Ask HN: What happens when humans become as dumb as AI?

6 pointsby h45x17 hours ago2 comments

dabadabad007 hours ago
Too big to fail, [humanity] will lumber on …
You expressed the fundamental principles well enough.
Peoples are not as smart as we consider ourselves on an individuated real time basis. Our failures average out and a model for success is easily replicated once observed.
Individuals are not actually as engaged as we imagine, especially when we seclude, or worse yet become consumers of talking heads narrating and doing our thinking for us.
What happens? While the middle enjoys the comforts and conveniences of modernity they will become the marginalized. Within a generation obsoleting themselves without even recognizing the signs, and some fringe will fill the gap and the cycle will continue.
newaccountman27 hours ago
Most people are already dumber than AI.
- h45x17 hours ago
  Less knowledgeable overall, I would agree. LLMs are, if anything, the ultimate knowledge bases. But within our own areas of expertise, our worldview is typically more coherent and we have often learnt to reason optimally within that world view. To be fair, it is hard for me to generalize. So at least that's what I see in areas which I know. As pointed out by others, however, making discoveries that bridge disciplines is where LLMs might have an edge.
  - gus_massa3 hours ago
    The best AI are solving math problem better than me (and I am a mathematician!). A few of my coworkers are better than me anyway, but now understand what Magnus is feeling.
    Anyway, last week I made a program that was better than the one a coworker made with Claude, so I still can get a few wins here and there, at least for some time.