Synthetic intimacy
 

I suppose prostitution was the first form or maybe as recent as penpals (3rd grade writing to another 3rd grade in Germany), but certainly the first bbs's after the birth of the internet kicked off an evolution of social interaction that has given us this OT board and all manner of sorts of social media to increase our serotonin, as well as dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin levels at will. And depress them.

As AI continues to develop, synthetic intimacy will essentially hollow out what it means to be human. And if it continues to be weaponized via social media, either for profit or control (usually both), what is the future of humanity?

Shaun, I agree. I am very worried.

I was hoping we were talking about a nylon fetish ��

Happy Holidays

I think there are still folks that interact the old fashioned way, both our ages and young folks. I'm a cynic, but am also hopeful. Watching my grandsons, it's great to see little boys that are just little boys. But yeah, they will grow up in a different world. But then I'm sure that I grew up in a different world than the fellas here that are 75-85.

Well, for one, the birth rates are in an alarming decline.

I used to blame the breakdown of relationships on battery technology. ;)

The possibilities for coercion and exploitation are concerning.

I'm glad I am settled in flesh-and-blood relationships. I do correspond with a friend whom I've never met in the flesh. But he's a real person. Even AI couldn't invent this guy.

a symptom of worshipping the dollar instead of God.

Our good friends lost a son to suicide. The Mom has become a significant advocate for Tech responsibility. She is in a documentary called "May I Have Your Attention Please."

As people above have indicated. This is a big deal.

I came home from watching the documentary and immediately deleted Reddit. I am better for it. I understand that my response may seem off topic. It really isn't. It is the same Tech -> dopamine circuit.

We all great advances comes even greater responsibility. We haven't addressed the responsibility piece yet.

The younger generation is actually pushing back against tech a bit, so there's hope. My son (18) and his girlfriend prefer talking on the phone to texting. He (and a large number of people his age) are actually quite vocal against AI. They see it as being a major hurdle to their lives and a detriment to humanity as a whole. It's actually kinda refreshing to see (and I'm a tech guy).

I have gleaned a lot of useful info from Reddit from electronics to cooking. I easily move past drivel.

You would think you can learn a lot about garages from the Garage Journal and you may, but the same soap opera goes on there as anywhere. You stay at a certain level and don't dip below that. I do fail at times.

man garage journal used to be an incredible resource. last few times I tried to check it I gave up.

As long as I have the two hands God gave me, I don't need synthetic nothin! :D

And the best part is you only need one!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ almoat always wins...
 

If there were an HONEST "person" developing AI, I wouldn't be as concerned. Absent REAL controls, the capitalist mantra, (PROFIT) will drive development and implementation of the Expansion of AI.
We are already dealing with "Fake News", cries of "Hoax" anytime someone wants to diminish a viewpoint, or "REAL FACT".

I forgot the congressman who voiced the truism, "You can have your own opinion, BUT you cannot have your own FACTS"

The divisiveness of our social media and polarized "NEWS" drives us further apart.

We do not need AI generated false images/speech to make it even harder to divine the "Real true facts".

Now, throw in the huge costs that will need to be "compensated" AND driven by zealots like some of "our" leaders, Reality may become even more plastic/difficult to discern.

I am not optimistic.
chris

LOL
Well YOU may only need one, but...

And look at this reaction! I believe you mean what you write.

The llms are mathematical. They do word correlation. No ai worker dishonesty is needed here, no subterfuge, its just math.

You know that old saying garbage in garbage out? Yeah well we’re the garbage.

This is the attitude I see in many young people - twenties range. There is a backlash against technology (although they like posting on IG and playing videogames) and they dislike AI and are quite articulate about it, like physical media like vinyl and cassettes, think older things are cool, and dislike the technobillionaires.

I was talking to my son about how convincing AI conversations are. He said it is convincing to old people like me, but young people are better attuned and to them it’s very fake.

Granted I think there are plenty of young people who don’t share this attitude. They are the ones with unhealthy emotional dependence on AI “friends” and so on.

I have had the exact same conversation with my kids aged 15, 18, and 21. There’s going to be a backlash against the push for AI virtual everything. Kids are craving something real and are tired of the fake online world. As my kids love to say, “that’s for old people dad”.

This is a DIY site we all found .... some are extremely gifted ... with both hands!

Nick "Kramer" ain't winning any bets :D!

Is a love bot "synthetic"? Lovebots will probably be more available sooner than flying cars.

Anybody tried the double back hand? 😂

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Funny you mention that. I have a group of young 20 somethings in my firehouse. I rarely ever see them on their phones. They actually speak and interact wirh each other. As for a couple years ago you would see them text each other from across the table.

It's the old dudes now that have thier faces buried in their phones constantly.

Give me dichromium legs....

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Yesterday some lady so engrossed in her her dopamine iClick device, didn't even pull her head out of her a$$ to look either way before walked across the street right in front of me.

Mebba she's texting a hookup with her real life cyborg! ;)

Surprised no one quoted the pratchett line yet…

“Ladies of negotiable affection”

In the end the only way to tell if something is real will be to hear it from a human. Once we reach peak AI, we will regain human validity.

Given the propensity of some people to lie, I wouldn't hold that as a litmus test.
I think our best course is to promote science and critical thinking.

One of the first things built into AI lie was the ability to lie as well as humans.

I've been training my eyes to spot fake ones for years now. I tell my wife it's for educational purposes only when we're at the beach.

When my in-laws visit (parents and/or wife's siblings), they're all often buried in their phones. I like to give them crap and say, "Can we get you teenagers off the phone for a bit?" :)