I watched an episode- I thought it was charming, well produced, and also nostalgic, using techniques and equipment that I also used back then.
I watched an episode- I thought it was charming, well produced, and also nostalgic, using techniques and equipment that I also used back then.
If by AI you mean general purpose chat or visualization tools like ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion or the like, then I think they are still in the party trick looking for a purpose stage. But the underlying language models are incredible powerful tools - automated fluency in human and many other languages - and they'll find plenty of uses that make sense. And AI generally is much, much more then just those language models. The same techniques that can train a computer model to recognize photos of kittens can train a model to read and interpret ECGs, e.g., better than most human doctors can (and by better, I mean with fewer errors and oversights, and to "see" diagnostic information in the ECG that not even the best human electrophysiologist can see). That's just a single example - I could list dozens in a single branch of medicine, and then move on to other science and engineering fields.
Even the language models do useful work already - we use a Microsoft product to transcribe and summarize meetings. It's way better than human "recorders." It makes mistakes, to be sure, but fewer than the people it's transcribing.
And as Mike Stenson has observed, LLMs write computer code in development shops all over the world on a daily basis. Probably not yet transformative in impact, but not a nothing-burger either.
I'm an IT Professional. I don't work with AI specificially, but I am aware of its potential for the things you listed above. What I think is overblown are the predictions that AI is going to write novels and movie scripts. It can mash something together which is currently meaningless and nonsensical. Sure, these capabilities will get better, but there's just no way AI is going to create imaginative worlds and novel ideas. And I don't see it revolutionizing the world as we know it.
I suppose I don't understand your original comment then.
The tools you list, in the correct hands, are still capable of producing fine work today. I still use them without issue. I wouldn't call any of then "nostalgic" I didn't realize that 10" chop saws and biscuit joiners were from the days of old.
Question;
If you replaced all of them with whatever you think is equivalent today, would you work go faster, easier, be safer, produce a better final product? how would you benefit?
I'm all for progress but there needs to be some type of benefit before abandoning the "nostalgic" tools I'm apparently using.
It wasn't a criticism, but I would guess that sales of 10" chopsaws and biscuit joiners are down in favor of 12" sliders and Dominos.
My Makita cast iron saw lives on in spite of the period of time when it would only start if I reached around and hit it with a 2X4 like a stubborn mule, but I do like the cutting capacity of the 12" DeWalt.
~mike
happy in my mud hut
Ai, taking control of everything. past, present and future.
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Not that differently. I have a 12" slider but only use it on jobsites. I wasn't looking for one but it was pressed on me by a guy retiring for health reasons.
It's good for cutting wide fascia but would take up too much room in the shop.
I do have a 12" Dewalt single bevel chopsaw that is used both in the shop and out of it. Best combination of cutting capacity, portability, and overall utility IME but I also still use the Makita, bought 1980 or before.
Ironically, a lot of the stuff coming out of people's brains is a LOT worse than what AI's generate, if for no other reason than AI's are generally trained to write complete sentences and to use correct grammar/punctuation. You just would not believe the sort of indecipherable trash that people will post on free websites in the name of writing fiction/poetry.
The thing is... We need to differentiate between where AI's are profitable and where they're an endless money pit. We've done a good job of that in industrial automation. People will go brain dead manually counting out 50 envelope stacks and stuffing them into boxes where machines happily crank stacks out by the billions. People are way better when you need dexterity, judgement, or a lot of variety....
I sort of doubt there will be any money in using AI to do things people like to do. The money will be in the grind, doing things that it's hard to keep people interested in. For example, AI will probably prove profitable doing things like copy editing and grammar/punctuation checking, because that's just grind.
Last edited by John C Cox; 03-14-2024 at 5:00 PM.
My main miter saw is a Bosch 10" SCMS that takes up about a 1/4 acre of room, great saw, never had a bit of issue but I wish it had a smaller footprint.
I guess Grammarly uses AI now.
No way do I want AI checking my writing for grammar, spelling and syntax "mistakes" .
It has to compare my choice of words etc against some kind of standard, and I'm certain that standard is going to reflect the prevailing ideological norms, whatever they are.
When I want my writing critiqued for grammar , spelling, syntax etc I'll rely on other sources I can trust.
I disabled all the auto correct functions at the outset on MS Word etc when I first began using it decades ago.
Companies, business etc can do what they want or need to do... but I'll not be using it.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.”