throwawaywd89e (u/throwawaywd89e)

tedsanders · 6 days ago

I'm an OpenAI employee and I'll go out on a limb with a public comment. I agree AI shouldn't be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. I also think Anthropic has been treated terribly and has acted admirably. My understanding is that the OpenAI deal disallows domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, and that OpenAI is asking for the same terms for other AI companies (so that we can continue competing on the basis of differing services and not differing scruples). Given this understanding, I don't see why I should quit. If it turns out that the deal is being misdescribed or that it won't be enforced, I can see why I should quit, but so far I haven't seen any evidence that's the case.

throwawaywd89e · 6 days ago

"AI shouldn't be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons". The statement from OpenAI virtually guarantees that the intention is to use it for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. If this wasn't the intention them the qualifier "domestic" wouldn't be used, and they would be talking about "human in the loop" control of autonomous weapons, not "human responsibility" which just means there's someone willing to stand up and say, "yep I take responsibility for the autonomous weapon systems actions", which lets be honest is the thinnest of thin safety guarantees.

throwawaywd89e · 3 years ago

I think the major problem a lot of people have with Elon's behaviour is not that he is behaving in an "entrepreneurial" way, but that he appears to be in the middle of a hypomanic episode and has nobody around him who has the ability or balls to tell him he's acting irrationally. And I say this as someone who is bipolar and has them on a regular basis. Most people (who manage their mental health conditions responsibly), have a group of people they trust to rein them in when they start going batshit. This usually involves things like taking away their bank cards so they don't spend all their money, dissuading them from making any major, life altering decisions, noting when you're lying to yourself and others, and attempting to point out that possibly behaving like a self aggrandising megalomaniac is not particularly healthy.

It's quite clear that Musk doesn't have anyone around who is willing or able to do that. Most of us when we go hypo will end up blasting through our savings, screwing around (literally) and generally pissing off all around us by behaving in a self centred and irrational way, but ultimately the damage we do is limited mostly to ourselves. Elon on the other hand has spent billions on a company, apparently on a whim, probably during another episode, that he later regretted and tried to get out of, again presumably when he came down, and now appears to be taking a series of increasingly irrational and destructive decisions that are affecting the lives of many. To be honest, I think it's kind of sad to watch.