AI and the future

[SnowballCamper]

I'm sure "AI" is great at coding. And that's a great help for people who code, and for people who use a lot of computer applications. I'd say these LLMs are good at writing also. But if we're going to call it intelligence and perpetuate the idea that its good/great for society, then it ought to do things beyond what we see on a screen.

I just think there is a lot of hype out there now compared to the product development needed for a product that helps the average person.

 

[aja8888]

My nontechnical friends are scared of AI. They read the hype that it will take over the world. They're scared, but can't tell me exactly what they're scared that AI will do. Just that it's dangerous. Let's say you spend a billion dollars and build a robot that's smarter than a human. What will you do with it? It cost a billion dollars. You going to use it to offer haircuts? Repair clogged drains? For a robot to be useful, it has to work cheaper than a human. I spent many years automating processes. I never actually reduced the head count in the factory. The operators jobs just got easier and the processes ran better.

I can maybe see AI replacing some jobs in the future. Something like accounts receivable where I assume you're just matching documents. Taking drive thru orders. Jobs where there is an economic payback by replacing a person. The old joke used to be that the factory of the future would only have one employee and a dog. The employee would be there to feed the dog. The dog is there to make sure the employee doesn't touch anything. I can design that factory today. Nobody would finance it. The cost to automate to the level that no people are required is not economical.

AI will probably become a useful tool eventually. Desktop computers were a useful tool, but Xerox figured out the "paperless office" of the future wasn't really going to happen. Of course, they gave away their tech to Apple for free, but that's another story.

AI only takes over the world in the movies.

I came out of manufacturing and eventually the oilfield. I see AI as a way to increase efficiency of computer type jobs, not anything to do with jobs requiring physical labor and judgement. We have had industrial robots for decades to do repetitive tasks in manufacturing and they have been effective. And the robots need periodic maintenance and a human backup for when they break (and they do break),

 

[audreyh1]

I pretty much avoid the dystopian future type series on TV. Who wants bleak?

Besides I expect I’ll be long gone.

 

[audreyh1]

As to self driving cars - about 10 months ago we started using it (the end to end AI version of FSD). It was very good - we were quite impressed. It’s improved in leaps in the last 10 months. Now it’s really good! Of course getting to flawless takes a long time. I’m quite happy supervising as I’m ultimately responsible.

 

[OldShooter]

By Rob Sacks, Editor at LinkedIn News

Chick-fil-A is using robots to squeeze 2,000 lemons a day for the chain’s popular lemonade, Bloomberg reports. The change saves workers 10,000 hours a day, reduces injuries and speeds up service. Chick-fil-A’s plant, located in California, also generates extra revenue by selling lemon oil. The “very cutting edge” process, which takes just 45 minutes, is part of the chain’s efforts to improve efficiency, reduce turnover, and support its expansion.

Saving 5 hours per lemon?

 

[target2019]

I now use DeepSeek, as well as previously-installed PerplexityAI. On a phone these work well as the app works within its own workplace. Gemini in the browser is improving.

I'm also spending time researching the best use of these assistants. The specific apps are evolving rapidly.

 

[sengsational]

AI is quite impressive for coding. Tasks that would have taken me days can be done in hours with the help of a chatbot. Once it can start taking on larger codebases it will be able to put together a full application by itself. It's not all hype. People are getting real work done with it.

I've had about half of my requests for code provide code that didn't work. I was usually able to fix it, but that required as much time as me just writing it. Mine probably would have used traditional language features, rather than the newer ones, but I could understand it quicker. This was for things that were not complicated, so maybe 30 lines or so.

I'm "meh" on AI ability to write code and a little more impressed by AI understanding and answering text based questions. But all this stuff is on an amazing trajectory; it will get better.

Do you have a YouTube of someone using AI to write Android or Java? Maybe I could learn what I'm doing wrong.

 

[folivier]

Am I the only one here who is concerned about losing our skills and abilities by letting AI take over the simple and complex tasks we normally do?
But I have to remember that we here are not the typical person. I'm looking forward to self driving cars as I age out in my ability to drive safely. But what about the younger generations? They might not even develop these important skills? What happens when they or us get into a car without self driving?

