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This all sounds like it has been covered in detail by the "AI as a Normal Technology"[1][2] guys (formerly AI Snake Oil - they decided they preferred to engage rather than just be snarky).

Invention vs innovation vs diffusion - this is all well-known stuff.

It's a completely different episteme than the one IABIED guys have ("If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies").

I don't think there can be any meaningful dialogue between the two camps.

1. Substack: https://www.normaltech.ai/ book: https://www.normaltech.ai/p/starting-reading-the-ai-snake-oi...

2. "Normal technology" like fire, metals, agriculture, writing, and electricity are normal technologies.



It feels kind of crazy to go from "AI is 'only' something like snake oil" to "AI is 'only' something like fire, metallurgy, agriculture, writing, or electricity" without some kind of mea culpa of what was wrong about their previous view. That's a huge leap to more or less imply "well AI is just going to be comparable to invention of fire. No biggie. Completely compatible with AI as snake oil."


I think the point is more to posit that our civilization will come to normalize AI as a ubiquitous tool extremely quickly like the other ones mentioned, and to analyze it from that perspective. The breathless extremist takes on both sides are a bit tiresome.


The AI hype was 1000% GDP growth per annum. That was crazy. The "snake oil" label was in reaction to that.

Anyway, you are shooting the messenger by downvoting me. Thanks for showing us all how intelligent you are.


Eh. Downvote wasn't me.

But I'd be curious if you could find a quote from anyone for 1000% GDP growth per annum.




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