What If A.I. Doesn't Get Better Than This?

9 mertbio 4 8/12/2025, 8:36:55 PM newyorker.com ↗

Comments (4)

jqpabc123 · 2h ago
What if --- people are finally forced to accept the obvious --- that statistical and probabilistic techniques will never be able to provide deterministic results?

In others words --- what if LLMs always produce a significant amount of pure BS?

What if --- trillions in market equity evaporates overnight?

mertbio · 18h ago
checker659 · 18h ago
One last winter
techpineapple · 18h ago
I really find tech "optimism" distasteful. It's become this weird battle ground where I dunno, if you're reasonably optimistic but think AI isn't set to become a god you're called a doomer, at the same time that Tech optimists are basically giving up on humanity.

I guess on a more interesting side - it feels interesting more and more how our polarization leads us to see our side as inevitable. It seems inevitable to me that there will not be a fast takeoff, that's just the way that the universe works, that things are incremental, that things grow fast for a while and then taper off. And as someone who believed this, it still is super _weird_ seeing all the people say no, AI is different, it's going to lead to Utopia.

As weird as it is for people who read this and believe the opposite think I am. But I think this is also a reaction to where we are as a species. Everyone wants the easy answer.

On some weird level, it's weird to me that the same psychological quirks that inhabit folks and make them believe in sort of cults or spiritual beliefs also inhabit billionaires, and make markets spend billions of dollars.

But yeah. This article is... Real is beautiful! The possible is beautiful! AI is cool, let's enjoy it and all the other cool things in life.