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Tag: military

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2 posts found
Oct 30, 2018
ssc
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32 min 4,852 words 471 comments podcast (29 min)
A fictional account of an accidental AI creation that generates extremely controversial statements, leading to societal division and paranoia. Longer summary
This fictional story describes the creation of 'Shiri's Scissor', an AI tool that generates maximally controversial statements. The narrator works at an ad startup that accidentally creates this tool while trying to predict Reddit upvotes. They test it on themselves, causing a major argument that leads to firings. They attempt to sell it to the military, but legal troubles and violence ensue, destroying the company. Later, the narrator realizes some major real-world controversies match predictions made by the Scissor, suggesting someone else had created it earlier. The story ends with the narrator deeply affected by the Scissor statements, warning readers to disconnect from society and prepare for the worst. Shorter summary
Apr 06, 2015
ssc
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15 min 2,289 words 579 comments
A collection of interesting links covering research studies, social issues, economic trends and cultural phenomena that challenged expectations. Longer summary
This is a links post compiling various interesting news and studies from different fields. It covers a range of topics from historical myths about Europe's Little Ice Age to current research on poverty, artificial sweeteners, and military suicide rates. Scott highlights several studies that challenged his expectations, including findings about soda taxes and weight loss mortality. The post also touches on social issues like accusations of sexism in libraries and reactions to businesses refusing service to gay weddings. Shorter summary