In Spain last summer, I was shocked at how little people were on their phones, even in the subway. I guess the “tech trance” in stronger in North America
A French couple just ate beside me on Holiday in Da Nang Vietnam. They didn’t look at their phone once and at times were holding hands across the table.
If you're ever in Oakland you may see a man in a hat walking round for an hour every late afternoon with his nose in a book. That man would be me. I don't have enough time to read during the day (retirement beckons in about a year, thank goodness), but I need to get my steps in and reading is the only way to stave off the boredom is walking up and down the same streets every day. And oddly...more people talk to me while I'm walking and reading than would ever talk to me if I was either looking at my phone, or just walking around without a book!
Europeans are much less likely to move to a new city for work than Americans. This means people have connections to nearby relatives and longstanding friend groups. This, not tech regulation or even nice parks, likely explains most of the difference in public phone usage between the US and Europe.
Yeah but that's what "AI" (LLMs, chatbots, genAI) is by definition. The design of this specific type of AI is inherently disrespectful to human culture/consent/accountability. I.e., it was trained on public data with no consent
That’s exactly why governance matters. AI isn’t inherently respectful or disrespectful. The policies around data, attribution, consent, and accountability determine whether people trust it.
Erm... I just said why chatbots and LLMs are inherently disrespectful. They wouldn't work to the extent they do without being able to strip mine all of humanity's collective knowledge without consent - it's baked into the tech. Generating language which is meant to communicate an idea in someone's mind, is inherently disrespectful as well
What part of Paris where you in? I also noticed less people on their phones while walking around or dining, but I saw lots of people on the metro using them.
"Walking around Paris, I do feel like I’ve seen fewer faces buried in phones in the way they are in US cities, certainly in my hometown of LA." Brian, while you're there, I wonder if you spot the beloved, and historic landmark-designated news kiosks https://tresors-de-paris.com/why-the-iconic-newspaper-kiosks-in-paris-still-matter-today/ and whether there's human activity around them. Philosopher Matthew Crawford called spaces like these "ecologies of attention" in his book "The World Beyond Your Head".
Vive la révolution! The cultures that place a healthy handbrake on AI’s rollout will be the winners of this century. So, perhaps French culture is most poised for a global comeback.
In Spain last summer, I was shocked at how little people were on their phones, even in the subway. I guess the “tech trance” in stronger in North America
I can verify this since I live in Spain.
A French couple just ate beside me on Holiday in Da Nang Vietnam. They didn’t look at their phone once and at times were holding hands across the table.
If you're ever in Oakland you may see a man in a hat walking round for an hour every late afternoon with his nose in a book. That man would be me. I don't have enough time to read during the day (retirement beckons in about a year, thank goodness), but I need to get my steps in and reading is the only way to stave off the boredom is walking up and down the same streets every day. And oddly...more people talk to me while I'm walking and reading than would ever talk to me if I was either looking at my phone, or just walking around without a book!
The first time I worked in Paris, the local office assigned a local person to be my local guide.
He hated everything.
He really hated the Eiffel Tower.
When I asked him why?
He rolled his eyes, released a pfftt, and offered, “I am a true Parisian.”
Europeans are much less likely to move to a new city for work than Americans. This means people have connections to nearby relatives and longstanding friend groups. This, not tech regulation or even nice parks, likely explains most of the difference in public phone usage between the US and Europe.
I am in Spain now at a mainly Spanish resort. The kids are all playing. If this resort had more Brits in, there’d be more phones.
The backlash is not really against AI itself. It is against technology being imposed without consent, accountability or respect for human culture.
Yeah but that's what "AI" (LLMs, chatbots, genAI) is by definition. The design of this specific type of AI is inherently disrespectful to human culture/consent/accountability. I.e., it was trained on public data with no consent
That’s exactly why governance matters. AI isn’t inherently respectful or disrespectful. The policies around data, attribution, consent, and accountability determine whether people trust it.
Erm... I just said why chatbots and LLMs are inherently disrespectful. They wouldn't work to the extent they do without being able to strip mine all of humanity's collective knowledge without consent - it's baked into the tech. Generating language which is meant to communicate an idea in someone's mind, is inherently disrespectful as well
Oh and I forgot - the human-led reinforcement learning required to get fluent LLM output is also only attainable by exploiting workers.
What part of Paris where you in? I also noticed less people on their phones while walking around or dining, but I saw lots of people on the metro using them.
"Walking around Paris, I do feel like I’ve seen fewer faces buried in phones in the way they are in US cities, certainly in my hometown of LA." Brian, while you're there, I wonder if you spot the beloved, and historic landmark-designated news kiosks https://tresors-de-paris.com/why-the-iconic-newspaper-kiosks-in-paris-still-matter-today/ and whether there's human activity around them. Philosopher Matthew Crawford called spaces like these "ecologies of attention" in his book "The World Beyond Your Head".
Vive la révolution! The cultures that place a healthy handbrake on AI’s rollout will be the winners of this century. So, perhaps French culture is most poised for a global comeback.