I’m not some tech genius who could spot a fake product a hundred miles away. I’m just not a gullible dumbass
I don’t think anyone deserves to be scammed. Here’s a good Cory doctrow section on the topic: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/05/cyber-dunning-kruger/#swiss-cheese-security
Everyone is vulnerable to different things at different times, the wrongdoers are the ones at fault. We should aspire to a society where being trusting is a good thing that is rewarded.
It’s actually insane that we let people get up on stages and tell blatant lies beamed right into the ears of millions of people. Doubly so when we reward them with unfathomable riches.
If we’re talking about essential items like food, helmets, medicine, safety goggles, etc, absolutely, they don’t deserve to be scammed. But this isn’t an essential item. It’s a tech gizmo that no one needs that promises to do everything that can already be done with a device you already own. Only idiots with a lot of spare money will buy this shit. Even your example isn’t equivalent because someone pretending to be working for your bank’s fraud prevention is a more important issue than some guy pretending to be a AI guru.
Idk, my mate who’s mind was shredded by failed psych treatments almost got one till I talked him down. He was optimistic about an interface that could be easier to use with shot working memory and maybe help him remember all the stuff he forgets.
I don’t know why you have to be so contemptuous of people. What’s the gain? how does anyone’s life get better by being scornful of people who believed lies for the few moments it took to impulse purchase something? What’s the point of that ideology?
From the CD section:
If you think you can’t get scammed, that makes you especially vulnerable
This right here is why “dumb people deserve to get scammed” is an idiotic sentiment. One day, all guardrails may fail and in spite of all caution and consideration, you too may slip up and fall for a scam. Would you like us to point and sneer, because you were dumb and should have been more cautious?
I’m with you: We should fix trust issues, not make them worse by laughing at those who trusted.
I actually think “it could happen to me” is probably the worst reason to care about something? or at least the most base. But yeah, when those voice gen scams started claiming to be panicked ransom demands from kidnapped relatives it was like… Jesus Christ who wouldn’t fall for that on a bad day?
I actually think “it could happen to me” is probably the worst reason to care about something? or at least the most base.
For sure. It is a very egoistic, but also universal and logical reason. “Bad things shouldn’t happen” would be a moral reason to care, but even if that’s not enough, “This might affect me” should make you wary.
To think “This won’t affect me, hence I don’t give a damn” is both an egoistic mindset and an idiotic assumption.
But yeah, when those voice gen scams started claiming to be panicked ransom demands from kidnapped relatives it was like… Jesus Christ who wouldn’t fall for that on a bad day?
I hate everything about this. Voice Gen could be useful enough, but even if the idea of something imitating your voice wasn’t so universally creepy as to be a part of plenty of horror stories, a small percentage of humans being such massive assholes that turn every new tech into a new avenue of exploiting people ruin it.
No victim blaming.
I’m out of the loop what tech gizmo startups? Are people buying unitasking devices that a smartphone can do?
The device pictured is the Rabbit R1, an alleged “AI assistant” that’s supposed to do all the shit that the original pitches for Siri and OK Google were supposed to do; “Order me an uber”, “Find me a restaurant nearby”, etc. Turns out it’s just chatGPT with a few autoclick scripts bolted on. Not only does it work worse than a smartphone for any given task, it also works worse than existing non-AI voice assistants.
The things were recently released but idk if anyone has actually bought them l.
Pretty sure quite a few people got in on the R1 because it was cheap ($200) and designed by Teenage Engineering which people fucking love for some reason.
yep. I don’t get it, like at all. Sure if it was a cute design and actually was a useful concept I could see it, but a cute design for a worthless product just makes me angrier, it doesn’t mitigate the functionality issues at all
unitasking devices that do stuff a smartphone can do are cool actually, this is a device that claims and fails to do what a smartphone can do, or provide its own compelling feature-set at all. a scam considering how underbaked it is.
I mean the main transgression here is that it’s literally just a slighly altered android ROM that hides the fact that it runs Android. It could literally have been a free app on your smartphone.
A unitasking device is fine, as long as it’s doing something that could not be done by the multitasking device we already hurt the environment to create. Or it does so more power efficiently, or even offload a task that is burdensome for your phone to another device. This does none of those things, it just sends your voice request to chatgpt.
It also has dog shit battery life, so that’s another knock.
too bitter and full of hate
I have one and it’s great and it works I think you’re just jealous
