Businesses are usually allowed to refuse service: "Sorry, we're closed" or "sir, this is a Wendy's." There's nothing dystopian about that.

But it's a rather annoying service if the customer can't predict in advance what sort of tasks they're willing to take on. You should have some idea about what they're normally willing to do for you.

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nolok 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I do not disagree with business deciding to only provide the service they want, I am not talking about the AI business themselves, I am thinking about the people who think we should remove pages from knowledge book.

Whether the book takes the form of an llm or an online website or a printed book is merely implementation details.

	▲	jiggawatts 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> people who think we should remove pages from knowledge book. "No knowledge in Kamar-Taj is forbidden. Only certain practices." You reminded me of that quote from the Doctor Strange movie. Even the most "dangerous" knowledge can be life-saving, depending on the circumstances. When I was a teenager, I read the Terrorist's Handbook, which was a text file circulating on bulletin boards. After 9/11 it vanished, because posession was considered a crime in some jurisdictions. Knowing how to build a bomb is useless and/or dangerous in civilian life. Ask a Ukrainian if it is useful knowledge! Knowing all about nuclear weapons doesn't mean you're going to blow up a city. But if someone else does, then you'll have the knowledge needed to avoid the worst of the radiation and maybe survive.

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ronsor 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think no one objects to the refusals in the abstract but rather to the inconsistencies and the presentation. You don't know what request might be refused or downgraded. You do know that the marketing copy and CEO's words present it as being for your own good (or the good of society) instead of plainly stated as a business policy based on business or personal concerns. These aspects are what make it grating and yes, potentially dystopian.

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vkou 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> There's nothing dystopian about that.

It'll be dystopian when that'll become your only source of information, and we're working on getting there. If you want to be horrified, look at what students (in school and post-secondary) are doing these days.

It's insane to offload your thinking and knowledge to a machine owned by other people, but you have to if you want to keep up with the rat race.

	▲	skybrian 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It’s probably a good idea to know how to use AI tools, but they certainly don’t have to be your only source of information.