Stochastic Word Hammers

Rant inbound:

I think it’s cringey for people to say or write “embrace [insert tool]”.

It makes me want to grab the emergent hammer people are holding in awe.

I’ve tried to make an effort to mention this whenever I see/hear that language used by people I know and respect. Because it doesn’t make sense. The lack of meaning results in context collapse.

You would consider it weird af for people to talk about “embracing” any of the other tools we use in every day life.

• Normies don’t embrace a $5 hammer from Home Depot.
• Normies don’t hug their iPhone.
• Normies don’t squeeze Slack with affection (oops, I’ve outed myself).

The same logic should apply to word hammers which augment creativity or reduce tedium.

My interpretation of the “stochastic parrots” drama was how the researchers wanted people to know that humans will face challenges of believing the machines are human.

The AI “evangelist” with the most conviction will tell you there is no “it” there.

So, is the tool useful for generating something you value (truth, principles, revenue, etc)?

Or, does it easily reduce something you don’t value (lies, contrarian opinions, losses, etc)?

I am very interested in how a tool helps you “embrace” what you value from a commercial or need from personal perspective.

After all, hippies are bad people pretending to be good.

And punks are good people pretending to be bad.

I’m less interested in what hippies think about AI and more interested in what punks know about AI.

Here’s your word hammer back.

/rant