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If it doesn't matter to you whether something is AI, then do you matter? I won't bother clarifying every inference (there's a few) that is being made there, if only because the conclusion is very straight-forward: do these people have meaningless lives?

ETA obviously I don't mean that anyone who doesn't care about my AI therapist, my AI friends, and my AI replacement, are living meaningless lives. OBVIOUSLY I mean to suggest, humbly, that adding to the AI in the world, especially in secret, is like pissing in the pool of meaning.

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    I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. – Scott Rowe Aug 13 '23 at 02:44
  • ah that's cute @ScottRowe does an AI kink make your life more meaningless? –  Aug 13 '23 at 03:00
  • i'm sympathetic to the claim that all people have the same meaning to their lives (all or nothing) but in practice you are depriving yourself of meaning (and failing to justify your depriving it of others) by asserting that everything is as meaningful as the next thing. in some ways, but there is no moral imperative to it, anymore than there is to passing laws against rhetoric incase it gets too competitive @ScottRowe –  Aug 13 '23 at 03:18
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    This question is v profound but too too cryptic for this site. [It sounds like something more Zen-ish than can work here] And @ScottRowe may be asking a real ie not rhetorical question. It's a funny thing but even ppl like Scott who've expressed concern about AI, are unable to fully grok the long term consequences of humanity making a determined push to overtake bypass and ultimately eliminate humanity. Even among AI folks guys like [Yudkowski](https://time.com/6266923/ai-eliezer-yudkowsky-open-letter-not-enough/) are rare and the general public implicitly think status quo = eternal quo – Rushi Aug 13 '23 at 03:39
  • If everyone believes I'm a Bot, do I matter? –  Aug 13 '23 at 04:58
  • hmm well yes, but maybe not to yourself @StevanV.Saban –  Aug 13 '23 at 05:17
  • I've always relied on the kindness of strangers. –  Aug 13 '23 at 05:25
  • but strangers are very reliably lots of things. unlike AI @StevanV.Saban –  Aug 13 '23 at 05:40
  • AI is as reliable as the software/hardware dictates. –  Aug 13 '23 at 05:45
  • i tried to sign up but i had to join the queue. kinda frustrating, but then no-one's perfect eh @StevanV.Saban no-one at all –  Aug 13 '23 at 05:46
  • @StevanV.Saban I was about to say the same as 'the dead flag blues' : If 'everyone' excludes you then it's not everyone, if it includes you then you clearly don't matter since you're not a sentient sapient being – Rushi Aug 13 '23 at 05:54
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    It's funny how (apparently) deep philosophical ideas pop up in everyday conversation. Perhaps I'm mistaken, me usually is. – Agent Smith Aug 13 '23 at 07:47
  • what's shallow about asking about "meaning" @AgentSmith and whether it is a construction of humans with one another? –  Aug 13 '23 at 08:00
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    why is it always me that gets targeted for this bullshit, never yourselves or the self interested slime you are all drowning in? i am leaving and not coming back haha @AgentSmith –  Aug 13 '23 at 08:07
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    @AgentSmith and sorry if i come off as bitter at all. my complaints are worse than me, i like to think –  Aug 13 '23 at 09:33
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    Your concerns are genuine, I've been there and hence my upvote. It's good that you can laugh it off ... I suppose. – Agent Smith Aug 13 '23 at 10:26
  • According to Yoneda's lemma discussed in a recent [post](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/93533/is-the-overlap-between-yonedas-lemma-and-peirces-pragmatic-maxim-known), roughly, an object in a category is equivalent to all the morphisms going to or from it. Thus if one is indifferent about all things AI, then one may not *matter* any more in the colloquial sense though ironically extended artificial things in the cloud are still *matter* not spirits or ideas... – Double Knot Aug 14 '23 at 01:22

4 Answers4

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Your question presents so much scope for criticism that anyone might struggle to decide which aspect to address first. Charitably, I will focus on just one of its many shortcomings, since it is a Sunday and I want you to have a lovely weekend.

