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This article is dogshit for many reasons, chief of them that it doesn’t ever actually discuss what AI does or why it’s such a big deal, just that it’s not just “predicting the next token.” Its only argument is that “the left” (which includes the New York Times!) should use AI for some reason.

This is legitimately a rehash of a Kelsey Piper article from last summer. But this newer piece is unique in that it just gets critics wrong. Doctorow is the funniest name to include if your argument is "the left doesn't want to use AI." Kelsey at least had the sense to not name specific people.

I am not understanding your point about Doctorow. Can you elaborate?

Doctorow's thesis is about the conditions/political economy of technology. He's talked about how AI has helped people, but only when they have control over how to use it. Transformer's article seems to miss this. Every quote they included is focused on being wrong about next-token prediction.

I mean I don't see him as a supporter: "AI is the asbestos in the walls of our technological society, stuffed there with wild abandon by a finance sector and tech monopolists run amok. We will be excavating it for a generation or more." and "It is a way to create tech debt at scale."

Very Fair. A lot of the critics understand how the tech works and why they are criticizing it. I honestly think cheerleaders of the tech don't seem to understand how this works or how messed up the industry seems to be.