The AI shills are the loudest voices in every subject now. They’re louder than the bitcoin shills of the previous bubble because bitcoin was never part of the Dow. Altman is the Dow, so his shills are dominant.
So far I don’t see the advantages touted by the shills. Supposedly “Claude” can automate tasks in every field. I don’t know most fields but I do know programming. Why would I want a new way to automate tasks? Especially when the automation requires STEALING billions of copyrights and connecting my own setup to Altman’s giant hivemind with unpredictable and sometimes disastrous results?
I’ve been automating tasks for 40 years, first in Basic, then C, then Python. I have a huge stock of Python programs to automate parts of file handling, graphics, and courseware authoring. When a task changes (like the ADA mandate on courseware) I know where to modify my organizers.
I know when a task is WORTH automating. The line is somewhere around a dozen repetitions, depending on complexity. Below the line, individual handling is faster. Above the line, it’s worth modifying a Python program to automate.
Computers have automated specific industries for 70 years, starting with IBM’s RAMAC systems. IBM sold customized equipment packages and software for each major trade, and hired out programmers to create more refined subsystems. These packages are highly sophisticated now, often connecting special hardware like engine analyzers or dental x-rays, and it’s hard to see how “Claude” could improve any of them without causing major headaches.
Polistra's Mill 