John Robb’s Pateron
Technological ResilienceHere’s how to use resilience to protect you (your family and your community) from the disruptions caused by systemic breakdowns (power, food, etc.) and AI development.
A few months ago, a Harvard freshman ran an interesting experiment. She asked the professors and the TAs teaching the classes (from economics to politics) for her humanities major to grade a written assignment completed by ChatGPT (an LLM, large language model AI). The result was unexpectedly good A. A. A. A-. B. B-. which combined into a GPA of 3.57.
The typical reaction to this result ranged from random criticism (flawed approach, Harvard sucks, this wouldn t happen in STEM, or grade inflation) to worries about how education will be damaged in a world with an AI this good. However, that response was just surface noise since it misses the most critical insight;
- Academic education exists to teach the next generation a body of knowledge. This educational body of knowledge is a complex network of intersecting ideas, language, and perspectives.
- AI models are already close to approximating the academic body of knowledge we teach educated adults and can apply this knowledge when asked.
- Hybrid AI models that mix language models with models for sounds and images will expand this approximation of knowledge into every other field of expertise.
This means that AI is more than a powerful new technology. It s a transformational technological artifact (ala Marshall McLuhan and my earlier writing). An artifact that will radically change how we think, learn, and work. It will even change how we organize society (new methods of
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These are the first few paragraphs of John Robb’s Patreon. It’s well worth the $5 or $10 / month it costs. He has a unique perspective.