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America.gov

778 points · 742 comments · plesiv

  1. maherbeg · · focus · HN ↗
    OK, there's a lot of negative comments here, but this is a great idea at a high level. It really is hard to figure out where to do a thing and it's also very easy to get phished. If they can figure out how to help people get all the services they're eligible for that'll be an amazing improvement for the people.
    1. gthrow12345 · · focus · HN ↗
      I agree in general, but how do you resolve the problem that people will take the output of the chatbot as authoritative even when it could possibly have errors or miss important nuance? People being lead astray with information from the government could lead to very serious consequences, up to and including imprisonment.

      Honest question, I had the same issue when my work wanted me to stick a chatbot in front of our HR portal and I never resolved it to my satisfaction.

      1. rayiner · · focus · HN ↗
        > but how do you resolve the problem that people will take the output of the chatbot as authoritative even when it could possibly have errors or miss important nuance

        You have to measure that problem against the status quo, which is that current government websites are very hard to understand and leave people with very little idea of what’s going on.

        1. andrewflnr · · focus · HN ↗
          One of the only things more dangerous than ignorance is false confidence. An official USG chatbot potentially makes things much worse.
          1. kulahan · · focus · HN ↗
            Better remove humans from the equation, then.
            1. toofy · · focus · HN ↗
              no. humans can be held accountable and learn from their mistakes.

              they can be taught where they went wrong.

              if a pattern emerges they can be moved to a role more fitting for them. or removed from a project entirely.

              we can judge their effectiveness from past performance.

              we can put them in less important roles and gauge whether or not they should be moved up.

              so, no, pretending that the correct route forward is to “remove humans from the equation” for a bot that doesn’t learn, is never held accountable, and not held to the same standard as humans is silly tier thinking.

              1. buriram · · focus · HN ↗
                no. humans can be held accountable and learn from their mistakes. they can be taught where they went wrong.

                As an individual, yes. As a population, no. They elected a conman twice and would rather burn down the country rather than changing their view.

                1. intended · · focus · HN ↗
                  [delayed]
                  1. buriram · · focus · HN ↗
                    I have read the opening chapters of the book, and honestly I had to put it down after reading 20 percent of the book. I just don't see any new information that I had already known (rightwing effect, propaganda, Fox/Breitbait nonsense, bla bla).

                    I used to believe Trump winning the 2016 election was a product of rightwing propaganda and fringe theory, but with the 2024 election, I had to revise my belief. What if this is the mainstream mindset of Americans all along, and Trump simply tried to capitalize on that?

                    1. intended · · focus · HN ↗
                      [delayed]
                      1. buriram · · focus · HN ↗
                        What was your conclusion, after taking the 2024 elections into account?
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