Tech and evolution are incompatible: generalization ensures niches take-over
2•Marshferm•3mo ago
This is what technologists since the PC age can't seem to grasp, yet the empirical evidence bolsters this. When you generalize communication, you elevate bottlenecks in both language and behavior. Tech essentially ensures maladaptive adaptations expand from containable to uncontainable. Look at the collapse of 'social' media, the inability of AI to resolve semantic diffusion (hallucination). These are affective and information bottlenecks previous networks could contain.
Comments
jonahbenton•3mo ago
Communication precision has been enriched and deepened, not generalized. Social media has not in any way collapsed. AI hallucination is not a semantics issue.
Marshferm•3mo ago
Communication is arbitrary to begin with. It can't be made more specific using more words in more combinations, that's basic linguistic science. Tech can't solve this.
'Social' media is not social, it's disengaged from the basics of socialization: eye-contact, listening, gestural observation of non-verbal communication.
AI hallucinations are of course about discrepancy between semantic and prediction.
The idea tech has no grasp of maladaptive cultural evolution and game theory outcomes is telling.
Evolution has two aspects: tinkering and function. And the problem in tech is these aspects are in confusion because value is always being extracted in short terms when in genetics, fitness is a long term issue that can rarely be seen short term.
Downvoting the maladaptive urge doesn’t make it disappear.
jonahbenton•3mo ago
Marshferm•3mo ago
'Social' media is not social, it's disengaged from the basics of socialization: eye-contact, listening, gestural observation of non-verbal communication.
AI hallucinations are of course about discrepancy between semantic and prediction.
The idea tech has no grasp of maladaptive cultural evolution and game theory outcomes is telling.
Evolution has two aspects: tinkering and function. And the problem in tech is these aspects are in confusion because value is always being extracted in short terms when in genetics, fitness is a long term issue that can rarely be seen short term.
Downvoting the maladaptive urge doesn’t make it disappear.