I’ve seen the occasional nonimage post here and didn’t know where else to ask this.

On another forum, a downvoter of things, with apparently support from other accounts, revealed that they are downvoting things ‘because they have to do with ai’. I have heard from an admin that they have that same problem here.

But when I look it up and try to find a reference for who they are, the closest thing I come up with is Luddite, which refers to people who generally hate technology. I know antifa people are proudly antifa; same with anarchists. But what is this ‘anti ai’ type of person that seems to have started cropping up? I asked the person directly, but unknown whether they will respond with an accurate reference.

Reminds me of vehement transphobes specifically joining trans communities so they can downvote things; except instead of polar opposite of lgbtq, it is that equivalent except toward ai, creations of ai, and ai community. Encountered it just today and seeking a term to place on what is apparently ‘the enemy’ to this exact niche we are in.

  • @exocrinous@startrek.websiteEnglish
    14•7 months ago

    Proud luddite here. The original luddites destroyed machinery owned by capitalists which threatened their jobs. The choice was either destroy the machines, or stand by and become unable to feed your family while a rich man gets richer.

    I have no opposition to technology which is used for good, and whose control is placed in the hands of the workers. Your self-hosted AIs are fine, although I do ask that you only use energy intensive processes if you have solar panels. After all, this planet is the only one we’ve got. At our current rate of pollution, soon the world will only be inhabitable to AI.

    But I downvote anything promoting corporate AI designed to replace people’s jobs. I am all for replacing human jobs, if the humans get to relax and live comfortable lives afterward. But I am against replacing jobs if we choose to have a society where you need a job to live. That’s not nature, it’s a choice we make as a society. The minute you automate someone’s job, you do necessarily admit that society doesn’t need that person’s work to get by. The only reason they shouldn’t get to put their feet up and take it easy is political. And politically, we have decided instead what happens is they die. That’s unacceptable, and until it changes, we can’t afford to have job replacing machines.

    • Daniel QuinnEnglish
      4•7 months ago

      The minute you automate someone’s job, you do necessarily admit that society doesn’t need that person’s work to get by. The only reason they shouldn’t get to put their feet up and take it easy is political. And politically, we have decided instead what happens is they die.

      I have been trying for years to put this into words when discussing capitalism & technology, but I’ve never come across something so succinct. Thank you.

    • WasPentaliveEnglish
      2•7 months ago

      The minute you automate someone’s job, you do necessarily admit that society doesn’t need that person’s work to get by

      I think this doesn’t seem right. If society did not need that labor there would be no need to automate it. The work needs to be done but the one who needs it does not want to pay to get it.