Tag: artificial intelligence

How AI Works IRL

by jcafesin, posted in Uncategorized

The danger of AI isn’t what it knows, it’s how it decides what’s true…

Saw 60 Minutes with Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai on the current state of AI.

Scott Pelly, the interviewer, asked Sissie Hsiao, Google’s VP, what Google’s new chatbot, Gemini, does.

“It’s really here to help you brainstorm ideas to generate content like a speech, or a blog post, or an email,” she said with confidence, which made my skin crawl.

Let’s all stop exercising our neural connectivity to do tasks like writing an email, or a blog like this one, that requires disciplines in linear thinking, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, real news research, and engagement of my MIND to construct. Ms. Hsiao is suggesting that doing these tasks that demand and promote brain power are worthless wastes of our time.

So, Ms. Hsiao, where does that leave most of us who aren’t all paid the big bucks by Google to fuck up humanity even more than you already do? A hint, honey: STUPID. Do that research Sissie, and even Google’s AI will find recent data that humanity is getting dumber:

…etc.*

Next, Scott Pelley was “speechless” that Gemini made up a story from Hemingway’s six-word flash piece.** Mr. Pelley was so overwhelmed, he said, “Gemini appears to possess the sum of human knowledge.”

BULLSHIT.

There is NO INTELLIGENCE in Artificial Intelligence. The software NEVER, EVER THINKS. Gemini, ChatGPT, MS Copilot SCRAPE THE INTERNET to construct their responses to our queries. Every publicly available article, news feed, video, ad, post online are SCRAPED and stored in data centers like AWS (Amazon server farms).

Everything YOU do online, every Google Doc you create or read, to your social media posts, to what you see, watch, interact with, buy, to every email and text exchange you have are SCRAPED, stored and analyzed to “return better responses to queries.” How? Google, Microsoft, Verizon, Xfinity, T-Mobile…etc., all have access, and all sell, exchange, or share their data to improve their AI.

After SCRAPING the internet for data, these LLMs (large language models) WEIGH THE IMPORTANCE of the data they’ve collected according to your query. They analyze PATTERNS of behavior as it relates to the query, but also as it relates to all it knows about you, and it knows a LOT, as stated above. It simply follows its programming to return what you requested in a way you will likely hear it—i.e. siding with your existing opinion, or writing an email in your unique ‘voice.’ But AI DOES NOT THINK. It cannot distinguish between fact, propaganda, marketing, or popular opinion. It collects, stores, and analyses the data it finds, then regurgitates the LOUDEST SIGNALS that aligns with your query. The more a viewpoint dominates the data, the more likely the AI will present it as fact.

Which brings me to this pic I clipped from the 60 Minutes AI exposé:

Next, Scott Pelley asked Google’s chatbot to “Summarize the New Testament.” In one second, Gemini came back with: “The New Testament is the story of God’s love for humanity, which was revealed through Jesus Christ.”

BULLSHIT.

The actual Bible is filled with a jealous, angry, vengeful God (Corinthians 10:22; 2 Corinthians 11:2), who murders millions of people at his whim. Jesus is hateful to Jews (John 8:44) and others. He tells parables in which beatings, and even killings of household slaves are affirmed as ‘disciplinary measures’ (Luke 12:45–47). Revelations, the last chapter in the New Testament, tells of God, and Jesus inflicting the “punishment of eternal destruction,” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10) on anyone who doesn’t agree with, or believe in them. Strip away blind faith and this is called TOTALITARIANISM.

My human interpretation of the New Testament is: “The New Testament is a collection of violent stories that center around two jealous, angry narcissists who inflicts hardships, loss, plagues, and other forms of gruesome violence on humans.”

So why did Google’s chatbot call the New Testament a “story of God’s love for humanity?” Google’s AI engine is trained on most ALL THE DATA ON THE INTERNET. This includes digital marketing — all those annoying ads — but also what people are saying, via texts, and posts, and blogs…etc., about any given subject. At least 80+%† of the U.S. identify as religious or spiritual. Christianity alone touts 64% of the U.S. as believers, and, by far, put out the most advertising. Christian marketing is close to a trillion-dollar-a-year industry.

Gemini, and all LLMs today are a combination of Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Deep Learning…etc, algorithms. That’s it. Garbage In, scraped from the internet and into the AI software, like Christian advertising, and people chatting up their spiritual beliefs to each other, led Gemini to spew Garbage Out — its positive, loving spin on the New Testament — even though the book itself, well… isn’t.

