[HN Gopher] How to make history with LLMs and other generative m...
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       How to make history with LLMs and other generative models
        
       Author : marcoslozada
       Score  : 58 points
       Date   : 2023-09-26 13:37 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (leighmariebraswell.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (leighmariebraswell.substack.com)
        
       | nomagicbullet wrote:
       | The idea of LLM-powered personal assistants sounds like a game-
       | changer (eg. an AI buddy that not only helps with work tasks but
       | also offers real-time advice and fact-checking during
       | conversations)
       | 
       | Can't wait to see how this evolves. It has the potential of
       | becoming as ubiquitous as a smartphone.
        
         | simonw wrote:
         | Sadly digital personal assistants are the biggest example of
         | something that we've not yet figured out how to build safely
         | given the threat of prompt injection.
         | 
         | If your assistant can perform actions on your behalf - even as
         | simple as replying to an email - you can't risk that assistant
         | being exposed to any potentially malicious text from an
         | untrusted source that might contain instructions designed to
         | subvert it.
         | 
         | So your assistant can't be trusted to summarize web pages. Or
         | even to read messages in your inbox!
         | 
         | I wrote more about this problem - and provided a very
         | disappointing partial proposed solution - here:
         | https://simonwillison.net/2023/Apr/25/dual-llm-pattern/
        
           | thelastparadise wrote:
           | Sandbox/firewall it.
        
           | sharemywin wrote:
           | couldn't you separate the agent responsibilities?
           | 
           | Couldn't you make it so the agent that summarizes your emails
           | isn't the same as the agent that sends email, etc.
        
             | simonw wrote:
             | That's what I propose in
             | https://simonwillison.net/2023/Apr/25/dual-llm-pattern/
        
           | ianbicking wrote:
           | It seems to me like there's sufficient value even if the
           | assistant can't complete any actions fully (e.g., can compose
           | but not send an email; or maybe not even compose). There's so
           | much potential simply aiding with executive function: what to
           | do, when to do it, acquiring any dependencies, handling
           | partial work, helping break down tasks, and a great deal of
           | potential with perception if the assistant is highly
           | available and perceives what the human perceives.
           | 
           | (Rayban Stories could be pretty awesome for this, if they
           | were hackable enough to actually prototype things on:
           | https://hachyderm.io/@ianbicking/110833737363686936)
           | 
           | Imagine a personal assistant that was always ready to respond
           | to the question "what should I do now?" - and of course enter
           | dialog, not just dictate an action. That you could tell about
           | all your tasks, but not just the tasks but also the _why_ of
           | the tasks, giving it the chance to set or change something
           | like a deadline on its own, or even simply discuss those
           | deadlines.
           | 
           | Imagine you could co-develop a process with that assistant.
           | Maybe there's times you like to do certain kinds of work...
           | what are those? What features distinguish different kinds of
           | work? If you have to do a certain kind of work, what do you
           | need (time/place/mindset) to be successful? It doesn't need
           | to be some magic algorithm, it can be a deliberative process
           | that you engage in with your assistant, something conscious
           | and explicit.
           | 
           | Maybe it helps both move through and construct to-do lists.
           | You have an item on your list: either the item is very easy
           | or the question is "what's the first thing you have to do to
           | achieve that item?" - and the assistant has some idea (and
           | can learn more) about what a good size of a task is for you
           | personally. And now it's keeping this list of tasks and
           | dependencies. It should be able to understand enough to mark
           | subtasks complete if you complete the parent task. It can
           | probably suggest items. If it has access to enough
           | information - even if you have to put the information in
           | explicitly - it can probably help you resume tasks by
           | reestablishing all the context you need.
           | 
           | Like maybe all your assistant needs or should have is access
           | to your clipboard (in and out), photos and screenshots, mic
           | and speaker access (with a wake word), a library of notes and
           | observations, and task initiation that isn't any more
           | sophisticated than what you can do from a link
           | (mailto:person?subject=...)
        
         | yoyohello13 wrote:
         | Get ready for ultra personalized ads beamed directly into your
         | brain.
        
           | arrowsmith wrote:
           | And they don't even need to scan your eyeballs:
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bXJ_obaiYQ
        
         | fudged71 wrote:
         | I would get an extremely high value from an "Accountability
         | Buddy" for ADHD. Has anyone seen anyone building this?
         | 
         | I think it would be pretty straightforward with basic memory
         | and a good prompt.
        
         | Gumberclaus wrote:
         | Fact checking has worked out so well in other places. I mean -
         | social media sites and news outlets plus the groups that fund
         | them being the primary funders of fact checking groups creates
         | absolutely no conflict of interest at all.
         | 
         | Having some personal assistant developed by megacorp that helps
         | me be a better worker for megacorp does sound game changing -
         | but not in a good way.
        
       | throwmeouthn wrote:
       | [dead]
        
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       (page generated 2023-09-26 23:01 UTC)