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We should take seriously the possibility that the dependence and psychological spiral in the QP are not just an accident, but the result of conscious product design on the part of AI vendors.

Capitalism’s two favorites business modes are (1) systemic capture and (2) addiction. We know AI corps are aiming for (1); that’s their explicit investor pitch. Consider the possibility that they’re aiming for (2) as well. Cigarette companies worked hard to make their products more addictive. Do we really think these companies with trillions of dollars of investor pressure on them aren’t doing the same?

There’s a lot of ways machine learning could create a different psychological experience for product users — and right now, vendors are pointedly not choosing those alternatives.

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