Egregoros

"But we cease to feel struggle when we use AI."

Sounds like this person has little experience using AI.

I get the TLDR; (ie. the tool has negative externalities). But the counter is, the cat's out of the bag. No amount of public pressure is likely to affect that trajectory very much, especially when it comes to how nation-states and the military have already been using it against the general public since long before LLMs became widely available to the public. Nor will it affect the vast majority of sheeple and bandwagoneers, who frankly don't give a fuck, and can't get much more retarded than they already are.

Boycotting it entirely might make one feel morally superior, but I don't think it will meaningfully affect how bad actors leverage the technology, mainly because you have almost no control over how your taxes are spent. The best we can do is be careful about who we pay for the service. You get what you pay for (taxes notwithstanding) and there's no need to throw gasoline on the forest fire for the sake of personal convenience. In other words, choose ethical providers and local models whenever possible. But for the same token we can also use AI to enable us to fight back against the bad actors. In effect like Tai Chi, to redirect their own destructive energy against them. Think USA's 2A, swords and military munitions are meant for killing people, but is it really better for us when only the enemy has them at their disposal? Clearly not.

https://www.frank.computer/blog/2025/05/just-a-tool.html

@bonifartius

I get chided a lot for not having a cell phone, not using the internet without a VPN, not having traditional social media, not wanting to be digitally recorded every time I step into the public domain, not using ecommerce if it means compromising my privacy, etc. So I get the urge to boycott invasive/destructive technologies in a visceral sense. That said, I think AI is a bit different in this respect. I've been able to do a lot with it that would have simply remained a perpetual pipe dream if it was just me left to my own devices. I don't really do less programming or research or other stuff I would normally do because I use AI. In effect I do a lot more of those things, but cut out the menial tasks and things which were previously out of reach due to time constraints, skills gaps, disinterest, etc. That includes creating software that enables me to have better privacy, including from AI systems. That said, I don't use just any AI/provider. I choose carefully and implement safeguards, because it heavily intersects with my privacy and related ethical concerns. I don't see it as a black and white decision to use or not use it, but in shades of gray, and I'm strongly motivated to use it to fight back. I even use it to write my local politicians when they're weighing in on policy decisions which have an impact in these areas.