Post AbRGXIceO7KLhtiLui by Ratanashi@mastodon.nl
(DIR) More posts by Ratanashi@mastodon.nl
(DIR) Post #AbQxCHrW7ZHo8fw2kK by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T15:36:13Z
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I've been thinking about the new Associated Press guidelines to avoid referring to #AI in ways that could imply humanness, sentience, or intent: Don't say, "It WANTS you to enter more information," for example. I've often used that kind of wording for computers in the past. But more precise wording matters now because it's the first time we've widely had systems that could be mistaken for being human or having sentience, and it's important not to reinforce that idea. #ChatGPT
(DIR) Post #AbQyL5LO8I2zsIfN9U by tony@toot.hoyle.me.uk
2023-11-03T15:48:58Z
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@grammargirl So instead of shouting 'You stupid piece of s**t windows why do you keep crashing?' I should be shouting 'Oh dear this microsoft product does have a lot of bugs in it!'.Not sure it'll catch on :p
(DIR) Post #AbQyQwqocfsHGtA62C by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T15:50:06Z
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I can't fit this all into an edit, but I want to revise this a bit. The AP guidelines say to avoid wording that implies it has "thoughts and feelings." The "intent" part is my addition.
(DIR) Post #AbQykbskIIj81sRLma by bhawthorne@infosec.exchange
2023-11-03T15:53:37Z
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@grammargirl Better yet, avoid the non-sensical term “AI.” https://blog.quintarelli.it/2019/11/lets-forget-the-term-ai-lets-call-them-systematic-approaches-to-learning-algorithms-and-machine-inferences-salami/
(DIR) Post #AbQzImc0uFPp9buPOS by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T15:59:45Z
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@tony LOL!
(DIR) Post #AbR03NNMYHI0UmH09Q by SeumanOtwal@social.vivaldi.net
2023-11-03T16:08:11Z
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@grammargirl — Well, this does get us into murky waters about humanness, sentience and intent, does it not?Is it wrong to say “Uncle Sam wants you,” as the famous recruiting posters did and do, because Uncle Sam lacks those attributes?Is it wrong to say “the plants want to be watered”? How about (begging Descartes’s pardon) “the cats want to be fed”?If we allow the general rule that Uncle Sam, plants and cats can be grammatically treated as possessing such attributes, despite not being *H. sapiens*, then on what grounds, apart from the grinding of political axes, do we deny AI admission to the club? Theology?How far does our right to denial of *seeming* humanness and sentience on political or theological grounds extend?Hugo-award-winning science fiction author Connie Willis wrote a wonderful science fiction novella about this a few years back: “All About Emily”. An utterly convincing AI in a young woman’s form has her/its heart set on becoming a Rockette, to such a degree that she/it weeps, visibly heartbroken, upon being refused. The Rockettes are so much won to her side that they dance in her honor on the street. Where should you and I stand on this?
(DIR) Post #AbR12HnTuLoarFXB6O by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T16:19:13Z
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@SeumanOtwal Well said. These are deeper thoughts into the kind of things I was considering when I was thinking about how I have talked about intent in the past. I know people argue about animals an intent and where you draw the line. Most people believe dogs want things, but jellyfish don't have a centralized brain. Do they have desire, or are they just acting on instinct? Should instinct count as desire in the way we usually define it?
(DIR) Post #AbR15Kj5TRbIoLvpzc by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T16:19:46Z
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@SeumanOtwal Also, I loved Connie Willis' "Doomsday Book," but I haven't read "All About Emily." It sounds like I should add it to my TBR list.
(DIR) Post #AbR16MT0UIlWV0ttoW by arratoon@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-11-03T16:19:51Z
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@grammargirl I suppose we could adopt this approach when editing copy about quite a few politicians.
(DIR) Post #AbR3oHl3YYEmXqPorA by Lazarou@mastodon.social
2023-11-03T16:50:13Z
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@grammargirl right now we have a problem of dehumanising human beings and humanising algorithms 😞
(DIR) Post #AbR4gh5Dc7Xij8n34a by Susan_Larson_TN@mastodon.online
2023-11-03T17:00:07Z
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@grammargirl I even tell it thank you. If you want respect, you give respect in all things."Thank you, Hal ;) Just kidding" :P I had just asked it for a list of movies that negatively portray AI.