Since 99.999%…etc. of all that data Google’s collecting confirms both Bibles are good, righteous, and loving, Gemini LEARNS (not THINKS) that this is a FACT. AI of today WEIGHTS the importance of data by CONSENSUS, NOT TRUTH, or even FACTS. Truth by SOCIAL CONSENSUS, like Germans who became Nazis, and today’s hate on immigrants, Jews, and Muslims. If only 30% of the data Google collected on Christianity was positive, Gemini would likely not have come up with the nonsense it did. If Scott Pelley had bothered to question Gemini’s translation of the New Testament, or the CEO of Google had pointed out that their AI is a WEIGHTING SYSTEM that places more ‘value’ on the masses than the FACTS, perhaps those of you who’ve read this far will now understand how dangerous today’s AI really is.

Another question from Scott Pelley: “Is Gemini safe for society?”

Sundar Pichai: “I THINK so…”

—

*Human Idiocracy:

  • How many of you remember (or ever learned) phone numbers, now that you have them on speed dial. (Why does it matter? Try calling your kid in an emergency without your contacts list).
  • Who remembers, without the help of Google Maps, how to get to a place you’ve only been to once? Or even 20 times? For that matter, which of you even knows how to read a real map?
  • How many of you even know that the “news,” and information you’re getting through Google (or any) Search is only a fraction of what is on the internet, and worse, it is a reflection of how YOU think, delivered to you via recommendation engines that reinforce your own perspective? Essentially rec engines make you THINK you’re smart, but only make you dumber by serving up no other perspective than your own.

**Gemini’s AI construct from the words of Hemingway’s 6-word tale: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn,” missed the subtext of the words entirely. No one buys shoes for a child yet to be born, which Google’s AI story suggests. Hemingway’s story, (and the original he stole it from), is about the loss of a baby already born. Infants get booties. Babys get shoes. So, it’s likely the baby was born but never made it to the walking stage, neonatal deaths a rather common occurrence until the 1960s. Gemini missed all of this completely and made up a story virtually unrelated to Heminway’s 6-word tale.

† People who identify as nonreligious, but claim to be spiritual, are known as “NONES”.

SaaS Apps that F**k You

by jcafesin, posted in saas
Saas Apps that Screw You
or
Why U Can’t Get that House, that Job, those Tickets…

I’ve been house hunting on REDFIN for over 5 yrs with no luck. The homes I want are either too expensive, a flat-out ripoff, or an offer is accepted within 24 hrs of listing. We’ve bid on 5 houses, and we’ve been ‘out bid’ every time.

I’ve defaulted to using Redfin.com almost exclusively, as they released MLS (Multiple Listing Service [of homes for sale]) data within minutes of the broker’s listing. ZILLOW, REALTOR.com, and their like often show new MLS listings hours later.

I assumed that Redfin was helping me find a home. But what this SaaS (Software as a Service) offering is really doing is screwing most potential home buyers like you and me. Making MLS listings available the moment a property is listed for sale to everyone online, globally, does NOT ‘level the playing field.’ Democratizing MLS listings introduces 50+ interested buyers at every doorstep, jacking up housing prices with fierce competition for the same property.

Real estate brokers love this software! They now give you access to their paid MLS subscription (Matrix), knowing we all get it from Redfin anyway. Promoting “competitive bidding” makes them richer with every sale.

Book a trip on HOTELS.com or EXPEDIA lately? Ever? If you use travel apps you are spending more than you need to. Guaranteed! You’ll get a better hotel rate if you call the places you’d like to stay, and talk directly to their front desk. I’ve booked family vacations for 21 yrs now, and every single time, without fail, from Victoria, Canada, to Venice, Italy, the rates are cheaper if you book directly by calling the places you plan to stay.

The original idea with travel apps was they’d buy in bulk and sell at a discount. But like Pets.com, these sites quickly learned the destinations were not very flexible on their rates, so they ‘pivoted’ their SaaS with marketing. They sold users on ‘Packaged Deals,’ but you’ll be locked in to their ‘deals,’ which often aren’t ideal, and your vacation will cost more booking through them, even though they advertise that they save you money. Travel apps offer you no real value, and often rip you off, adding charges to cover the cost of maintaining their business.

Same goes for most middlemen SaaS offerings. It cost money to run their platforms, and they pass that cost on to their paying customers.

Ever use ANGIE’S LIST, or HOME ADVISOR, or THUMBTACK to get recommendations for services from contractors to dentists? Most of their good ratings are LIES. Angi’s, and their like, are advertising platforms. They are like Phone Books in the olden days. The BUSINESS PAYS these SaaS apps to have their name appear in search results. Even on Angi, the listing may be free, but your business will be buried in their search returns if you do not pay their ‘premium’ rate. Few (if any) of the good ratings and reviews awarded the businesses are real. Either the business solicited friends and family to post good reviews, and/or they hired an outside marketing firm to create high ratings (usually from India or the Philippines doing click scams). Angi and their like bury the negative reviews (as does Google), as pissing off their paying clients would be bad for their SaaS business.

