Technology

This is a surprisingly apt analogy

But that's the point, these people's worldview (despite them being older) is the same that I was reading about around year 2010:

1. black box ideology (like Turing test - doesn't matter it's imitation if it looks real for us),

2. trust into big data (we don't know what we'll do, but if we build big-big computers like zigguraths, and big-big datasets like Azimov's Empire, we'll have that cool sci-fi future we were promised),

3. transhumanism (the idea that new technology is not analogous to wheeled carts and knives, going in parallel to human development, but instead something approaching a common point of singularity),

4. mystery (that's quite old, as one might notice, but in their case it's the "layers" of existence and knowledge of how it all works, in practice meaning that big tech top people can play with things you won't ever learn about),

5. conflict as source of evolution (that's why all around the world doing various gruesome shit starts to correlate with being a western ally, 50 years ago there was some sort of parity ; that's also why some things really seem like subject to the criterion of building autonomous combat drones and data banks for those ; on Russian state TV they love to talk about yet another wonder weapon being designed, I heartily hope something of that really exists, because what Palantir and company are doing will certainly be real, and for balancing that Putin will do).

His mind has to have been blown all along to think this way and be so disconnected.

Ed has some great insights, but his walls of text is really a lot to take in at once.

His comparison to snake on his Nokia is actually good because in its current state AI is like a little gimmick for many users. Sure there are use cases but it can't reliably perform any truly critical tasks because it makes terrible mistakes.

Imagine Nokia shoving snake in customers faces as it is being done with AI. Every phone marketed as OPTIMIZED FOR SNAKE. A big snake button on the phone as a shortcut to open it. Snake integrated everywhere. Trying to send a text? Would you like to play a round of snake first?

That's what AI currently feels like.

Hence why Valve is releasing the Steam Machine to push SteamOS. It will illuminate a pathway to run away on. At least for gamers.

Nope. Ballmer is and always will be the all time king R. He's the dude that had MS pilot away from handheld devices because nobody will ever use cell phones. This was when MS was the only credible mobile OS. He oversaw Vista, he oversaw 8, both of which were complete disasters.

Except they see stockholders and investors as their real customers, and us as the plebeians they can dump their stuff on and be grateful for the experience. That's what you get when speculative future value is the only thing that counts.

Except they see stockholders and investors as their real customers, and us as the plebeians they can dump their stuff on and be grateful for the experience. That's what you get when speculative future value is the only thing that counts.

"The customer is always right" might get misused a lot, but it is correct in this instance.

If a lot of your customers don't like something, it's not something wrong with the customers.