On Extraction

>>XXX wrote: ...the driver of all that is LLM's (AI), not power demand for
social media.


I did not say "social media". I wrote "content and advertising to extract the
attention" of humans via the Web. And that is, so far, about all that AI and
LLMs in bulk are actually used for.

This disconnect on terminology is why I insist on a critical distinction
between the Internet and the Web. I try to avoid the term "social media"
entirely, because it is both ambiguous and loaded.

You insist that "social media" includes only the Web enterprises that call
themselves that: Facebook and Twitter and their immediate imitators, TikTok
and whatever.

Most people include more than that in "social media". Roughly, all the stuff
on the Web that is explicitly and obviously primarily designed to extract
attention, and thereby to extract money.

If I used the term "social media", I would include all that, plus all the
stuff that is primarily intended to extract attention to extract money,
_without_ being explicit and obvious. That would include practically
everything on the Web. It would also conflict with what most people mean by
"social media", so I avoid the term.

The issue I am concerned with is the fact that practically everything on the
Web is primarily designed to extract attention to extract money. And that now,
Web vendors see AI primarily as a tool to enhance that process. That is, so
far, the primary use case for LLMs.

Which implies huge amounts of routine redundant unsophisticated AI. Which
requires huge data centers, and huge amounts of electricity.

None of that is innovating or enhancing anything. It is just extracting
attention to make money.

I think that entire situation and force is a massive multiplier of the worst
instincts, beliefs and behaviors of humans. The vendors of Web products have
learned that, by enhancing humans' competitive instincts, ignorant beliefs and hostile
behaviors, they can make money.

That is a remarkable revelation, exactly contrary to the future widely
envisioned for the relationship between humans and network computing, just a
couple of decades ago. Only in the last couple of years, a few of the mass of
humans have begun to notice. About fucking time...

But now the vendors have learned a new trick: that LLMs are about the finest tool yet for extracting attention. Sounds like any resistance will be too little, too late.