You assume that it is possible to say, on the basis of one factor alone, and a poorly-defined, trivial factor at that, whether anyone has a meaningful life. There are, I suppose, billions of people in the world who couldn't care less about whether a particular 'something' is AI, because they are too poor ever to have encountered the concept, or they are struggling for survival, and so on. I can just imagine the conversation among a group of people trying to dig a baby out of an earthquake-damaged building, as you, with your meaning-laden preoccupation with such matters, fret over whether the after-shock predictions that are fuelling their panic are from an AI bot or not. Are those who are too busy to listen to your speculations living meaningless lives?

Marco Ocram
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  • oh sweet jesus, calm down with the polemic please. why do you think it's trivial whether or not i am ai? because some people are suffering extremely? of what relevance is that except the hypocrisy you display? –  Aug 13 '23 at 07:57
  • Ha! Touché. Perhaps I should have focussed on one of the many other shortcomings of your question. Anyway, how about reciprocating some of the lovely weekend bonhomie! – Marco Ocram Aug 13 '23 at 08:41
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    The relevance is that there is no universal standard for what constitutes a 'meaningful life'. Why gives you the illusion that your life has meaning might seem utter vacuous to another. Who is to judge what constitutes a meaningful life? – Marco Ocram Aug 13 '23 at 08:44
  • while we do *construct* meaning to our life, there is absolutely no consensus i know of that "anything goes" any more than in ethics –  Aug 13 '23 at 11:43
  • Why would you expect consensus? Anyway, the point is that your question supposes that whether a person has a meaningful life can be determined by a single factor, namely whether the person is concerned about the possibility that 'something' might be AI. – Marco Ocram Aug 13 '23 at 12:57
  • i get what you mean, but i think it's an ad hominem etc.. yes, in a way all rhetoric is superficial nonsense. –  Aug 13 '23 at 18:25
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It seems your strong reaction may stem from grappling with a crisis of meaning or purpose in your own life. The intensity of your judgments about others could signal unconscious projections of your inner turmoil.

When we lack meaning ourselves, we often project that void onto those around us. Their indifference seems to reflect or validate our inner nihilism. But this is a distortion - do not presume your inner despair is universal.

Meaning lost can be meaning found through new pursuits and values. Rather than condemn those unaffected by what troubles you, ask what purpose calls you. What potential still lies untapped within?

Face the pain of existence courageously, without blinding yourself to beauty outside your narrow struggles. Be the creator of your own significance, rather than resenting those who found theirs apart from you.

This is no easy task, and there may be a long road ahead. But with truth and perseverance, you can discover your unique path to a meaningful life. Do not project your bitterness onto others - instead build the foundations your purpose can stand upon.

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It's humans who ascribe meaning to things, it doesn't get any deeper than that. Asking what matters and if life is meaningless is all up to humans themselves. AI is just math, which is often just the average of what it was trained on, no deeper than that.

We are a part of existence that has become self aware. How long we can last in this existence, and how much we can discover about it, may be meaning enough for many people. At least, it's a challenge, and why back down from that?

  • now i know why google fell in love with you... –  Aug 13 '23 at 03:15
  • *AI is just math, which is often just the average of what it was trained on, no deeper than that.* How is that different from human brain? – Roger Vadim Aug 13 '23 at 07:18
  • Everything is an approximation of math. AI will just ascribe meaning like what the average of humans on the internet would say. –  Aug 13 '23 at 07:26
  • As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Aug 13 '23 at 19:36
  • I think people aren't understanding the question. I think it's fairly clear. It's saying if AI works like we do, and we don't matter to it, do we matter? I address the concerns. –  Aug 13 '23 at 19:51
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That's actually quite a fun way of expressing (to yourself) anti realism without falling into nihilism. The meaning of life - assuming it exists at all - seems to be something that I possess merely because I think I do, but I can be wrong about what is meaningful (she didn't love me after-all, they were all lying to me, etc.).

Anyway, if there are any universals to human "meaning", especially outside the sophisticated proofs of e.g. 'alienation' and so on, then we might well be wrong to think that AI can fully take the place of our friends, lovers, etc..

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    It is unfortunate that people look for meaning outside their own experience. However, participating with others adds to one's own experience. – Scott Rowe Aug 13 '23 at 13:02
  • yes, many things are unfortunate @ScottRowe –  Aug 13 '23 at 13:04