[Discuss] LLMs and AI

[dsr at randomstring.org (Dan Ritter)]

markw at mohawksoft.com wrote: 
> Anyone want to discuss?


1. What are they useful for?

2. If they were perfect for what they are useful for, would they be
worth the fully-loaded cost including externalities?

It appears to me that the answer to the second question is
"rarely, if ever", so the answer to the first question is moot.

This is a variant of Newton's Flaming Laser Sword.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Alder#Newton's_flaming_laser_sword

"We should not dispute propositions unless they can be shown by
precise logic and/or mathematics to have observable consequences."

My variant:

"We should generally dismiss solutions which cost far more than we are 
willing to pay."

You might argue that a subscription to Claude costs $17 per
month, but this is much like saying that the cost of your first
hit of meth is $5. 

And people actually like meth.

-dsr-