Dangers of AI

[JohnRoberts]

Not sure if this was replied to elsewhere above, but I'm fairly sure the reason he bailed on OpenAI was because they (⸮⸮⸮) took the IP private.

I posted that he was squeezed out by his fellow investors.
==
FWIW Elon does not consider patents effective to protect all the IP generated by his sundry technology businesses.

JR

 

[john12ax7]

Sounds like sour grapes with a tinge of envy or jealousy.

Lol. Let's face it, the only reason so many are now team Musk is because they think he is now team R. Funny because he is the antithesis of free market economics, a supposed cornerstone of team R.

The fact that I support free markets, principles and merit instead of subsidies and cult of personality makes for sour grapes? Lol. Things might look a lot different if you evaluated them without a political lens.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Lol. Let's face it, the only reason so many are now team Musk is because they think he is now team R. Funny because he is the antithesis of free market economics, a supposed cornerstone of team R.

I'm not team Musk. I never really paid any attention to the guy even though I knew about his involvement with Paypal, Tesla, and SpaceX. Then the Joe Rogan interview went viral and I watched it. Pretty crazy. I've seen a few other shorter interviews and talks since. I also worked with a guy who was at Tesla and had some small interaction with Musk.

I think he's matured in the past 2-3 years as he's seen the danger posed by the extreme left (many of whom are/were his customers and fans). The fact that he's developed some principles and is willing to put his money where his mouth is (even potentially losing billions to try to correct the evils of Twitter) speaks volumes. Compare that to the former "don't be evil" guys who have done a 180 and ARE evil.

I don't think he's Team R by any stretch. But he's anti-extreme L which is a lot better than most tech "leaders" and he isn't bowing to the woke mob. In a culture war economics are secondary.

The fact that I support free markets, principles and merit instead of subsidies and cult of personality makes for sour grapes? Lol. Things might look a lot different if you evaluated them without a political lens.

So which other successful tech leaders support these principles over ESG and DEI? What public stances have they taken? Where have they pushed back against the surveillance state with actions (yes, I know Kooky Tim tried to stand up to the DOJ/FBI a few years ago, but he's also got a ton of baggage with support for SPLC, ESG, and DEI).

The very things you stand for are being rapidly undermined and a sharp guy who is doing something about it isn't good enough for you? Who is? How long do you plan to wait for a perfect white knight to save the day?

 

[cyrano]

Elon is a lot like Bill Gates. Very rich to start with, at the right location at the right time, with the right connections and some luck. Stubborn and very self-aware.

He only joined Tesla after a year. Later, he tried to rewrite history through the courts.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/tesla-motors-founders-now-there-are-five/
Nor his solar panel business. That was started by his cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive.

He's very good at sniffing opportunities. The only company that he started (Zip2) no longer exists.

He's also not an American by birth. He's South-African born and has a Canadian passport too.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Elon is a lot like Bill Gates. Very rich to start with, at the right location at the right time, with the right connections and some luck.

Fortune favors the prepared mind. Musk dropped out of Stanford to found a start up which was initially funded by angel investors (not uncommon in that era) snd which later was sold to Compaq for $300M.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip2
Musk went on to found his online banking idea X.com using $11M of his share of the Zip2 sale. That became PayPal which eBay bought shortly after for $1.5B. For your information, the rate of startup failure in Silicon Valley back then was about 90%. Most of the 10% that succeeded were moderately successful. Having two big successes in a row is not luck. Add SpaceX and his other ventures and it becomes obvious he has some actual acumen.

Stubborn and very self-aware.

As are most successful people. Those are positive attributes.

He only joined Tesla after a year. Later, he tried to rewrite history through the courts.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/tesla-motors-founders-now-there-are-five/

Yes, his ego wants credit for what he did to make Tesla what it became. It isn't clear that would have happened without him (with his stubborn can-do attitude).

Nor his solar panel business. That was started by his cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive.

You realize that many businesses are started by a group of founders who each bring something to the table, be it ideas, skills, contacts, money, experience, or some combination. Have you ever started a business or worked for a startup?

He's very good at sniffing opportunities. The only company that he started (Zip2) no longer exists.

That's an important skill. Ideas are easy--Silicon Valley was full of ideas during the dotcom boom. Unfortunately a lot of self-described smart people have little idea how to differentiate between ideas that have utility (and business potential) and those that are just cool (and expensive) research projects. Many tech people have no business acumen or financial knowledge (I am weak in these areas) and need to partner with people with those skills. It is pretty rare to find someone with both tech and business savvy.

