tailscaler2026 3 hours ago

Sam eagerly pursued DoD contracts to weaponize AI. And then lobbied for legislation to ensure OpenAI cannot be held accountable if people are killed due to their systems.

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pesus 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I find it interesting that Altman's fans seem to keep skipping past this fact. I'd love to hear their defense as to why one person potentially being responsible for hundreds or thousands of deaths is acceptable, but attacking that one person isn't. If violence is never the answer, they should be condemning Altman with even more vigor.

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IMTDb 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> why one person potentially being responsible for hundreds or thousands of deaths is acceptable

I am not sure who exactly is that one person ? Is it Altman, who is according to many people not that knowledgeable in AI in the first place; the scientist who found a breakthrough (who is it ?); is it the president of the United States who is greenlighting the strikes; the general who is choosing the target (based on AI suggestions); the missile designer; the manufacturer; the pilot who flew the plane ?

I get the point of concentrating power in fewer hands, but the whole "all the problems of this world are caused by an extremely narrow set of individuals" always irks me. Going as far as saying there is just one is even mor ludicrous.

	▲	maest 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Accountability sinks are good value and wealthy people always make sure they have enough of them
	▲	roysting an hour ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I’m fine with holding them all accountable to varying degrees. For example, yes, ultimately the president is responsible, but so is the person who dropped bombs instead of refusing an illegal order; just like the street dealer, gang banger, trafficker, and cartel boss are all guilty of all of their various crimes. What do you find difficult to understand about that?
	▲	idiotsecant 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Ah the old 'everyone is responsible so nobody is responsible' canard. I will give you a helpful rule of thumb: when in doubt the guy with a bank account larger than the total lifetime income of hundreds of thousands of people is probably the one to blame.
	▲	2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[deleted]

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GMoromisato 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The entire purpose of government is to have a monopoly on violence. Democracies give their government the power to decide when and against whom to deploy violence.

There is a real difference between giving a democratic government the tools to kill people vs attempting to kill people yourself. If you don’t believe this then you don’t believe in democracy.

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pesus 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I'm not sure the next batch of schoolgirls getting bombed will particularly care whether the choice was made "democratically" or not.

I also won't particularly care about the distinction when AI is inevitably used to enact violence on the US population.

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lostlogin 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> There is a real difference between giving a democratic government the tools to kill people vs attempting to kill people yourself. If you don’t believe this then you don’t believe in democracy.

Is this what we just saw with America attacking Iran?

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shakna 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> The entire purpose of government is to have a monopoly on violence.

... Isn't that rather against the spirit of the US' constitution? I can see it being a thought with other nations, but not this particular one.

> A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Which kinda follows the spirit of English Common Law:

> The ... last auxiliary right of the subject ... is that of having arms for their defence, suitable to their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law. Which is ... declared by ... statute, and is indeed a public allowance, under due restrictions, of the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression. - Sir William Blackstone

A "monopoly on violence" is exactly the thing our laws are supposed to protect us against. Because if a state has that, then they have a monopoly against all rights, because they alone can employ violence to curb those who do not subscribe to the state's ideology.

I'm pretty much a pacifist. I _like_ Australia's gun laws. But, a government's purpose is to protect their people. They are to be representative - or to be replaced. If they leave no other choice for that, then violence is the only answer left.

	▲	tines 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The above posts forgot the word "legitimate" before "monopoly": a state is defined as the entity that has the legitimate monopoly on violence within a defined geographic area. A state can cease to have the legitimate monopoly before they cease to have the monopoly.

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slopinthebag 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is a distinction without meaning. It makes no moral difference who dispenses justice, if said justice is justified.

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AlexCoventry 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah, it's kind of terrifying, how this incident seems to have faded from people's memories.

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seizethecheese 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Military power and attacks on private individuals are different things. It's perfectly consistent to be against attacks on private individuals while being in favor of building military weapons.

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deaux 6 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

The bombed schoolgirls were "private individuals" in any reasonable meaning of "private individual".

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luqtas 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

LOL

	▲	an hour ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

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stickfigure an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

There's thirty-some-odd million people in Ukraine who very much would like to get AI weapons before the Russians do. They're coming whether you want them or not.