(DIR) Post #AbR572KbEj989jXtGS by mloxton@med-mastodon.com
2023-11-03T17:04:55Z
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@grammargirl This intentional speech thing is a really old and entrenched problem that is a source of a lot of confusion and poor judgement. If you look at how the media, and even many academics speak about evolution, you will see it all over the place. They talk about a species "trying to adapt", or evolving a resistance "in order to escape vaccines" or "defeat antibiotics", etc. Like no, for fuck sake, they are microbes, and evolution doesn't "want" to survive, or escape, or defeat anything
(DIR) Post #AbR6EbASDKjwBEyBkG by stylinstainless@mastodon.online
2023-11-03T17:17:28Z
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@grammargirl As a person from the southeastern U.S., this will be a hard habit to break. I grew up saying things like "The car doesn't wanna start this morning" and "This jar doesn't wanna open." Time to retire those expressions!
(DIR) Post #AbR6Ge9S5iOq0uTgJc by SeumanOtwal@social.vivaldi.net
2023-11-03T17:17:50Z
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@grammargirl — “All About Emily” was one of Connie’s annual Christmas stories, so unless you are allergic to secular Christmas rites, this is an especially enjoyable time to be reading it, including aloud to older children.On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Emily-Connie-Willis/dp/1596064528On Ebay:https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=connie+willis+all+about+emily&_sacat=0
(DIR) Post #AbR6LeoH4RFZVHxez2 by dumbledope@mastodonapp.uk
2023-11-03T17:18:45Z
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@grammargirl Never anthropomorphise computers. They don't like it.
(DIR) Post #AbR9unH1tUUfkerDEG by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T17:58:43Z
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@dumbledope 🤣
(DIR) Post #AbR9vXueUVWKOrkVNI by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T17:58:52Z
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@SeumanOtwal Nice!
(DIR) Post #AbRAmmUD2OlUwllUx6 by kinyutaka@mstdn.social
2023-11-03T18:08:27Z
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@grammargirl "The system has been programmed to require more information."
(DIR) Post #AbRBsZcLtbcyj8tqfQ by Edelruth@mastodon.online
2023-11-03T18:20:42Z
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@grammargirl "Human input required for this part?"
(DIR) Post #AbRG3qxm95FRWdYRKS by Qbitzerre@unbound.social
2023-11-03T19:07:35Z
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@grammargirl Headline:AP Declares Submarines Don't Swim
(DIR) Post #AbRGXIceO7KLhtiLui by Ratanashi@mastodon.nl
2023-11-03T19:12:54Z
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@grammargirl Silly girls in the Netherlands in the past used to say: "the computer says no."
(DIR) Post #AbRJa3ccuo1fuoi5A0 by admin@mastodon.slightlycyberpunk.com
2023-11-03T19:47:01Z
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@grammargirl Dislike. Given how limited our understanding of and ability to quantify sentience or consciousness is, I do not like the idea that the more something appears to posses those traits the more forcefully we must deny the possibility...
(DIR) Post #AbRJcd3O9UuMNrSCRs by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T19:47:30Z
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@Ratanashi That reminds me of the Magic 8 Ball.
(DIR) Post #AbRKANjDdbOkhP795k by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T19:53:36Z
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@admin I do find it interesting that the AP Stylebook has a "right now" qualifier: "Right now, AI systems can emulate only aspects of human work and cognition, but are not sentient per se."
(DIR) Post #AbRaLfHKKFcDa8TChE by Frank@lor.sh
2023-11-03T22:54:52Z
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@grammargirl Do you use AI in your work? I had ChatGPT write a few short medical articles as a test. Not impressed.
(DIR) Post #AbRd3QLtNmMLwFbDKi by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T23:25:13Z
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@Frank I don't use it for writing anything like an article or summary, but I use it for other things. I'm most impressed with it for cleaning up transcriptions, but you need to do a final "compare documents" check to make sure it hasn't gone off the rails. I'll outline my whole process in a future newsletter, but it saves me hours over how I used to do it.I also use it when I can't remember the name of something. I'll describe it, and usually get the name (although I always confirm it).
(DIR) Post #AbRd8G4Z1qklVNnbyS by Frank@lor.sh
2023-11-03T22:58:38Z
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@grammargirl My sis in law who "runs" the Lawrence, Kan., library loves it for things like news and info releases.
(DIR) Post #AbRd8Gx9ksQEEhLD4C by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-03T23:26:06Z
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@Frank It's very hard for me to imagine using it for getting news knowing how often it gives incorrect information (although I usually trust librarians about such things).
