The dead internet theory is showing itself to be more true every day. Our social feeds, inboxes, texts, and phone calls are increasingly inundated with spambots and scambots enabled and empowered by AI.
This article looks backward instead of forward, focusing on the parallels we can draw from folklore about mimic beings who have supposedly threatened humanity since our beginnings. Might there be any lessons we can learn from these old folk tales about how to deal with the monstrosities of tech today?
Fun fact: real snake oil is high in vitamin E and had real benefits but a snake oil salesman typically sold fact snake oil that was usually just regular plant/mineral oil they soak a dead snake in making it slightly toxic while real snake oil was derived from boiled snakes.
I think this is decently written and not the worst point, but I cringe at the way he rolls "AI" into other separate issues like spam, as if it's this automatically nefarious thing.
Yes, AI image and vidgen tools can be used to impersonate people and scam them. AI can also be used to find new miracle drugs and expedite radiology.
AI is just a thing, like the internet, that will be used for great good and great ill. It's very boomer-coded to view it with outright horror.
[OP] itswac | 18 hours ago
The dead internet theory is showing itself to be more true every day. Our social feeds, inboxes, texts, and phone calls are increasingly inundated with spambots and scambots enabled and empowered by AI.
This article looks backward instead of forward, focusing on the parallels we can draw from folklore about mimic beings who have supposedly threatened humanity since our beginnings. Might there be any lessons we can learn from these old folk tales about how to deal with the monstrosities of tech today?
BeeWeird7940 | 18 hours ago
And the article is almost certainly written by an LLM.
[OP] itswac | 18 hours ago
lol
Yung_zu | 16 hours ago
It would probably be a convenient superstition to keep people out of the woods… where the nobles couldn’t send their eyes and armies as easily
meta-ape | 15 hours ago
Although getting lost in the woods was pretty much an imminent threat to your well being back in those days.
Yung_zu | 14 hours ago
Only one creature could make you a slave… along with how poor tempers were alleged to be with all of those wars and public executions…
Just seems like there are quite a few coincidences when it comes to the supernatural and who has the authority in societies to mess with that stuff
missingpcw | 15 hours ago
"Snake oil salesman", "Con artist".
Also "Flim-Flam Man", which is also a George C Scott movie.
dover_oxide | 7 hours ago
There is always a conman or snake oil seller.
Fun fact: real snake oil is high in vitamin E and had real benefits but a snake oil salesman typically sold fact snake oil that was usually just regular plant/mineral oil they soak a dead snake in making it slightly toxic while real snake oil was derived from boiled snakes.
Outsider-Trading | 10 hours ago
I think this is decently written and not the worst point, but I cringe at the way he rolls "AI" into other separate issues like spam, as if it's this automatically nefarious thing.
Yes, AI image and vidgen tools can be used to impersonate people and scam them. AI can also be used to find new miracle drugs and expedite radiology.
AI is just a thing, like the internet, that will be used for great good and great ill. It's very boomer-coded to view it with outright horror.
Lonely-Lifeguard-663 | 14 hours ago
seems a bit exaggerated, any sources to back that up