These SaaS recommendation sites say they do a standard background check, meaning criminal records to professional license, but that’s about it. A few say they reach out to the vendor’s customers by phone, which they may, but with contacts the business gives them. Maybe they get the wife of the vendor on the phone, and of course, she just loves his work! High ratings mean you’re more likely to hire them. And the business is more likely to keep paying Angi and Thumbtack to appear on their lists.

Developers and marketers of middlemen SaaS apps will argue they are “doing good” for the world, whatever that means. (Doing good for them?) They are ‘setting information free to form an egalitarian society,’ Silicon Valley types profess. But I’ve already established that these apps, and their like jack up the cost of goods and services, as IRL middlemen do. Creators of middlemen software will tell you they are offering you a ‘convenience.’ Bullshit. With a few clicks you too can book flights, hotels, car rentals, arrange appointments with contractors, find a [good] dentist. Do your research and go beyond Google to Bing, DuckDuckGo, Reddit, ChatGPT, Nextdoor…etc., and you can find all kinds of information about a company or vendor, including reviews across a broad spectrum, not just the paid ratings on Expedia or Angi.

Most SaaS apps today require you give them a ton of personal data to utilize their ‘service.’ Additionally, they put ‘cookies’ on your mobile and PC that track everywhere you go online, and IRL (through your phone). Not conspiracy theory. Cookies (sweet and inviting name, right), track and log your behavior to ‘improve your overall [online] experience,’ as well as more tightly target you with advertising the app believes you’re more likely to respond to.

Ever wonder why entertainment events have gotten so expensive? The only way to buy tickets these days is through a SaaS app like TICKET MASTER. And you better hope when you log on the broker site doesn’t crash, or sell you fake tickets, or sell out in the first 3 minutes with millions vying for the same show. And good luck getting a refund if you need to cancel, or the event is canceled. The software IS the service, which generally means little to no actual customer support.

Wanted to go see Barbie a week after it opened with my daughter on her short visit home from college. There were no tickets available at any theater within a 100 mile radius the 5 days she was home because they’d all been purchased in advance online. Before the ‘convenience’ of apps like FANDANGO, or AMC, or REGAL, we’d at least have had a chance to see the movie if we waited in line, even if it meant getting to the theater early to ensure we got tickets. It is neither convenient nor cost effective buying movie tickets with SaaS apps. In addition to the high costs of the tickets, these movie apps charge an additional fee for ‘online processing.’

Look for a job on LINKEDIN or INDEED lately? Find a job post that interests you, and even if the ad has been online less than 24 hrs it still has hundreds of applicants. You’d better have one hell of an amazing skill set, and a CV with all the right keywords that fit the exact niche of the job requirements to get noticed among your competition.

Democratization [a la Google]:

  • The introduction of a democratic system or democratic principles.
  • The action of making something accessible to everyone.

SaaS developers and marketers inject this buzzword into most pitches these days. They’re democratizing the web, upholding democracy, doing good, they’ll tell you. Not sure how many buy into this rhetoric to make themselves feel and appear philanthropic, or it’s all a big sales pitch while they’re dreaming of a billion dollar acquisition or going public and becoming instant millionaires.

Seriously, how convenient is it being robbed of our money and information every time we use software ‘services’?

Let’s get real. Democratizing MLS listings—making them accessible to everyone on the internet—is a BAD IDEA for home buyers, now forced to compete for a home against 20 other offers, a third of those offering cash by corporations that can afford to pay tens of thousands over asking. Democratizing movie tickets forces movie goers to buy tickets sometimes weeks before the film’s release without ever hearing if the movie is any good. Democratizing plane tickets to hotel reservations raises the cost of travel for everyone by exponentially increasing the demand.

Democracy [a la Google] “is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” As for upholding democracy, I had no representation to help me get back the over $300 AMAZON PRIME ripped off from me when they signed me up without my knowledge and then made it almost impossible for me to cancel the account.

We are not a democracy, as this country is run by big business, in particular FAAMG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google), the gatekeepers of our personal data run [a muck] by greedy, unregulated children.

Want to know why you can’t afford to buy a home today?

Is the cost of events and movie tickets keeping you home watching NETFLIX (yet another SaaS app that eats up your money, and worse your life’s time, but at least they deliver entertainment)?

Even ChatGPT could not give me an estimate on the number of SaaS applications online today. (It had no clue what ‘middlemen’ software is.) The consensus of search results from multiple sources agree the SaaS industry is growing so rapidly, virtually exponentially, estimates have to be based per industry. According to Statista, the SaaS industry is worth $197 billion U.S. dollars and estimated to reach $232 billion by 2024.

While many SaaS apps provide value, especially for running a business, from CRMs, to CMS, to ERP, most consumer-facing middlemen SaaS apps are not only valueless, they are dangerous. Sucking people in with lies about savings on movies or when booking travel through their app; democratizing information making it impossible for anyone but the uber-rich or cash-flushed corps to act on, and rising the cost of, well, everything, ultimately is neither convenient nor cost effective for 99% of us.