Obvious innovation that people once feared
1893 sats \ 38 comments \ @birdeye21 19 Oct 2023 bitcoin
People once feared electricity... But look at our world today.
People once thought that trains make you go insane... But I think we can point to many actual culprits today that go uncriticized.
People once underestimated airplanes... Thinking their value was much more limited than reality.
The internet was once just a passing fad... And yet here I am typing this today.
And yet despite this history, apparently some are in agreement that bitcoin is funding terrorism (nevermind the $100 billion stimulus recently requested by the US). (sigh)
What is it about technology that frightens so many people? Is it just change that people are afraid of? Uncertainty? It's quite interesting to observe the same human psychology play out again and again through different lenses.
It's funny how we're able to build on our progress, make really cool shit, and learn through trial and error. And yet, we still constantly fail to learn from our mistakes. Tis the human condition I suppose.
Once you develop the framework to catch yourself in this kind of mental resistance, ideas like Bitcoin become more and more obvious. Seeing the crazy anti-Bitcoin headlines that pop up today only validate to me that history is repeating, yet again. We're building bigger, better, cooler shit -- and yet we're simultaneously chastising it out of ignorance.
I find that framing Bitcoin through this lens has helped me to orange people over time. Coming to an understanding of how people have historically approached new technology helps to break down your own ego about it, from what I've observed.
What are other examples of tech that people failed to see the value in?
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1458 sats \ 5 replies \ @benthecarman 19 Oct 2023
Neuralink. Removing the latency between human thought and computation will be a absolute game changer. However people have (warranted) fears of how it'll be used for evil. If built correctly it will probably be one of the greatest inventions for humans, however people say they'd never get one, they'll be left in the dust unable to compete in the market.
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296 sats \ 3 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
My issue with neuralink isn't the tech. Its the vulnerability of having a chip in the body. We need to increase value of open source auditable code. No way I'd drive a car or insert tech into my body controlled by Elon's companies. I don't have that much trust.
Most people I know that freak out about biotech like this are addicted to their phones and are being tracked 24/7. They are just freaked out about the device moving into their body. They don't realize that they have already augmented their bodies but it is just an external device.
I'll keep my tech external unless making it internal (heart for example) saves my life. The external tech I can easily replace or dispose of myself. That's my issue with biotech. How do I control it and how could it control me. I can throw my phone in the trash.
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121 sats \ 1 reply \ @benthecarman 19 Oct 2023
These are solvable problems.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
Yep, I'm not losing any sleep over it :)
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bullen 19 Oct 2023
Open sourced connector/slot in the body where you could stick whatever tech into yourself?
Will mestly open up new only fans niches I guess
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121 sats \ 0 replies \ @Brunswick 19 Oct 2023
Some people are willing to put an alexa or google assistant in their home, the same as some people will be willing to let their neuralink be connected to free centralized cloud services. Even if a human-brain interface becomes a necessity, there will be the equivalent of privacy-minded individuals that will be very careful who and what has access to that connection.
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202 sats \ 4 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
AI. Its a terrible name. It isn't a savior or a villain. Its just an evolution in computing and it will not end civilization. Relax. The issue isn't AI. The issue is us. We are lazy, fat, and dumb. AI is an easy scapegoat.
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239 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
I encourage people freaked out about "AI" to watch this video of Richard Feynman from 1985. I've lived through a couple of the AI hypes. This one is the biggest by far and has been fueled by a large jump in the power of the technologies. That said, many bad people are using it to justify granting them more power. The real threat is more centralization of computing power and control. When we are fearful or angry we are weak and susceptible to manipulation. Be strong. Educate yourself.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @davidw 19 Oct 2023
Definitely a terrible name. Wouldn’t say it’s Artificial at all
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
I've hear synthetic intelligence. Its an evolution not a revolution.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
What do u suppose we rename it??
I could see some weird god complex emerging where we start considering human intelligence the artificial kind
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442 sats \ 8 replies \ @k00b 19 Oct 2023
What is it about technology that frightens so many people? Is it just change that people are afraid of? Uncertainty?
Not all change carries risk but all risk carries change. I think evolution has installed this "change is risky" heuristic in us.
What are other examples of tech that people failed to see the value in?
We can find accounts from nay-sayers, skeptics, and doomers on nearly any change - not just technological change.
What comes to focus for me though is AI. While I'm not a doomer, I'm also not exclusively optimistic about it. Technology so powerful it rivals humans is not Good Times Only ... I see people picking sides like they're on a scale of political influence. I like to stand vigilant on the fulcrum.
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235 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
I'm not a doomer or booster of AI. There's a lot of hype but to your point about competing with humans... I'll leave one of my favorite quotes about the absurdity of make work projects pushed by socialist and communists.
