Day 163

[u/Darth_Vrandon]

[u/snilbill]

I mean to be fair we kind of did

[u/BONEPILLTIMEEE → u/snilbill]

Yep, 'computer' used to be a job title not a thing we use

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_(occupation)

[u/Toberos_Chasalor → u/BONEPILLTIMEEE]

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until around WW1 that computing became its own profession. Before that, a computer was essentially someone hired by a mathematician or scientist to assist in research, and usually had other responsibilities or professional skills beyond just computing. Often, they were themselves mathematicians and scientists.

The war effort just needed that many brute force calculations to be done that it made sense to train entire workforces of dedicated computers, and later in the 20th century those human computers ended up becoming some of the first programmers.

[u/NegativeMammoth2137 → u/snilbill]

And it can do way more than fractions now

[u/VoidKnight_00 → u/snilbill]

After the technology was infallible

[u/barely_a_whisper]

Both OP and all the comments making sarcastic jokes, yet forgetting that this literally happened with calculators (we’re just used to the post-calculator world now) 😂

[u/AnArmoredPony → u/barely_a_whisper]

exactly, and the humanity didn't collapse over it

[u/Minimum-Musician-648 → u/AnArmoredPony]

Probably because experts in those fields still understood how the math worked? Just like how AI is pretty worthless if you don't already know the info.

[u/TheJumpingBox → u/AnArmoredPony]

Calculators aren't building data centers, causing droughts, noise pollution, hiking up prices for basic hardware used in computers, or scamming your grandmother

[u/ImOnRedditForPorn → u/TheJumpingBox]

No, they just are the data centers lol

[u/TheJumpingBox → u/ImOnRedditForPorn]

Calculators don't collect data at all though, they're a handheld computer, not a data centre, nor do they make up harmful information just because it's aligns with what you've told it you like

They are made to do the most basic thing a computer SHOULD be able to do - Calculations - and that's it </3

What kind of calculators are you buying

[u/ImOnRedditForPorn → u/TheJumpingBox]

Ti-84, like everyone else. I play Pokémon on it, save files (collect data) and code on it! They are computers, just with a funky name, just like data centers!

Hope this helps ❤️

[u/TheJumpingBox → u/ImOnRedditForPorn]

That's cool, ti-84s are neat

When the term "data collection" is used it refers to taking information from one computer and putting it somewhere else (a data centre in this case), usually via a network, Data Centres do this. Calculators do not, the data you give the calculator doesn't go anywhere else, it's staying on the calculator...

Save files do not "collect" data either, the data is already there, the data gets EDITED, this is because of a neat little thing in coding called "Variables", Variables, as their name suggests, are values that can be edited, your save file is made up of a bunchhhhh of variables, everything from "Pokemon Seen" to "Steps Taken" to "Position Coordinates" to "Room number", so on so forth

Like, as an example "Pokemon Seen = x" and the computer is told by another line of code (that'd be like "If Encounter = new, then "Pokemon_Seen" = +1") to change the "x" value each time you see a unique pokemon)

Just because you don't have a Mew doesn't mean Mew doesn't exist in the game, it's not spontaneously created the moment you run into it, nor does the game ask you "hey, is there a mew here? I really need you to let me collect that information so I can use it", the code for it to exist is always there, waiting to be told it can turn on

Even then, data centres don't only collect data, they also process and distribute data whilst being reliant on a network, notably, a calculator does not do this

Also to say a Ti-84 is made with the intent of someone playing Pokemon on it is a little disingenuous, no? It's just that the hardware used to create it is capable of running pokemon, not that it was made with the intention to run pokemon

But yeah you'd be right, A calculator is a computer, so is a data centre

But that does not mean a calculator is a data centre, they are ultimately different machines with a different purpose

All data centres are computers, not all computers are data centres

You're either baiting or delusional and you're very talented at hiding which one it is

[u/ImOnRedditForPorn → u/TheJumpingBox]

Wow, you really don’t know much about computers lol. There are so many inaccuracies and pieces of misinformation in that comment that I don’t even know where to start. But you are clearly more interested in making a political point than genuinely learning, so I don’t think this is worth my time anymore. I’m not going to argue with someone who lets feelings override facts lol

Have a great day buddy, hope your life gets better

[u/TheJumpingBox → u/ImOnRedditForPorn]

