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There's no point at which turning your brain off will work

204 points · 156 comments · robin_reala

  1. Arainach · · focus · HN ↗
    It doesn't help that this is being forced from above. I agree you can't turn off your brain, but any time I argue that AI isn't the right tool for something management gets angry. There is a constant push to fully automate things, regardless of what those things are.

    Even if I agree that you have to use your brain, when my boss is literally telling me to stop questioning whether AI automation is the right answer in team meetings/chats I'm just going to shut up and give them what they want.

    1. awsglkhj · · focus · HN ↗
      Suppose I do something myself. I reap all the benefits, but it takes a lot of time, I may not have the expertise to do a good job, and I get all the blame if something goes wrong. Suppose I go to the park and find one of several guys who would do it for free. I get all the of benefits, he might do an excellent job, but, because there's no contract, I still take all the blame.

      Suppose I actually hire a professional to do it. I receive fewer of the benefits. However, he's much more likely to do a good job, and the legal system provides a variety of ways to hold him accountable for the work.

      Suppose I hire a professional, but then insist that he use legions of guys from the park to do the actual work, since that's going to be some much faster and cheaper per quantum of work. I also tell him that if he's unwilling to do that, I'll find someone who will. I also tell him that, since he has so much more unoccupied time now that the original work is in the hands of all those other dudes, he gets to supervise still more work done by other swarms of guys from the park.

      At this point it should be clear that I'm not interested in quality work, but in having someone poised to absorb blame. I want a patsy.

      Now replace "guys at the park" with LLMs, and replace "free" with "nearly free, but with no warranty."

      1. fwlr · · focus · HN ↗
        A “moral crumple zone”: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;publication&#x2F;351054898_Moral_Crumple_Zones_Cautionary_Tales_in_Human-Robot_Interaction" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;publication&#x2F;351054898_Moral_Cru...
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