Rodney Brooks: "Just calm down about GPT-4 already ... And stop confusing Performance with Competence"
My god, I've heard this over and over again when new technologies come out.
"Any average chess player can beat Sargon."
"Personal computers are just toys."
"It will be hundreds of years before a heaver-than-air machine can fly."
"Electric cars can only drive 50 miles before refueling."
"Digital music is missing something, it doesn't sound as good a vinyl record."
"Portable phones are too bulky to carry around."
etc...
@Pat @lupyuen Sure, but there has been an infinite number of hyped products that were supposed to change the world that never went anywhere. Cryptocurrencies, VR (remember Meta?), "Web agents", Jini, Flying cars, portable nuclear reactors, atomic mining, etc.
You don't think about those things because they never lived up the hype.
I'm not saying the hype is not going to become true. That's beside the point. What I am saying is that a new invention has to be judged in their merits, not just the hype.
@loke @Pat @lupyuen the issue is we don't yet know which side of the "thais changes everything" line AI will fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhJbKBuNnA
>"the issue is we don't yet know which side of the "thais changes everything" line AI will fall: "
AI is "the line". Everything that comes after that line will be different.
That guy in the video or anyone else should not feel dread about AI writing programs better and faster than programers do, or AI generally writing better than humans do.
If people still enjoy programming or writing or creating art, then they can still do it if they want. They won't have to do it for money and they won't have some asshole boss breathing down their necks telling them they need to meet some arbitrary deadline.
It will be better.
@lupyuen
