←back to thread

Thoughts on thinking

(dcurt.is)
645 points bradgessler | 2 comments | 16 May 25 19:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.525s | source
Show context
curl-up ◴[16 May 25 20:02 UTC] No.44009301[source]▶
> The fun has been sucked out of the process of creation because nothing I make organically can compete with what AI already produces—or soon will.

So the fun, all along, was not in the process of creation itself, but in the fact that the creator could somehow feel superior to others not being able to create? I find this to be a very unhealthy relationship to creativity.

My mixer can mix dough better than I can, but I still enjoy kneading it by hand. The incredibly good artisanal bakery down the street did not reduce my enjoyment of baking, even though I cannot compete with them in quality by any measure. Modern slip casting can make superior pottery by many different quality measures, but potters enjoy throwing it on a wheel and producing unique pieces.

But if your idea of fun is tied to the "no one else can do this but me", then you've been doing it wrong before AI existed.

replies(14): >>44009329 #>>44009344 #>>44009382 #>>44009383 #>>44009447 #>>44009580 #>>44009601 #>>44009759 #>>44009774 #>>44009818 #>>44009920 #>>44009945 #>>44009977 #>>44010301 #
StefanBatory ◴[16 May 25 20:35 UTC] No.44009580[source]▶
Knowing that what I do anyone can do, no matter how well I'll do it, is discouraging. Because then, what is my purpose? What can I say that I'm good at?
replies(2): >>44009624 #>>44009949 #
curl-up ◴[16 May 25 20:39 UTC] No.44009624[source]▶
Would you say that the chess players became "purposeless" with Deep Blue, or Go players with Alpha Go?
replies(1): >>44009679 #
1. rfw300 ◴[16 May 25 20:45 UTC] No.44009679[source]▶
It's interesting that you name those examples, because Lee Sedol, the all-time great Go player, retired shortly after losing to Alpha Go, saying: "Even if I become the number one, there is an entity that cannot be defeated... losing to AI, in a sense, meant my entire world was collapsing... I could no longer enjoy the game. So I retired." [1, 2]

So for some, yes. It is of course also true that many people derive self-worth and fulfillment from contributing positively to the world, and AI automating the productive work in which they specialize can undermine that.

[1] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20191127004800315

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/world/asia/lee-saedol-go-...

replies(1): >>44009709 #
2. curl-up ◴[16 May 25 20:49 UTC] No.44009709[source]▶
I am in no way disputing that some people would feel that way because of AI, just as some performing classical musicians felt that way in the advent of the audio recorder.

What I am saying is that (1) I regard this as an unhealthy relationship to creativity (and I accept that this is subjective), and (2) that most people do not feel that way, as can be confirmed by the fact that chess, go, and live music performances are all still very much practiced.