While traveling by car during one of his many overseas travels, Professor Milton Friedman spotted scores of road builders moving earth with shovels instead of modern machinery. When he asked why powerful equipment wasn't used instead of so many laborers, his host told him it was to keep employment high in the construction industry. If they used tractors or modern road building equipment, fewer people would have jobs was his host’s logic. "Then instead of shovels, why don’t you give them spoons and create even more jobs?" Friedman inquired.
I believe our concern with AI should be the centralization and control by governments/corporations.
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54 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 19 Oct 2023
I wouldn't argue we should top-down stall AI via governments or otherwise.
I would argue we need to handle uniquely explosive technology carefully.
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38 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 19 Oct 2023
We agree. I believe this move to regulate AI is just a repeat of every industry leader. Regulatory capture.
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121 sats \ 1 reply \ @gmd 19 Oct 2023
Not at all optimistic about AI either. I imagine it will be a big winner-take-all that will proceed to evaporate the already shrinking middle class.
Everyone says it will create new jobs and free people up to do other things... like what? A quick visit to any developing country will show that there are already hundreds of millions of underemployed people selling fruit out of a basket or whatever that would kill for white collar jobs that don't exist. We already have an epidemic of overly educated, indebted baristas...
I imagine AI will help immensely with the upcoming population collapse however...
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198 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 19 Oct 2023
@gmd woke up and took the black pill :)
The thought exercise I usually end up in is: assume AI is capable of doing anything and everything humans can do and more cheaply. Assume it's also cooperative and not dystopic in other obvious ways. What does the world look like? It's not obviously good to me because it disrupts too many things all at once. That doesn't mean it's bad but it being bad can't be ruled out either.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
Our vision of a hyperbitcoinzed amazing world could come, but maybe not until after a decades-long string of anarchist AI dystopia that we self realize
I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll find a way to avoid that fork in the road and go a better direction, not sure how >.<
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148 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 19 Oct 2023
You can almost measure how much change a technology will cause by the severity of people's fears around it.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @amaluenda 19 Oct 2023
This fear can stem from concerns about the unknown, disruptions to existing systems, and changes in societal norms. #Bitcoin!
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131 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 19 Oct 2023
Nuclear power seems to be a huge one right now.
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232 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
I suppose the knee jerk reaction is understandable given our history…
@mallardshead shared some great context surrounding that conversation last week
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150 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 20 Oct 2023
Just today, I learned that 100 years ago there was concern that radio broadcasts were going to destroy baseball. Why would anyone pay for tickets when they could hear the game for free?
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142 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
Ngl let’s bring that back. Stadiums would be hyper than ever
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52 sats \ 0 replies \ @quark 19 Oct 2023
Mobile phones. Worries about dying from radiation 😂
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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @fm 19 Oct 2023
ill go with bitcoin again
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122 sats \ 0 replies \ @southside263 19 Oct 2023
Still BTC.
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53 sats \ 1 reply \ @amaluenda 19 Oct 2023
Many people were fearful of these "horseless carriages" when automobiles were first introduced.
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1 sat \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
but ser, seriously, self driving cars are really worse…we’re gonna lose our freedoms!!
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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @PRA3S3NT1A 20 Oct 2023
Thanks for sharing. I fear from CBDC because the the execution of power can be done in seconds. Once again, less people have more power. Very nice post
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
Well consider yourself lucky that youve stumbled upon bitcoin before hand!!
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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @Entrep 19 Oct 2023
Social Media were platforms many religious Leaders feared as most them it as the devil's playground but it is the most used medium to reach their congregations nowadays
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 20 Oct 2023
Same story as the printing press
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31 sats \ 1 reply \ @joyepzion 19 Oct 2023
There was a time ppl didn't accept that ATM Cards could represent money
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @southside263 19 Oct 2023
credit cards in 1993
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @bitapp132 19 Oct 2023
Nice joob
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @2bithits 19 Oct 2023
Don't forget the Luddites who raged against the machine
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 21 Oct 2023
As a teacher, I think there is a lot of fear and resistance towards the use of ChatGPT. Given its incredible speed in generating responses, some educators feel that their expertise may be undermined since students can easily refer to ChatGPT for answers. Others are apprehensive that students will become over-reliant on it and even plagiarise their essays.
Other reasons that account for this fear include ChatGPT’s limitations. Given that it is prone to “hallucinations” and giving fake confidence with confidence, teachers dare not use it as a source of information.
My take on it is that regardless of whether we like it or not, ChatGPT and other AI chat bots are here to stay. So, since prompt engineering is going to be a significant creator of jobs for our youth, we need to guide them on how to use ChatGPT with discretion and judiciousness. We need to harness the best of ChatGPT without absorbing its vices.
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