 

[Tadpole]

Couldn't AI be part of an interoperable system of sensors at airports, on satellites, and on air born vehicles that could vastly less risks like happened at Reagan yesterday? AI doesn't necessarily need to replace personal work or responsibility but, like a watch, could be a useful tool, sort of an extra sense.

 

[target2019]

I've had about half of my requests for code provide code that didn't work. I was usually able to fix it, but that required as much time as me just writing it. Mine probably would have used traditional language features, rather than the newer ones, but I could understand it quicker. This was for things that were not complicated, so maybe 30 lines or so.

I'm "meh" on AI ability to write code and a little more impressed by AI understanding and answering text based questions. But all this stuff is on an amazing trajectory; it will get better.

Do you have a YouTube of someone using AI to write Android or Java? Maybe I could learn what I'm doing wrong.

Because the specific AI applications are changeing rapidly, have you considered submitting the request to several AI applications? I've also read (I'm not a coder) about guidelines and recommended prompt structure adding to the success percentage.

 

[target2019]

Am I the only one here who is concerned about losing our skills and abilities by letting AI take over the simple and complex tasks we normally do?
But I have to remember that we here are not the typical person. I'm looking forward to self driving cars as I age out in my ability to drive safely. But what about the younger generations? They might not even develop these important skills? What happens when they or us get into a car without self driving?

I think it might help to be specific about the skill younger generation(s) might be losing. Do you mean driving skill specifically?

 

[Qs Laptop]

I now use DeepSeek, as well as previously-installed PerplexityAI. On a phone these work well as the app works within its own workplace. Gemini in the browser is improving.

I'm also spending time researching the best use of these assistants. The specific apps are evolving rapidly.

So...when the Chinese DeepSeek app asked you to input your phone number, you went ahead and typed it in?

 

[JoeWras]

Do you have a YouTube of someone using AI to write Android or Java? Maybe I could learn what I'm doing wrong.

IBM does. So what if it is an ad, it has to be true, right? /sarc

I was wrong about more time to drink RedBull. Actually, you don't *need* the RedBull because Watson does the work for you.

 

[aja8888]

So...when the Chinese DeepSeek app asked you to input your phone number, you went ahead and typed it in?

I use 800-555-1212 for those rare situations.

 

[Route246]

AI is an industrial revolution in its infancy, with potential that has barely been tapped. Like all innovations and ecosystems, its evolution will be unpredictable, with some developments thriving and others fading away. Those who dismiss AI as just another bubble fail to recognize that the Internet—once met with similar skepticism—did not wither away but instead transformed the world in ways few could have imagined in the 1990s. The Internet itself was an industrial revolution, and AI is poised to be just as transformative.

The "ChatGPT moment" was the spark that ignited mainstream hype, but make no mistake—this industrial revolution has been in motion for decades. This isn’t just about being visionary or about AI as a solution in search of a problem. It’s the result of over 60 years of relentless research, much of it pioneered at Stanford AI Laboratory (SAIL) in the Palo Alto Hills, just behind the Dish—a landmark familiar to those who know the campus well.

I grew up just a few miles from there, and as kids, we’d ride our bikes up to Felt Lake and SAIL, fascinated by the idea of artificial intelligence, even if we didn’t fully grasp what it was. Back then, it was an abstract, almost mythical concept—but all the clever algorithms and methods that underpin today's AI were already well-known, meticulously developed, and waiting for their moment. The missing piece wasn’t the theory—it was the hardware capable of proving it. Only recently has computing power caught up to the vision researchers had all those years ago.

ChatGPT didn’t just make AI more powerful—it made it accessible. It created a long tail—so long that it has reached people with no background in AI, ML, or GL, yet they now use it daily. My wife, for example, is one of the most low-tech people I know, yet she found herself using ChatGPT so often that she subscribed just to avoid waiting times. If it reached her, it can reach anyone.

This isn’t just an AI boom—it’s a fundamental shift in how humans interact with technology. What once seemed like science fiction is now a seamless part of everyday life, and we are only at the beginning of this transformation.