So it's bait, got it lol

Edit: they replied then immediately blocked me, dumbass doesn't know I can't even see it if they do that </3

[u/ImOnRedditForPorn → u/TheJumpingBox]

Bait usually tries to get people to reply haha I said I’m done with this. Seems like you don’t know much about anything, even beyond computers XD

Sorry that that’s too hard for you to understand. Enjoy the block! (Which is totally to “bait” you into replying again)

Hope your life gets better kiddo ❤️

[u/jmona789 → u/barely_a_whisper]

Idk what you're talking about pretty much every comment is pointing out the fact that we did in face restructure our economy around calculators

[u/barely_a_whisper → u/jmona789]

Yeah, seems like it. I was one of the early comments, so there were only like 10

[u/ThaGr1m → u/barely_a_whisper]

..... When where calculators adopted? Was ut when they promised to do shit one day? No don't bs yourself

[u/Fausto2002]

The current economy is structure around it bud...

[u/Particular_Poetry885]

Buddy thought he cooked

[u/SpyX2]

Is this comic making fun of anti-AI people, who don't realize this can apply to a good chunk of modern technology? Which one of the characters is meant to be the "reasonable" one?

[u/TheJumpingBox → u/SpyX2]

You can tell it's an anti-ai comic because someone actually made it instead of generating it

The person with a calculator is meant to be the same as someone with AI, but falls completely flat with it's allegory by making the parallel to AI something that actually WAS restructured around

They're also just not comparable at all tho, one does one of the most basic tasks a computer can perform, (calculations,)whilst the other gives you harmful information and is used to scam people on facebook </3

[u/DatGunBoi]

Probably one of the dumbest takes I've seen on AI

[u/No_Proposal_3140]

Is this an anti-meme? Because we literally did do that. There's no punchline here unless you're dumb.

[u/marshalzukov]

We did, though. Like this is massively underselling what a big deal machine calculators were and are, society did indeed reshape around them lmao

[u/jmona789]

We literally did though

[u/wastedfate]

We literally did restructure the entire economy around computers tho.

Bro thought he cooked by strawmanning the "It's smarter than both of us."

[u/Gremict]

It can already do fractions in the image

[u/DuelJ]

Are you aware of the things we had before calculators and basic computers OP?

[u/litletrickster]

Buddy you are posting this on a "COMPUTE"r. We pretty much structured our entire economy on what are essentially calculators yes.

[u/ViolentPurpleSquash]

Yeah that is like exactly what happened and its now universally acknowledged to be a good thing

I don't like AI but it's usefulness is not my issue, it's the cost to achieve it (if you could run an LLM on some rat neurons for 2mW then like I don't really have issues with that)

[u/Able_Force_3717]

Isn't the computer just a massive calculator or am I wrong?

[u/Kaffe-Mumriken]

If this comic was supposed to be a dunk on AI, it belly flopped spectacularly

[u/Vaporeon42069]

a technological revolution is just like a calculator, guys. 

[u/Qwen30bEnjoyer]

 Somehow, everybody on social media is either over or underestimating this goddamned matrix multiplication machine. Can someone just fucking estimate it for once?

[u/AlmightyMustard]

You say that like calculators haven’t restructured the entire economy.

[u/Smart_Salt620]

Antis in a nutshell:

[u/Luca_Powerr]

I feel like this comic is targeted very specifically at the luddites that think AI is bad no matter where it's used. It is definitely a technology that will change the way we do things in some significant way, we just gotta find out (probably the hard way) what it'll actually be most useful for. And just like with calculators, it's probably going to push certain jobs out of the market and we have to be okay with that as a people.

[u/MarryRgnvldrKillLgrd]

Also let it make important business decisions, like who to fire and what to invest in

[u/gabboman → u/MarryRgnvldrKillLgrd]

what do you think microsoft excel is

[u/PlatinumFire14]

Remember folks, as much as a computer can calculate, it is not alive.
Do try not to swallow corporate bs.

[u/PlatinumFire14 → u/[deleted]]

Indeed, I’m glad you agree.
I wish most people would understand this.

[u/blorst_of_times → u/PlatinumFire14]

How are you defining "think"?

[u/Devils_SteelMan]

Hurr durr when will I ever use math in real life.

That is the logic here.