Hello.
I intend this thread to be a sincere discussion regarding both the usage of GenAI on db0 and the place of "pro vs anti" discourse in our communities.
There have been heightening tensions between both groups online, especially here on Lemmy and especially here on db0. For a good case study, see this recent thread in the lefty memes comm.
I will preface this with the fact that I am very much in the "pro-AI" camp; stated for the purpose of clarity, transparency, and honesty. I study machine learning academically and am aware of my own biases. I believe much anti-AI discourse fundamentally doesn't understand what they're talking about and mistakenly directs their own anti-capitalist, anti-corporatist sentiments towards a morally/ethically neutral technology that can be used for both great good and great evil. I disdain OpenAI, Anthropic, and others - not really for any reason other than they're massive corporations and it is antithetical to my beliefs what they do and the products they develop. I digress, I'm not here to proselytize.
With that said, I am of the opinion that the "anti-AI" communities in the fediverse and on social media as a whole have a significantly more toxic culture and are quite reactionary in nature. It is a known issue amongst moderation here on db0 that this particular group is known for brigading and being generally hostile.
Regardless of your stance on the matter, I think it is obvious that this issue is getting continually worse and needs some sort of community level solution. The status quo here is untenable and is only going to inflame more tensions in both camps the longer it is allowed to go on.
I don't intend this thread to be a location for proponents of either side of this argument to stand on a soapbox necessarily. This is about figuring out a way to coexist when a handful of individuals seem absolutely set on malicious behavior. How can we lessen animosity between these different parties and sort of "simmer down" the poisonous rhetoric that is generally employed all across the AI debate? You see proponents of both views engaging in egregious argumentative practices at times and it is clear that this situation is continually degrading and needs something to be done about it.
Thoughts?
I feel there is a general sentiment to fight each other (online), right now. It is one of the current topics which get people riled up, but not the only one. Not that fighting, trolling and hating on something (or being stupid) is a new thing... All of that has a long tradition on the internet. But I think we need to think hard about what we envision this place to be... Or become. A nice place to talk and maybe have an argument every now and then? Or a place where extreme opinions are very loud and drown out constructive discussions and push people to the side... And I think we need to be super careful once the hate turns not just against things, but people. Most of this is not healthy, neither for the individual users, nor for this online-space. And these storms in a bottle don't create anything and they change nothing about the world. It's just making everyone miserable once it dominates the atmosphere.
(And I don't think we need to discuss the facts, or what AI is and what it does. From my experience, nobody listens to that or is interested in facts. That's not what the confrontation is about... Or at least people have a predetermined stance anyway and arguing facts does nothing to settle this.)
Edit: But the example you gave serves other "controversial" topics as well... I'm not really surprised that it's people with strong oppinions who gather there. And then it's a meme and the entire community advertises with shitposting and being anti-imperialist. So I'd say that one specific post had it coming. And both sides are argumentative and escalate.
Part of the problem is mods (or at least one, specifically) trying to hunt down people they perceive as "anti-AI" and harassing them, even when they are not engaging in a "fighting" manner.
Oh, I wonder if it's the same mod who hunted me down for being a right-wing zionist. Maybe it's not a coincidence if a lot of drama happens right around one single person? Is it the same user who [redacted] and is in the other "controversy" game?
@jwmgregory@lemmy.dbzer0.com I feel we found parts of your problem here. It might be the case that it's not just the anti-AI party who stirs up this drama. If there's anything to this, it might be worth investigating. At least it should be easier to talk to the own party than to people who antagonize you per se. That is - if there is something to "settle" here, which I don't really know.