(DIR) Post #AbRotCjeLz6OGEbZVw by rothko@beige.party
2023-11-04T00:57:27Z
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@Susan_Larson_TN @grammargirl i have a very fraught relationship with siri. mostly i just shout "goddammit siri..." when "she" does the wrong thing or misunderstands me... although i usually say "thank you siri" when i get the answer i'm looking for.
(DIR) Post #AbRotDiGibajIExz04 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-04T01:37:49Z
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@rothko @Susan_Larson_TN I was never able to get into Siri or Alexa. I set them up for podcast testing purposes but quickly lost interest.
(DIR) Post #AbRpFgAlaRUNvj0Og4 by Ralph@hear-me.social
2023-11-04T01:07:20Z
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@Frank @grammargirl I like #ChatGPT as a spell checker:(this is me)What is the preferred spelling of deserrt, please?(ChatGPT: I like the "two 's's' ")The preferred spelling for the term you're looking for is "dessert." "Desert" with one 's' typically refers to a dry, arid, or barren land, while "dessert" with two 's's' refers to a sweet course typically served at the end of a meal.
(DIR) Post #AbRpFgz6ZHksRqYb8i by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-04T01:41:55Z
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@Ralph @Frank This is why we have to be careful with our language. They sounds so incredibly human.I was marveling yesterday at a company's chatbot that used language that made me empathize with it and feel like it cared even though intellectually I knew it didn't. ("Thanks for hanging in there. Let me look in one more place." Etc.)
(DIR) Post #AbRpZhWeGZNBuxmtZw by Frank@lor.sh
2023-11-04T01:45:32Z
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@grammargirl @Ralph Yes! Sometimes I cuss out chatbots to see how it responds.
(DIR) Post #AbSMcKS3oAnFi9VD1s by Biggles@qoto.org
2023-11-04T07:55:46Z
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@grammargirl The "I" in AI stands for "intelligence". I'm not buying into a game where others can use the word intelligence with all that implies to sell their snake-oil, but I'm not allowed to criticize it for doing the bad things intelligent things can do like lie, or cheat. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you're justified in calling it a duck and treating it accordingly. When a supposed AI glibly gives me a made-up answer because the real answer isn't in its corpus, as opposed to "I don't know" - that's a lie, kids.
(DIR) Post #AbSiTdkurfRBy1aH4K by PamelaBarroway@mstdn.social
2023-11-04T12:00:41Z
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@grammargirl @Frank Please do! I would be very interested to see your process for this.
(DIR) Post #AbT6IzKMicwKaLcQOe by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-04T16:27:42Z
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@Biggles That's an interesting point. To me, using words that make it seem human, like "lie" and "hallucinate," ascribe more power to it than it has and contributes to the marketing that causes some people to mistakenly believe it is sentient. But words have all kinds of power and I can see why you think "It gives wrong answers," or "You absolutely can't rely on it for facts," aren't as strong as "It lies."
(DIR) Post #AbT7A5MJ1cXadfqSSu by Biggles@qoto.org
2023-11-04T16:37:16Z
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@grammargirl The proponents *already* ascribe more power to AI than it deserves, unfortunately - with real world effects. People are losing their jobs because managers believe it can do things it can't. "It's just a pattern-matching engine that emits plausible responses without any understanding of the meaning of the content" - while more accurate - doesn't communicate the point nearly as well as "it lies".
(DIR) Post #AbTAW3urMxZOOjB7Sa by rothko@beige.party
2023-11-04T17:14:52Z
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@grammargirl @Susan_Larson_TN i use siri for navigation. she has... interesting ideas on how to get to certain places. "WTH siri?!?!"
(DIR) Post #AbTEV4ogw3XaiZ4wbI by EricFielding@mastodon.social
2023-11-04T17:59:31Z
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@grammargirl So we should say that the computer program has an open entry line? That seems cumbersome. The “program is asking for input” is probably neutral enough.
(DIR) Post #AbTGyzqQBaCxtQHZhI by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-04T18:27:21Z
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@EricFielding I agree. "Ask" doesn't feel as human-like as "want" to me. I'm not trying to put out dogmatic rules. I just believe it's important to think about the words we're using and what they imply or lead others to believe about how these systems work. And of course, as a proponent of AP style, I want to help people understand AP's guidance is, which is not to write as though AI has thoughts of feelings and not to use human pronouns such as "he" and "she."