Thread

1. jgalt212 · 1789935244 · focus · HN ↗

   There is really is no excuse for Washington here. Even for the layperson+, it doesn't take much use of an LLM to figure out where they produce good and usable results and where it's of specious of value.

   + every layperson is an expert in 1 or more areas.

   1. randallsquared · 1789936730 · focus · HN ↗

      > every layperson is an expert in 1 or more areas.

      This isn't even remotely true, unless you're willing to go as far as "being this person is an area of expertise".

      1. sublinear · 1789937056 · focus · HN ↗

         Neither of you is wrong? Every lived experience does produce a unique expertise, not in "being" that person, but navigating their experiences. It would be very unusual that all of someone's experiences are completely worthless.

         I suppose you've never had a unique perspective on something? Maybe that reflects on your self esteem? How unfortunate.

      2. basch · 1789937469 · focus · HN ↗

         I dont have to be an expert to recognize when something is said with authority and confidence. Any time a model says something with conviction, my instinct is to double check.

         Now if they taught them to express uncertainty and speak in terms of probability, I might be more likely to be blindly fooled by some kind of uncertain conviction.

      3. jgalt212 · 1789943780 · focus · HN ↗

         > This isn't even remotely true

         That's quite an extraordinary claim there which I doubt would hold up to an even cursory level of scrutiny. But if you yell it loud enough, maybe people will be afraid to challenge your assertion.

   2. iLoveOncall · 1789937417 · focus · HN ↗

      > + every layperson is an expert in 1 or more areas.

      What do you think 70 years old career politicians are an expert in that would allow them to weigh whether a chatbot's answers are bullshit or not.

      1. sublinear · 1789937695 · focus · HN ↗

         I thought the whole point of this discussion is that they don't have to care if it works. All that matters is that the majority believes it does, or at least doesn't make a fuss about the continued spending.

         That's their expertise.

   3. tracerbulletx · 1789940150 · focus · HN ↗

      I mean the military was buying dowsing rods as bomb detectors not that long ago so I don't have a ton of faith in them not being hoodwinked.
   4. AngryData · 1789949737 · focus · HN ↗

      Yeah but most of these politicians stopped using computers in the DOS era if not before. They will take whatever BS is told to them, cut it in half, and still end up with half bullshit. They have no frame of reference for anything involving computers or technology. People keep telling them LLMs are intelligent things that make conscious decisions and will soon become sentient, and even cutting that into 10% of the claim leaves them with basically zero insight into the technology or how it can be used or how to legislate it.

      Our average politician is far above the age that scammers target with LLM based scam phone calls, and being a politician with wealth insulates them from reality and most consequences already, they are completely out of their depth from every direction.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.