Maybe, but prophecy tends to be true in hindsight. Literally millions of books/shows/movies have created versions of history past and future and been absolutely wrong...so pointing out the handful that got it right by luck (or pointing out an obvious trend) isn't really useful to gauge progress. Again, negative visions of the future are compelling so there is a dystopia bias in literature.

I'm an optimist, so I'm hoping for the best when the Singularity hits.

The issue, really, is that dystopia and conflict make for great stories...at least in the hands of great writers. Reading about everything going well and AI resulting in a utopic future would be boring and likely not sell well. That's why we should be careful using works of fiction to inform our world view. I'm talking to myself here too...

Dune is a work of fiction. It's not a documentary. It's not real. Everything inside the book is made up. It's not our future. 🤷🏼‍♂️

But...Black Mirror is not a documentary. It's not real, and shouldn't be used to support anything.

You're literally asking for ways to address his arguments. To you a "good" discussion seems to only be one where you are "right". That's not a discussion, that's bullying. Even now, you're engaging with people in a hostile manner when they simply have the opinion that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I think your friend needs to remember that sci-fi is for science FICTION. It's not real and shouldn't inform your understanding of the world around you in a concrete way.

That's in-person. Online... especially in this sub... I just block accounts that post negative shitposts on AI and Singularity. Being CRITICAL is not the same as being negative/pessimistic. But in the face of so many low quality posts lately I'd rather just block and move on.

Well said!

That's a bit sad (and probably true). I consider myself optimistic about AI and singularity while also understanding that not every step in the process will be instantly Utopic. It doesn't seem that being hopeful about the end point while also cautious about the progress is mutually exclusive.

I've noticed that too! Every post is a long screed on some end of humanity conspiracy or some accounting of how someone got Bing to talk dirty to them. It used to be a place to read optimism around the tech that would lead to a radical transformation of society.

I agree! It's sad to see r/futurology. I mean...we get it...every social media but Reddit is SATAN, every company is violating your FREEDOM, and Musk is a TURD (actually that last one might be on point...lol...)

r/singularity is becoming a doomer sub... Sad to see.

My surgery for a tumor removal in my chest involved a robot assist and my healing time was pretty fast. Anecdotal, yes, but not surprised by the article. (They also used surgical tape instead of stitches which worked well)

Plenty of ways to shift forms so as the tasks change so does the robot. A tentacle with short phalanges could be more useful in more situations that a simple thumb.

Plenty of non-humanoid shapes would fit perfectly in our everyday lives. A sphere with tentacles could drive a car. Just seems pointless to limit ourselves to such a degree. The form should fit the function, not the other way around.

Humanoid? Probably close to $0. I want a useful robot that can be task specific, not confined to one form.

Edit: So, OP asks a question about a personal opinion...I give my opinion...people shit on me and downvote. Reddit has such awesome "communities" 🙄

They're children...😒

There are many exceptions to patient/client confidentiality laws. Illegal activity, like drug use, can be disclosed. This keeps many people away from therapy and could cause some people reaching out for help to end up in jail or forced rehabilitation. Add in that law enforcement officers are rarely (and certainly not fully) trained to deal with mental health situations...until the laws in the US are overhauled people in a bad situation using this number could find themselves in an even worse situation.

In America, life insurance rarely pays out on a suicide.

https://www.investopedia.com/does-life-insurance-cover-suicide-5105027

Kinda how humans like to fuck each other over given any opportunity. Just our nature!

And also thanks to some dumb fucking people supporting factory farms...which cause damage to the environment. Looks like a "fuck everybody" type situation 🤷🏼‍♂️

Edit: Sure, downvote "factory farms are bad" as the wrong take. Lol...only on Reddit is being a good human the wrong way to go.

I'm halfway through the last book in the series. Have loved each one of them!

No. There was a 16-25% increase in emergency calls for myocarditis in males, not that 16% of males developed this extremely rare disease. (https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-study-emergency/fact-check-study-using-israeli-emergency-services-data-does-not-prove-covid-19-vaccines-cause-heart-problems-idUSL2N2X21LM)

Further, additional recent studies have found that COVID does much more damage to young heart tissue than any vaccine, making the vaccine much safer than the risk of COVID. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/08/22/covid-19-infection-poses-higher-risk-for-myocarditis-than-vaccines#:~:text=During%20the%20one%2Dyear%20study,hospitalized%20or%20died%20with%20myocarditis.

But that's easily treated with cryonic preservation. But, unfortunately resurrection requires nanobots and an unlikely utopian future society.

Planted along paths and trails for safety. Potted in a window as a nightlight.

But, that can be cured with injections of erythropoietin! However, that causes polycythaemia...