He's also not an American by birth. He's South-African born and has a Canadian passport too.

So? Half of Silicon Valley tech workers are foreign born. At least he embraces most of the core founding values of the USA, something that has become much less common among tech immigrants in my experience.

 

[Recording Engineer]

I think he's matured in the past 2-3 years as he's seen the danger posed by the extreme left.

Not in my opinion, based on that out-there Tucker Carlson interview! And that’s me not looking through a political-lens at all. Some people can only look through and comment only with a political-lens though.

 

[sahib]

......... Have you ever started a business or worked for a startup?.....

I started a small robotics company with a friend in mid '90s. He dropped out after a year. I tried to raise capital but was obviously not good enough to convince the investors. I continued with my own cash and had some success at what we did. With the economic downturn in late 2000 I closed down the company. Even with that tiny experience I have an idea of what it takes to build a successful company. Yes, being in the right place and at the right time has a lot to do with it, but if you do not have it, things will not happen out of the blue. I still do not know much about Elon Musk. He might be this, he might be that. But the reality is that, he is up there and we are down here is surely the proof that he has something that we do not have.

 

[cyrano]

But the reality is that, he is up there and we are down here is surely the proof that he has something that we do not have.

Luck is a big factor. My company was wiped out because of 9/11. That's what you get for having 85% US companies as a client. Palm was planning an EU headquarters in Paris, but after 9/11 decided on London. AMD and Intel stopped all marketing actions outside the USA, leaving us with the financial burdon. Etc.

There was no way we could foresee 9/11.

We could've foreseen 85% as a risk. But that was the reality in the IT sector. It was aggravated by the fact that US companies started buying EU competitors and closing them down. Like Xircom.

In the end, we had 75 people without a job. Firing them was no option as it had taken years to find them and firing cost a lot of money too. No way out.

And that happened almost overnight...

 

[sahib]

Strangely, my main OEM customer was a US company too.

My company was much smaller than yours. But the fact that you and I have put pretty much all of our eggs in one basket is a proof that we were not as smart as others who would see this risk. At least I am speaking for myself.

You know very well that in business dog eats dog. At Elon Musk's level giants eat giants. So, I think the guy deserves some credit.

 

[cyrano]

Record labels are starting to flip:

https://darkfutura.substack.com/p/record-labels-panic-as-ai-generated
An AI generated song in "Drake" style got 15 million views on TikTok in one weekend. Universal Records had it pulled, although, legally they don't have a leg to stand on. I think. I hope.

 

[cyrano]

And this is possibly another legal hurdle: Who owns the data used to train the AI?

https://www.technologyreview.com/20...is-hunger-for-data-is-coming-back-to-bite-it/

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Not in my opinion, based on that out-there Tucker Carlson interview!

"out-there" how, specifically?

And that’s me not looking through a political-lens at all.

Since you, as usual, haven't committed to any meaningful viewpoint it is hard to determine what you think you're communicating here.

Some people can only look through and comment only with a political-lens though.

Standing up for our shared liberties is political? Try to realistically evaluate Musk's strengths and weaknesses is political (as opposed to inferring he's just lucky or was always wealthy or isn't as intelligent as he seems or is a hero of "the right")? How did you feel about him 5 years ago and why might you feel different now?

 

[cyrano]

Strangely, my main OEM customer was a US company too.

My company was much smaller than yours. But the fact that you and I have put pretty much all of our eggs in one basket is a proof that we were not as smart as others who would see this risk. At least I am speaking for myself.

The difference is he had money to start with. If you can fall back on several hundred millions in your pocket, not a big problem.

And that's why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

But I agree, it's a dog eat dog world out there. My other company was eaten by the bank in the same era. The bank wanted to invest because we were doing so good. Later, I learned that someone arranged the take-over and the bank was just his accomplice. That person was a Malaysian citizen who had been a lector at Harvard. He moved to Brussels and started selling Caterpillar parts and used trainrails. His biggest customer was Saudi Arabia, despite him being a Jew. Money has no odor. I also suspect him working for CIA and/or Mossad because his influence went way too far. He sold more parts than the manufacturer, without any stock...

