# AI is wonderful and will make your life better! (not) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [July 20, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117 "2025-07-20T16:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/541 "2026-01-08T08:44:20Z")
> **[The Verge (@theverge.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/theverge.com/post/3mbu66zxjan26)** > > OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records > https://buff.ly/d7nCXxQ Would you connect your medical records to OpenAI and allow the company to absorb and process your medical history so ChatGPT can generate comments on your health? □  Sure, sounds great! What could go wrong? □  No. □  Fuck no. □  No and fuck you for asking. □  There is not one chance in ten thousand hells that I would ever do this. ■  Sam Altman should be stripped naked and fed to crocodiles as a warning to others. Also, no. □  I need more information before I decide. □  Other (fill in the blank). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/542 "2026-01-11T21:02:02Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Or, maybe a legal adult 19 year old bears some personal responsibility in choosing to take dangerous drugs. Maybe he does, but maybe also corporations do, too. Maybe someone should just for one fucking second hold corporations responsible for the harm caused by their fucking products. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/543 "2026-01-11T21:48:21Z")
Or maybe people should learn what a fucking product actually is before they misuse it, especially when asking how much they can deliberately poison themselves and come short of actually dying. LLMs (and image generating models) started off as academic experiments in seeing what could be accomplished. Maybe they should have stayed restricted academic tools instead of being unleashed on the masses too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time and then be blamed because a Darwin Award winner thinks it is something it definitely isn’t. The overall issue isn’t a LLM issue, it is a nanny state dumbing everything down to the lowest common denominator issue, like having to label a can of peanuts with “product may contain nuts”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/544 "2026-01-11T21:55:07Z")
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/544))_ ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/545 "2026-01-11T22:00:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > LLMs (and image generating models) started off as academic experiments in seeing what could be accomplished. Maybe they should have stayed restricted academic tools instead of being unleashed on the masses too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time and then be blamed because a Darwin Award winner thinks it is something it definitely isn’t. > > The overall issue isn’t a LLM issue, it is a nanny state dumbing everything down to the lowest common denominator issue, like having to label a can of peanuts with “product may contain nuts”. I agree. This whole argument about how LLMs and their creators are evil because an LLM “might be wrong about something” is really mostly a statement about the stupidity of the general population. Secondarily, it’s also a statement about how some LLM implementations are better than others, and that some – here I’m specifically referring to Grok – are not only badly implemented but explicitly tuned for racial bias. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/546 "2026-01-11T22:04:27Z")
I voted “other”. I believe in the privacy of medical information and don’t trust any corporation engaging in experimental AI to respect that confidentiality. But I don’t mind anonymously sharing medical symptoms with ChatGPT and getting some verifiable guidance. As I mentioned earlier somewhere else, its suggestions for “questions to ask your doctor” for an upcoming specialist appointment were very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/547 "2026-01-11T22:19:29Z")
I regard LLMs as a not-terribly accurate search engine for answers to questions. The big problem is that there are too many vested interests who **want** people to believe that these are actually intelligently solving problems. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/548 "2026-01-11T22:51:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I agree. This whole argument about how LLMs and their creators are evil because an LLM “might be wrong about something” is really mostly a statement about the stupidity of the general population. I think it’s more complex than that. People aren’t just stupid, they are stupid in _very predictable ways._ If the ways that people are stupid are not only well-known and well-documented, but gladly exploited, there is moral culpability on the entity doing the exploiting. That is true of AI, certain types of video game mechanisms, social media, the junk food industrial complex, cigarette manufacturers, casinos and basically anyone who has profited off of humans’ neurological weaknesses. People who profit from AI know that they will profit more if they make unfounded claims about what their technology can or will do, that they will profit more if they deceive people that AIs are friendly by using obsequious language, and they will profit more if they target their tools at corporate bigwigs just drooling over the idea of suppressing wages more than they are already suppressed. Unsurprisingly, they do all of these things, because they care more about making money than human quality of life. They are just as much if not more amoral than AI itself. Corporations cannot police themselves. The end result is total destruction, and we already have evidence of that everywhere, including the air we breathe. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/549 "2026-01-11T23:05:50Z")
What about the free, open-source LLMs? What are you going to blame them on if they aren’t making money on them? > **[Top 10 open source LLMs for 2025](https://www.instaclustr.com/education/open-source-ai/top-10-open-source-llms-for-2025/)** > > Gain an in-depth understanding of open source data layer technologies on the Instaclustr managed platform at our education Hub. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/550 "2026-01-11T23:30:25Z")
They have responsibilities too. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/551 "2026-01-11T23:51:46Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > People who profit from AI know that they will profit more if they make unfounded claims about what their technology can or will do, that they will profit more if they deceive people that AIs are friendly by using obsequious language, and they will profit more if they target their tools at corporate bigwigs just drooling over the idea of suppressing wages more than they are already suppressed. Unsurprisingly, they do all of these things, because they care more about making money than human quality of life. They are just as much if not more amoral than AI itself. yep, all of this ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/552 "2026-01-18T01:46:52Z")
I was on the Verizon site looking at change my plan, and it suggested I try YouTube TV. I went to chat and asked about pricing, and it warned me that it was currently $70/month, but that in April, 2023, it would be going to $73. [more than two years later, it’s now $83. I looked that up on the YouTube website] Powered by Gemini! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/553 "2026-01-18T01:55:53Z")
As somebody posted on Slashdot, that I went ahead and stole: Sam Altman, using money he doesn’t have, bought up almost 50% of DRAM wafers that don’t exist, to turn into DRAM chips that don’t exist (or maybe not; maybe he’s just playing keep-away from his competitors), to put alongside GPU chips that don’t exist, to stuff into server farms that don’t exist, which will consume vast quantities of electricity that doesn’t exist – all to create “artificial intelligence” …which doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/554 "2026-01-18T01:59:48Z")
That’s the beauty of it, it doesn’t do anything! ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/555 "2026-01-18T15:08:42Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Powered by Gemini! I was icked out by seeing an AI summary of an email so finally shut it off in my Gmail. now, every time I go there, I see an announcement of how to turn it back on. 😾 ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/556 "2026-01-18T17:27:30Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > finally shut it off in my Gmail. my in box categories went away, which is not what I wanted either, apparently I have to “turn on smart features in Gmail, chat and meet” if I want them back. sigh. my whole Gmail needs a big ass sort/rearrange/purge even though my inbox has been whittled down nicely (only 45 emails in it, down from 600 maybe 6 months ago) the “labels” part is out of control. SO before I decide if having those categories I was used to back again is worth turning the AI back on or not, I need to understand it better. and, ironically, I guess I will ask AI exactly what the options _mean_. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/557 "2026-01-18T17:51:56Z")
I switched all my gmail to Outlook, which has its own issues, but all that nonsense is now invisible to me. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/558 "2026-01-18T23:45:21Z")
Gmail is just fine if you use it with a decent email client and just treat it as a service rather than an interface. I haven’t logged into the actual Gmail web interface in years. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/559 "2026-01-19T15:27:42Z")
Just got back from a trip to Minnesota to see my mom on her birthday. Online hotel reservation AI served me up a list of suggested activities during my stay. It suggested a picnic for lunch on day 2 at the Lower Sioux Agency historic site. Which is actually a nice spot when the temperature is above freezing, it isn’t snowing, and the wind isn’t blowing. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/560 "2026-01-19T15:55:33Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Gmail is just fine if you use it with a decent email client and just treat it as a service rather than an interface I’m on a Chromebook for the most part so that’s not happening right now. maybe I’m not married to google but we are certainly living together. 🤨 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117.md?page=29)