• jtrek@startrek.website
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    20 hours ago

    I really don’t think the billions of dollars spent on AI is equivalent or at all analogous to the time I spend posting on the toilet or while waiting for things to happen at work.

    • kersplomp@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      16 hours ago

      Honest question, you used the word opportunity cost, but do you not understand what that is? With an opportunity cost, you compare two possible actions that you can take. It doesn’t make sense to compare your action (supporting those that propagate misinformation) to the actions of an entire economy (investing in ai infrastructure), because the actor is not the same in both.

      With an opportunity cost, you can only compare the actions that you can take, and you alone. I listed a few comparable actions in my previous comment: research climate change, research the climate effects of ai, post about factory farms, read up on solar, invite others to donate money to clean water causes. These can all be done on the toilet. Any of these is a better use of your time than joining a mob of people against a cause you don’t even fully understand.

      • jtrek@startrek.website
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        14 hours ago

        There is opportunity cost of Microsoft et al investing billions in AI instead of doing anything else. That money could have been spent on renewable energy research, improving efficiency of existing hardware, supporting work from home to reduce commuting, whatever. Those opportunities are lost because they went with AI instead.

        I didn’t mean my opportunity cost from the toilet.

        AI is a poor use of limited resources and opportunity.