The tech giant is evaluating tools that would use artificial intelligence to perform tasks that some of its researchers have said should be avoided.

Google’s A.I. safety experts had said in December that users could experience “diminished health and well-being” and a “loss of agency” if they took life advice from A.I. They had added that some users who grew too dependent on the technology could think it was sentient. And in March, when Google launched Bard, it said the chatbot was barred from giving medical, financial or legal advice. Bard shares mental health resources with users who say they are experiencing mental distress.

  • Skies5394@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    Why in the pissity-fuck would I take life advice from Google, Google applications or an AI trained by Google.

    That is so far out of the question for what I find reasonable

  • Jay Baker (they/he)@beehaw.org
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    11 months ago

    Most potential technology will of course be acontextual and lacking any kind of critique of capitalism. I witness people I know make all kind of “wise” decisions based on career expectations or ambition and definitions of “success,” and they’re actually really miserable yet can’t seem to recognise why. I’m unconvinced AI developed by capitalist companies would provide healthier perspectives. Heck, even humans fall short in such roles as counselling, when they lack class consciousness or a critique of neoliberalism. AI probably doesn’t stand much more chance.

    • BurningnnTree@lemmy.one
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      11 months ago

      I see what you mean. In a way, lifestyle and fashion choices are already partially governed by AI, in the sense that Instagram and TikTok recommendation algorithms influence what the user perceives as being trendy. I don’t know if we’ll get to the point where people are literally letting an AI tell them what to do, but I think AI will only get more and more influential in our lives in subtle ways.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      11 months ago

      People’s reactions to new technology is famously hard to predict, but I guess it’s worth considering.

      AI is getting good at white-collar tasks way faster than blue-collar ones, too, so this might be how it looks at work. An app tells you to build or fix something with no context, you send back pictures or any comments and concerns, and then you get assigned the next task. Nobody really knows who they work for or why, exactly.

  • Storksforlegs@beehaw.org
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    11 months ago

    If it goes beyond recommending some real mental health resources this is so dangerous.

    That or I can imagine them cranming in stuff like “check out this influencer’s fave bestselling self-care items!”