You know very well that in business dog eats dog. At Elon Musk's level giants eat giants. So, I think the guy deserves some credit.

I kinda like him, even. But I hate that he's using the Republican dumbo's as a means to stay popular.

How popular is the average CEO when he has to lay off thousands? Musk managed to do just that and that even raised his popularity.

 

[cyrano]

Yet another thing: An Open Source attempt to make GPT fully autonomous:

https://github.com/Significant-Gravitas/Auto-GPT
EDIT

Today seems special...
https://incidentdatabase.ai/An AI incident database, showing the concern for privacy is warranted.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

The difference is he had money to start with.

When? His first company was successfully sold to Compaq.

If you can fall back on several hundred millions in your pocket, not a big problem.

He only had that kind of money after succeeding with his first startup.

And that's why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

Being successful is a bad thing?

But I agree, it's a dog eat dog world out there. My other company was eaten by the bank in the same era. The bank wanted to invest because we were doing so good. Later, I learned that someone arranged the take-over and the bank was just his accomplice.

When you sell part of your company in exchange for $$$, you also give up some control. Sounds like you made a mistake choosing an investment partner or failed to do your own due diligence. No one forced you to accept the offer of investment, right?

That person was a Malaysian citizen who had been a lector at Harvard. He moved to Brussels and started selling Caterpillar parts and used trainrails. His biggest customer was Saudi Arabia, despite him being a Jew. Money has no odor. I also suspect him working for CIA and/or Mossad because his influence went way too far. He sold more parts than the manufacturer, without any stock...

Whatever. You made the choice.

I kinda like him, even. But I hate that he's using the Republican dumbo's as a means to stay popular.

What a diaper load. Did you feel the same way when he enjoyed popularity from the political left?

How popular is the average CEO when he has to lay off thousands? Musk managed to do just that and that even raised his popularity.

Laying off thousands to offshore or strip assets is one thing. Laying off dangerous subversive activists who aren't needed to run an efficient operation (one that isn't censoring and collaborating with gov to control narratives) is quite another. Anti-liberty activists aren't going to get any sympathy from people who value civil rights and Constitutional principles.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Not in my opinion, based on that out-there Tucker Carlson interview! And that’s me not looking through a political-lens at all. Some people can only look through and comment only with a political-lens though.

I watched part of that interview and Elon appeared to be a little tipsy and very smart.

He was pondering some of his comments before speaking and appeared to trying to be a little controversial.

My primary criticism of Elon is his gravitational attraction toward crafting businesses that receive government subsidies. I can't say that isn't smart either.

Looking through a political lens he was a democrat but got converted by the experience of running a business.

JR

PS: Launched his big ass rocket today (experienced rapid in-flight disassembly). Why are all these super rich dudes building space ships?

 

[Tubetec]

Were we waiting for someone to missapropriately use A.I. ?
Well this morning it seems to have happened ,
A German media company created an A.I. interview with Michael Shumacher ,
theyve landed themselves in court over night ,
Michaels family are understandably upset ,
Im not sure if the interview is available but on principle I dont feel like reading it , or hearing it whichever ,
I guess many great artists especially musicians have been subject to the A.I. treatment long after there gone , but in this case Michael is still alive , it just feels wrong to try and take the words out of the mouth of a living person with no right of reply .

His new space ship blew up ? ouch thats gotta hurt , major malfuction
Whens the master of the realities next press conference shedualed for?

And a quote direct from the horses mouth ,
“We are at this brief moment in civilization where it is possible to become a multi-planet species,” he said. “That’s our goal. I think we’ve got a chance.”

 

[JohnRoberts]

His new space ship blew up ? ouch thats gotta hurt , major malfuction

massive first stage was successful, the separation of the second stage did not happen properly so they performed a rapid in-flight disassembly. More successes than failures in that lift off but haters are going to paint it in the worst light.

Whens the master of the realities next press conference shedualed for?

Probably already happened, he was reportedly in flight control during the launch.

JR

 

[Recording Engineer]

I kinda like him, even. But I hate that he's using the Republican dumbo's as a means to stay popular.

Nail hit on the head, hard, for me.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Re: Starship launch...success is built on learning. Learning requires pushing the envelope, failing, and correcting. Iterate.

People who are afraid to try, afraid to fail, or are unable to try again after failing (with adjustments) aren't the ones who will make anything new happen. They might make ok music, movie, or art critics though.