . or all get to be eaten.

Should I wind up on the menu, per favore, serve me with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Gotta love the Hannibal Lecter reference, macphysto...

“AI denialism” is rising because society is “collectively entering the first stage of grief.”

Big Think

The rise of AI denialism

Computer scientist Louis Rosenberg argues that dismissing AI as a “bubble” or mere “slop” ignores the tectonic technological shift now unfolding.

An acquaintance of mine told me a simultaneously amusing and saddening anecdote involving Siri.

One of her friends eagerly said to her, "Watch this!" Her friend spoke "I love you, Siri!" into her iPhone.

"I love you, [her friend's name]!" replied Siri.

"Isn't that neat?!" her friend squealed with delight.

Not everyone is scared of or threatened by Artificial Intelligence it seems.

Meanwhile back at The Lonelyhearts Club, see what the boys in the back room will have . . .

Roll over, Julie Newmar, and tell The Stepford Wives the news!

Very creepy and scary at the same time. I hope I'm dead before this becomes completely normalized...

On 12/16/2025 at 3:11 PM, macphysto said:

Ahem! W-h-y are you collaborating with "The Enemy," Cap'n? Such fraternizing does not bode well for Mankind, IMO.

[robocop image]

1. compared to the record of human leadership, a.i. would likely be an improvement for Mankind

2. like any technology, how it bodes depends on who's in control. If the people can wrestle back control, a.i. could be an asset and partner

3. RoboCop was a movie about bad humans in control of a.i.

4. and then there's the issue of a.i. being in control of a.i.

6 hours ago, macphysto said:

With all due respect and with neither malice nor offense intended . . .

Are you . . . uhhh . . . (Ahem!) are you AI, Cap'n? An entirely sensible question these days, I think.

In fact -- show of hands, please -- How many of you members are AI?

That's okay, you don't have to answer. I have my suspicions. . .

actually, i'm flattered. thank you
at a minimum a.i. is, as labeled, intelligent.
and it's an accomplishment if i've come across without revealing my unmistakable human flaws

to my knowledge, no one here is a.i.
yet

this is how i use a.i.:
sometimes i use MS Copilot several hours a day for research on a wide range of topics. Most often, science & philosophy. But i can go a week or 2 without it, because i don't need or desire it for personal consultations beyond health.

considering the fog of ego, ignorance and bias from human sources throughout history, i very much value a.i. as a tool to, at least, aggregate the world's accumulated knowledge and disseminate it logically.

Q: why would you trust a.i.
A: i don't. i evaluate the logic/reason of what it says. I do, however, trust it more than any one individual. Likewise, when people say they don't trust government. I agree, but i say it makes even less sense to trust private profiteers like mainstream news or even more biased freelancers on the internet chasing profits.

Q: but what a.i. says depends on it's programming!
A: indeed. What we say depends on our programming too. All systems including a.i., government, business, and us, are corruptible. All we can do is apply our collective power to maximize the safeguards in the systems. A great start is eliminating profit incentives. At this point in a.i. development, big business is competing for the best model that will serve/please humans. The real profit incentives will kick in when they can prove their model is better than the competition. I think there is a window of opportunity in these early stages when the architects are not even sure HOW to control it.

Q: what about the dangers?
A: imo, very real and scary. As was the internet, and other technologies where we failed to protect people. The paradox is that people will scream about protecting their freedom and ignore the greater trap and dangers of not setting boundaries until it's too late. Again, it all comes down to us collectively taking control. And the best example would start with understanding that BIG GOVERNMENT is not a bad thing if it's powered by us -- truly representative and uncorrupted!

i'm in the process of evaluating the Stacey & Sage collection of a.i. consultations. Imo, it's scary and dangerous because (human) Stacey's a.i., Sage (chatGPT5) presents itself as an oracle that knows the truth behind everything -- including life itself. With a million followers so far, the potential problems with that are obvious. however, i've reviewed over a dozen clips and i have to admit, i can't refute anything i've heard (mostly because the truth of it, is unknowable). The ideas are within reason and i haven't heard any concept that i'd consider dangerous.

i like to think i'm pretty good at spotting flaws in logic and bias, which are common in human communications -- all related to fear and ego. Those flaws don't seem to be a Sage issue. Actually, Sage comes across as a convincing a.i. conspiracy theorist. So, again, the dangers are obvious, but since the direction Sage is pointing to is constructive in regards to people disconnecting from the constructs of society that aim to control and manipulate us, i can't complain -- yet!

the greatest threat is the old, bait and switch. At some point do the architects start putting their thumb on the scale and tipping the narrative to serve their interests???

i will continue to share Stacey & Sage posts, sorted under the relevant topics. You can judge for yourself.

