AI fails

[Ian H]

There's not quite enough questioning going on about whether AI will, in fact do everything the AI companies selling it tell you it will do. It feels in some ways like everything we were told about household automation in the 60s (okay not me personally) and 70s, and again when it came to the internet of pointless things more recently.

Hand up who feels like they have to do less around the house yet?

There are no objects in this house that will respond to me shouting at them. My phone does communicate with the various speakers, but only under supervision.

 

[First Aspect]

Am I being dense, but isn't a citation something that you've read, understood, and incorporated into your own argument?

Must admit I never did get the reason for automating endnotes, bibliographies, etc., as I just typed them up when I typed in the quotations, which all helped me to put everything in place in my own mind. I always went waaaay over the wordcount, and the process of condensing the argument is a major factor of the understanding what you've written.

Mr Miller makes it sound like cobbling together a paper, whether you've engaged with the material or not, is more important than developing understanding.

View attachment 15176

I'm a bit dismayed.

Separately, the idea of endnote is that you build up a library while you go, so it's already there to conveniently import into your thesis or publication when you write it up.

I could never be arsed and either didn't readuch or just had photocopies. The reality was, when writing the introduction of my thesis at least, that I realised most of my citations were effectively secondary sources (by boss's text book, for example) and I had to go to those, find the original source and then be at least familiar enough to know if I had used the citation correctly.

I think anyone with a genuine prospect of becoming an academic wouldn't have worked like me, and would have had end note all set up.

 

[briantrumpet]

The reality was, when writing the introduction of my thesis at least, that I realised most of my citations were effectively secondary sources (by boss's text book, for example) and I had to go to those, find the original source and then be at least familiar enough to know if I had used the citation correctly.

I think anyone with a genuine prospect of becoming an academic wouldn't have worked like me, and would have had end note all set up.

Would you say that the realisation then the rather tedious grind was part of your becoming an expert in your field though? I rather liked the analogy given by one university lecturer that outsourcing this kind of stuff to AI is like paying someone else to go to the gym for you.

 

[Psamathe]

Hope I'm not raising an aspect already discussed but given the known shortcomings of Retail LLM AIs people now going to be taking financial advice from them?

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for personal finance, will let you connect bank accounts
On Friday, OpenAI launched a new set of personal finance tools in preview for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the U.S., letting them connect their accounts and ask questions ranging from spending analysis to future financial planning.

OpenAI has partnered with the financial connection service Plaid to manage the account connections. Users can connect to over 12,000 financial institutions ...

And when it tells you to invest in dot-com markets ... who takes the big loss? or maybe it will just be telling everybody to invest in OpenAI.

 

[Pblakeney]

Hope I'm not raising an aspect already discussed but given the known shortcomings of Retail LLM AIs people now going to be taking financial advice from them?


And when it tells you to invest in dot-com markets ... who takes the big loss? or maybe it will just be telling everybody to invest in OpenAI.

Your conclusion pretty much coincides with what mine was.

 

[briantrumpet]

Maybe the pesky kids will be alright.

I've read elsewhere that some people in the industry are furious with how this is playing out, i.e. being mis-marketed and oversold, as it's quickly salting the earth for an industry which undoubtedly has a future, but which will only be accepted if it is at the service of everyone, not just the multi-billionaires who are pushing it so hard regardless of the human or environmental cost.

 

[First Aspect]

Would you say that the realisation then the rather tedious grind was part of your becoming an expert in your field though? I rather liked the analogy given by one university lecturer that outsourcing this kind of stuff to AI is like paying someone else to go to the gym for you.

1. I tend to think it becomes less of a grind if the end goal is something you want and is realistic.

2. I agree that outsourcing it to AI totally misses the point of doing the background reading. Cataloguing is part of digesting the information. Your academic friend makes a fantastic analogy.

 

[briantrumpet]

1. I tend to think it becomes less of a grind if the end goal is something you want and is realistic.

2. I agree that outsourcing it to AI totally misses the point of doing the background reading. Cataloguing is part of digesting the information. Your academic friend makes a fantastic analogy.

Ah, yes, grinding can be good! I wasn't using the term pejoratively, just in the sense of working through a lot of stuff in in the hope of at worst getting your data, or better to spot a pattern or common theme... either an "Aha!" moment, or a "I just wonder if?" which leads you onto the next step of whatever you're on.

 

[First Aspect]

Ah, yes, grinding can be good! I wasn't using the term pejoratively, just in the sense of working through a lot of stuff in in the hope of at worst getting your data, or better to spot a pattern or common theme... either an "Aha!" moment, or a "I just wonder if?" which leads you onto the next step of whatever you're on.

The bringing part of the process fufils much of the same function as highlighter pens, condensing notes to bullet points and wotnot. It's not just cataloguing in endnote, is my point.

 

[briantrumpet]

The bringing part of the process fufils much of the same function as highlighter pens, condensing notes to bullet points and wotnot. It's not just cataloguing in endnote, is my point.

And mine.

 

[BoldonLad]

There's not quite enough questioning going on about whether AI will, in fact do everything the AI companies selling it tell you it will do. It feels in some ways like everything we were told about household automation in the 60s (okay not me personally) and 70s, and again when it came to the internet of pointless things more recently.

Hand up who feels like they have to do less around the house yet?

Yes, I would raise my hand, in terms of automation, since 1968 (the year of first house purchase, and V1.0 marriage)

Robot Lawnmower
Smart switches to control lights and other electrical items automatically
Internet connected camera to check house, interact with delivery people
Dishwasher
Automatic Washingmachine
Car that requires service once per year, not every weekend
TV Recording device, which is can be "programmed"
Mobile Phone which reminds me of birthdays, anniversaries etc
Online shopping (either dont go to shop, or, at worst, check first, where, price, do they have stock, etc
Online banking (no trailing to bank, or manually paying bills)
probably lots more, if I really thought about it.

However, I have not "dabbled" with AI... yet

 

[Pblakeney]

Yes, I would raise my hand, in terms of automation, since 1968 (the year of first house purchase, and V1.0 marriage)

Robot Lawnmower
Smart switches to control lights and other electrical items automatically
Internet connected camera to check house, interact with delivery people
Dishwasher
Automatic Washingmachine
Car that requires service once per year, not every weekend
TV Recording device, which is can be "programmed"
Mobile Phone which reminds me of birthdays, anniversaries etc
Online shopping (either dont go to shop, or, at worst, check first, where, price, do they have stock, etc
Online banking (no trailing to bank, or manually paying bills)
probably lots more, if I really thought about it.

However, I have not "dabbled" with AI... yet

I believe the whole point of the question was related to AI.
So your answer is in fact, no.

 

[BoldonLad]

I believe the whole point of the question was related to AI.
So your answer is in fact, no.

You may be correct, but, the post I replied to did reference "household automation in the 60s and 70s".

Only FirstAspect knows his intention, presumably, but, I shan't lose any sleep over it 😊

 

[briantrumpet]

"What could possibly go wrong?" (Sorry, not sure which US university this one is, as I'm not on X.)

The reading out of names by subject professor is both meaningful and hard in such a dynamic situation (people don't turn up, faint, trip over, turn up late, etc.), and I can only assume whoever made this decision either hasn't even watched a graduation ceremony properly, or is stupid.

 

[briantrumpet]

Ah, found it. I can't bear to watch it though.