Please, if anyone disagrees with me please explain why you believe this is a bubble and just hype.

That said, here is an Easter Egg for everyone. If you want a little lesson about how ChatGPT works but you don't know where to start, try asking it this:

"tell me how chatgpt uses tokens and explain how they are used"

and then keep asking it to clarify what you don't know and what you want to know more about. It is your private tutor. Enjoy. AI and ML is not a bubble. This is not a solicitation.

 

[Gumby]

"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." - Frank Herbert

Prepare for the Butlerian Jihad.

 

[audreyh1]

Am I the only one here who is concerned about losing our skills and abilities by letting AI take over the simple and complex tasks we normally do?
But I have to remember that we here are not the typical person. I'm looking forward to self driving cars as I age out in my ability to drive safely. But what about the younger generations? They might not even develop these important skills? What happens when they or us get into a car without self driving?

Not any more, I’m too old now.

And I’m not worried about the younger generations either. Humans adapt easily. Did they worry about young folks not knowing how to ride a horse or drive a horse-drawn vehicle? I suppose some people did. Would my grandmother have worried that I didn’t know how to churn butter or even milk a cow? Probably not, the next generation was already buying their butter and milk at the store.

Not to mention all these engineers who forgot or didn’t learn how to use a slide rule.

 

[TickTock]

Not to mention all these engineers who forgot or didn’t learn how to use a slide rule.

Heh. I *just* missed having to learn that.

"I missed my slipstick. Dad says that anyone who can't use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate and should not be allowed to vote." -Robert Heinlein, Have Space Suit, Will Travel, 1958

 

[audreyh1]

Heh. I *just* missed having to learn that.

"I missed my slipstick. Dad says that anyone who can't use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate and should not be allowed to vote." -Robert Heinlein, Have Space Suit, Will Travel, 1958

Me too!! We were the first engineering freshman class that got to use “handheld electronic calculators”.

I did have to learn logarithms and use the tables in middle school.

 

[aja8888]

I went through college (Mechanical engineering) using ONLY a slide rule. It worked, I graduated at the top of the class. Although I took four classes in FORTRAN.

 

[audreyh1]

I went through college (Mechanical engineering) using ONLY a slide rule. It worked, I graduated at the top of the class. Although I took four classes in FORTRAN.

Oh yeah, I remember FORTRAN and punch cards!

 

[aja8888]

Oh yeah, I remember FORTRAN and punch cards!

It was pretty cool stuff at the time since it could be used to solve complex engineering calculations saving you hours and lots of paper. But you had to punch all those cards and not mix them up!

 

[audreyh1]

I remember writing microprocessor machine code in 8 bit numbers! Ha ha what’s a compiler?

 

[aja8888]

I remember writing microprocessor machine code in 8 bit numbers! Ha ha what’s a compiler?

Boy have we come a long way!

 

[JoeWras]

Please, if anyone disagrees with me please explain why you believe this is a bubble and just hype.

I think we have roughly three groups of thought on this thread.
- It is hype and a bubble
- It is a stock market bump or bubble with specific companies that has potential to deflate, then eventually grow to incredible heights over a longer time period
- AI is here and now and we should go all in on anything AI

I don't really disagree with your post, except to say please give a little more credit to other institutions than just Stanford.

My mild skepticism on this thread is not about AI's ultimate potential, it is about the NVDA bubble right now. This chart alarmingly looks like CSCO or JNPR of year 2000. The talk is similar too. 25 years hence, both Cisco and Juniper are still alive, but both have not recovered their stock price even after a quarter century.

Yet, the internet has taken off and gone beyond what many thought possible. You see, CSCO and JNPR were not the only players in the game. Others came along, sometimes from surprising places. You know, that book club company called Amazon eventually sold something called AWS, and stomped on a market that CSCO should have invented. Most didn't see that coming.

My point: skepticism can come in the overall concept, which I think is a mistake. Skepticism can also come in investing in specific companies. That's me, and I suggest that care needs to be taken when investing in "AI". After all, don't forget the pets.com fiasco.