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AI as Normal Technology

(knightcolumbia.org)
237 points randomwalker | 2 comments | 15 Apr 25 20:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.523s | source
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roxolotl ◴[17 Apr 25 12:20 UTC] No.43715735[source]▶
This is a rare piece on AI which takes a coherent middle of the road viewpoint. Saying both that AI is “normal” and that it will be transformative is a radical statement in today’s discussions about AI.

Looking back on other normal but transformative technologies: steam power, electricity, nuclear physics, the transistor, etc you do actually see similarly stratified opinions. Most of those are surrounded by an initial burst of enthusiasm and pessimism and follow a hype cycle.

The reason this piece is compelling is because during the initial hype phase taking a nuanced middle of the road viewpoint is difficult. Maybe AI really is some “next step” but it is significantly more likely that belief is propped up by science fiction and it’s important to keep expectations inline historically.

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1. schnable ◴[17 Apr 25 14:08 UTC] No.43717099[source]▶
Add birth control to that list too.

After these technologies, certainly life is "normal" as in "life goes on" but the social impacts are most definitely new and transformative. Fast travel, instantaneous direct and mass communications, control over family formation all have had massive impact on how people live and interact and then transform again.

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2. AStonesThrow ◴[18 Apr 25 15:40 UTC] No.43729113[source]▶
Humanae vitae by Pope Paul VI, July 25, 1976

https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/docume...

Consequences of Artificial Methods

17. Responsible men can ... first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. ... [A] man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.