5 ms·

Why is it a mistake to value determinism, or in your words "focus on" it? Why is this alternative better?

by dodu_ 3mo ago

CamperBob2 3mo ago
Because your competitors are using the alternative methodology, however scary it may be, to beat you.
- californical 3mo ago
  Are there really companies losing right now for using less AI? Think - would you rather your telecom company’s customer support be AI-forward? Would you pay an extra $5 per month to ensure that you get humans solving your problems immediately when you call with an issue? What about your backup software? Would you rather choose the company that comes out with new innovations in backing up your data and tons of features, but occasionally breaks everything? Or would you want to choose a company for backup software that is slow at adding anything new and reliable? Isn’t it good if this is deterministic? What about even a fitness tracking watch. Are there really that many missing features that need to be released way faster? Or is it better if it just tracks your heart rate and workouts well and then gets out of your way? Same here, don’t you want the features to be reliable and deterministic?
  - CamperBob2 3mo ago
    I'd be fine with an LLM for customer support, as long as it's empowered to solve my problem. There's nothing a low-level CS representative does that couldn't be handled by an LLM. In both cases, the limiting factor is the authority granted to them by their employer. Nobody uses an LLM for watches or data backup AFAIK so those seem like moot points.
    - boston_clone 3mo ago
      >There's nothing a low-level CS representative does that couldn't be handled by an LLM. This kind of reductionist take is an immediate tell that one has no experience in that kind of role. More worryingly, it hints of something antisocial and misanthropic. Do you not enjoy talking with other people during your day? Have you never experienced the resolution of complexity or ambiguity from a person that is intimately familiar with a product, its documentation, or internal processes?
      - oblio 3mo ago
        Are you shocked that techbros (and especially their CEO leaders) are misanthropists? We have probably empowered the most society adverse group of people in human history. Ones that didn't even need to speak to other humans to become rich.
        boston_clone 3mo ago
        no, not shocked; just willing to check that perspective more publicly than most. the vonnegut quote is hitting hard today - “why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals.”
        tavavex 3mo ago
        Is this quote from a book, or just something the author had said? It pains me to say, but I feel like the world the author is talking about is being extinguished. Soon enough we all will be 'computer people'.
      - CamperBob2 3mo ago
        Do you not enjoy talking with other people during your day? CS reps? No. You must be very lonely, yourself, if your mind went there in the context of this conversation. Have you never experienced the resolution of complexity or ambiguity from a person that is intimately familiar with a product, its documentation, or internal processes? Yes, and it's universally something that should have been possible online without talking to anyone, AI or human. That's my real hope. Stage 1: Corporations replace impotent CS reps with AI. Stage 2: Corporations gradually empower the AI to interface with their existing internal systems in order to get the customer off the phone faster and avoid social-media brouhahas. Yes, they could have empowered the people in stage 1 to do that, but they didn't. Stage 3: Corporations realize the AI is just another unnecessary middleman on their payroll, and empower customers to check status, report and escalate issues, handle SLA and billing problems, and obtain RMAs directly via their websites. Which should have been how it worked all along.

Why is it a mistake to value determinism, or in your words "focus on" it? Why is this alternative better?

by dodu_ 3mo ago

Why is it a mistake to value determinism, or in your words "focus on" it? Why is this alternative better?

CamperBob2 3mo ago

Because your competitors are using the alternative methodology, however scary it may be, to beat you.

californical 3mo ago
Are there really companies losing right now for using less AI? Think - would you rather your telecom company’s customer support be AI-forward? Would you pay an extra $5 per month to ensure that you get humans solving your problems immediately when you call with an issue? What about your backup software? Would you rather choose the company that comes out with new innovations in backing up your data and tons of features, but occasionally breaks everything? Or would you want to choose a company for backup software that is slow at adding anything new and reliable? Isn’t it good if this is deterministic? What about even a fitness tracking watch. Are there really that many missing features that need to be released way faster? Or is it better if it just tracks your heart rate and workouts well and then gets out of your way? Same here, don’t you want the features to be reliable and deterministic?
- CamperBob2 3mo ago
  I'd be fine with an LLM for customer support, as long as it's empowered to solve my problem. There's nothing a low-level CS representative does that couldn't be handled by an LLM. In both cases, the limiting factor is the authority granted to them by their employer. Nobody uses an LLM for watches or data backup AFAIK so those seem like moot points.
  - boston_clone 3mo ago
    >There's nothing a low-level CS representative does that couldn't be handled by an LLM. This kind of reductionist take is an immediate tell that one has no experience in that kind of role. More worryingly, it hints of something antisocial and misanthropic. Do you not enjoy talking with other people during your day? Have you never experienced the resolution of complexity or ambiguity from a person that is intimately familiar with a product, its documentation, or internal processes?
    - oblio 3mo ago
      Are you shocked that techbros (and especially their CEO leaders) are misanthropists? We have probably empowered the most society adverse group of people in human history. Ones that didn't even need to speak to other humans to become rich.
      - boston_clone 3mo ago
        no, not shocked; just willing to check that perspective more publicly than most. the vonnegut quote is hitting hard today - “why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals.”
        tavavex 3mo ago
        Is this quote from a book, or just something the author had said? It pains me to say, but I feel like the world the author is talking about is being extinguished. Soon enough we all will be 'computer people'.
    - CamperBob2 3mo ago
      Do you not enjoy talking with other people during your day? CS reps? No. You must be very lonely, yourself, if your mind went there in the context of this conversation. Have you never experienced the resolution of complexity or ambiguity from a person that is intimately familiar with a product, its documentation, or internal processes? Yes, and it's universally something that should have been possible online without talking to anyone, AI or human. That's my real hope. Stage 1: Corporations replace impotent CS reps with AI. Stage 2: Corporations gradually empower the AI to interface with their existing internal systems in order to get the customer off the phone faster and avoid social-media brouhahas. Yes, they could have empowered the people in stage 1 to do that, but they didn't. Stage 3: Corporations realize the AI is just another unnecessary middleman on their payroll, and empower customers to check status, report and escalate issues, handle SLA and billing problems, and obtain RMAs directly via their websites. Which should have been how it worked all along.