Post #1919612
2026-05-03 15:26 UTC
Sagan wrote of the 'Great Demotions' - scientific discoveries which dealt a blow to the collective ego by proving that mankind is not the center of everything.
Astronomy showed the Earth is not the center of the universe, and then that the universe is vaster than imagined. Geologists showed that humans are newcomers on the stage of history. Darwin argued that mankind is not made in the image of the divine.
I propose that generative AI deals such a blow to the ego precisely because it sucks.
Replies (1)
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@Qybat@batchats.net 2026-05-03 15:30
Human creativity was thought to be something special, bordering on spiritual. The ability to imagine something new and craft a great work of art was something unique to the human mind, beyond what any mechanism or mere animal could achieve. And maybe if we had the sci-fi version of AI, it wouldn't be so bad. But, no. Turns out that a simple regression solver can make passable art, music and writing - and it does so without any of the magic of sentience required. Just a lot of very basic math.