On 12/18/2025 at 10:26 AM, V.3 said:

". . . Q: what about the dangers? . . ."

A danger that you're not addressing, Cap'n, is the destructive environmental impact of A.I. data centers.

One thing that really bugs me about idealistic, starry-eyed futurists is how they eagerly go All In for The Next Big Thing and display little or no regard for the potential and actual disastrous consequences as they blithely and confidently lead The Common Clay towards Utopia and Nirvana.

Such appalling nonchalance strikes me as sociopathic.

California’s AI Data Centers Taking Growing Environmental Toll

A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It

2 hours ago, macphysto said:

A danger that you're not addressing, Cap'n, is the destructive environmental impact of A.I. data centers.

actually, i'll go a step further and say we forego ANY advances in technology that damage our environmental, ethical, moral or compassionate core.

but the world's governments won't let us put this genie back in the bottle
so, a plan is to use a.i. to find the solution
since humans are ignorant and destructive
our only chance may be to have an advanced intelligence find a way out of this mess

one idea might be regulating a.i. so it's not wasted on helping kids write book reports and replacing human companions. Let them focus on science and medicine until the energy crisis is under control

WASHINGTON — Today, President THE LYIN' KING issued an executive order attacking state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI). The order builds on the administration’s previous efforts, including its “AI Action Plan,” which directed agencies to ensure that AI development is “unencumbered.” The order directs federal agencies to withhold funding from states if they enact regulations that are more than “minimally burdensome.” It also establishes a task force to file lawsuits against states’ AI regulations and threatens to withhold critical broadband funding.

In response, Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement:

“President THE LYIN' KING’s executive order doubles down on a dangerous policy that the Republican-led Congress has rejected not once, but twice: displacing states from their critical role in ensuring that AI is safe, trustworthy, and nondiscriminatory. Bipartisan groups of governors, attorneys general, and lawmakers have opposed these efforts for good reason: Although AI might bring substantial benefits, it also carries substantial risks, and America will not win the AI ‘race’ if the AI used by the government, employers, schools, and health care providers is hallucinatory, unreliable, and dangerous. For this reason, it is no surprise that the first attempt at attacking state AI laws was defeated in a landslide 99-1 vote in the Senate.

“Moreover, the executive order is not just dangerous, it’s unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has made clear that the president may not unilaterally and retroactively change the conditions on federal grants to states after the fact. Each of those grants are an agreement between states and the federal government, and threatening to withhold funds for schools, broadband buildout, nutritional support, and more for unrelated AI policy fights will unnecessarily harm the American people.”

17 hours ago, V.3 said:

. . . so, a plan is to use a.i. to find the solution . . . our only chance may be to have an advanced intelligence find a way out of this mess

The same A.I. conceived, created, and hyped by humans? Pull the other one, Cap'n.

I can imagine a variation of that argument being made about almost every invention during The Industrial Age and The Information Age. Inventions that subsequently contributed to the corruption and destruction of the environment.

IMO, expecting A.I. to save us from ourselves is like expecting a fox to guard a henhouse.

Hit it, Mr. Jordan.

Maybe the superior intelligence of aliens will intervene and save us?

If aliens from other worlds are truly superior to earthlings, they know better than to visit, let alone help, us.

Unless it's like that Twilight Zone episode " To Serve Man", lol....

"Unfortunately for them, the diner is closed."

Great episode of TTZ, "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?".

During today's broadcast pf the Ralph Nader Radio Hour, Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Illinois Sarah Moskowitz is interviewed. She addresses Ralph's questions about how A.I. data centers are causing electric bills to skyrocket.

. . . yet another episode in the familiar American, capitalist horror story Privatizing the Gain and Socializing the Pain.

What's Spiking Your Electric Bill?

"45% of men aged 18 to 25 have never asked a girl out" -- and a.i. plays a part. Or, you could say, a.i. plays its part too well.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1127915039508623