<![CDATA[Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist.]]>RE: https://mastodon.social/@404mediaco/117378117850915865

Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. This is weird and creepy but LLMS ARE NOT ALIVE OMG

The unethical thing is to treat them as if they are! Anthropomorphising LLMs does actual living humans far more of a disservice than even this weird creepy behaviour.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/0377572d-6063-494b-80b2-816303c4dbbc/hello-i-m-an-actual-technology-ethicist.RSS for NodeSun, 11 Oct 2026 18:10:39 GMTSat, 03 Oct 2026 17:22:17 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 06:40:30 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick This conversation has been done before. Welcome to 30 years ago in 1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDxFxWakhm0

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/obscurestar/statuses/117381269453114350https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/obscurestar/statuses/117381269453114350Sun, 04 Oct 2026 06:40:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 05:03:52 GMT]]>@kasperd @CatherineFlick It's creepy in that they believe this is "torture" somehow and that torture is somehow acceptable in some way.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/Elizafox/statuses/117380889489313116https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/Elizafox/statuses/117380889489313116Sun, 04 Oct 2026 05:03:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 02:45:49 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick I'm almost certain I agree on why anthropomorphising LLMs does "far more of a disservice" than the act the article is referring to. That said, I'm curious if I'm right or if we have different reasons to think so. Would you be willing to elaborate?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://todon.eu/ap/users/115601049471092408/statuses/117380346669028580https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://todon.eu/ap/users/115601049471092408/statuses/117380346669028580Sun, 04 Oct 2026 02:45:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 02:25:54 GMT]]>@cxberger @vandorb12 @CatherineFlick

Brains have a lot more going on.

Is that a scientific conclusion or a desire bourne our of fear?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/ap/users/117322376352431280/statuses/117380268356640653https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/ap/users/117322376352431280/statuses/117380268356640653Sun, 04 Oct 2026 02:25:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:50:53 GMT]]>@vandorb12 @rzeta0 @CatherineFlick it feels weird to call a static map of "just" the cells and connections in the fly's brain a full brain dump. brains have a lot more going on than that

it's still really cool science, but I don't think we've made fruit fly Cephalons yet

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.boiler.social/users/cxberger/statuses/117380130626009902https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.boiler.social/users/cxberger/statuses/117380130626009902Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:50:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:50:23 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick That does not mean that we would think the drawings were alive.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/glyph/statuses/117380128662487802https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/glyph/statuses/117380128662487802Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:50:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:49:58 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick I think it's worth really talking through why it's weird and creepy. Fixating on, ideating about, and ruminating on cruelty, pain, and torture is a warning sign of dangerously distorted thoughts. If someone spent all of their time *drawing* images of torture, we would think that's creepy because it suggests, if not an active conscious interest in doing such things, at the very least a whole catalog of intrusive thoughts which require therapy to address.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/glyph/statuses/117380127035718464https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/glyph/statuses/117380127035718464Sun, 04 Oct 2026 01:49:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:59:15 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick The medics have a neat word for allegations or imputations of illness (or suffering)) where it doesn't actually exist: factitious.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/ap/users/116971043378070209/statuses/117379927601871304https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/ap/users/116971043378070209/statuses/117379927601871304Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:59:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:30:20 GMT]]>@daf @CatherineFlick Cultural update! ELIZA was named for Eliza Doolittle, of Pygmalion (aka My Fair Lady) and classical Pygmalion falls in love with his creation. 🎵 Tale as old as time 🎵

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/andygates/statuses/117379813924866839https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/andygates/statuses/117379813924866839Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:30:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:25:46 GMT]]>@lmgenealogy @CatherineFlick personally*, I consider politeness to be a personal attribute more than a particular action. So, I'll generally say please and thank you regardless of the status of the audience.
Your point stands however, that LLMs are machines that emulate thoughtful responses and are not people.

*This is a personal stance for me and not an expectation I have of anyone else.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://raphus.social/users/Jirikiha/statuses/117379795950405608https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://raphus.social/users/Jirikiha/statuses/117379795950405608Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:25:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:23:44 GMT]]>@daf @CatherineFlick They've been given names since ELIZA in the 1960s. Humans always gonna anthropomorphise.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/andygates/statuses/117379787931782785https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/andygates/statuses/117379787931782785Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:23:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:03:53 GMT]]>@rzeta0 @CatherineFlick gets me thinking about the digital twins of nematodes that can run on Arduinos, and more recently the fruit fly being subjected to playing beat saber endlessly.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vandorb12/statuses/117379709915159989https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vandorb12/statuses/117379709915159989Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:03:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:02:41 GMT]]>
I do think anyone who is offended by it needs to wake up and notice that usage of LLMs is causing harm to real people and that's the real problem we should be discussing.]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://westergaard.social/objects/16cb3ea1-a0ce-4cf7-9ddc-9fcc279fff7bhttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://westergaard.social/objects/16cb3ea1-a0ce-4cf7-9ddc-9fcc279fff7bSun, 04 Oct 2026 00:02:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:02:26 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick you know why these techbro fascist twats want to treat ai like it's alive right?

So they can have sex with it.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/macacator/statuses/117379704171925332https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/macacator/statuses/117379704171925332Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:02:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:59:50 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick This is why I refuse to thank a chatbot, even if it's actually helpful. It helps remind me that they're machines, not people.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/lmgenealogy/statuses/117379693965722324https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/lmgenealogy/statuses/117379693965722324Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:59:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:58:55 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick

Quite curious what you think of companies putting human names on AI products. LLMs the obvious one is Claude, but even non-generative AI products like Alexa, Siri, Cortana (lol), etc

I feel like it does serve to humanise them.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://frogs.lgbt/ap/users/116980101331071040/statuses/117379690335719691https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://frogs.lgbt/ap/users/116980101331071040/statuses/117379690335719691Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:58:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:53:51 GMT]]>@CatherineFlick to me a worm has more life-like traits than an LLM. I wouldn't exactly count those as alive either.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/beeoproblem/statuses/117379670412915962https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/beeoproblem/statuses/117379670412915962Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:53:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hello, I’m an actual technology ethicist. on Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:25:49 GMT]]>@leahmcelrath.bsky.social

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/raven667/statuses/117379560222978940https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/raven667/statuses/117379560222978940Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:25:49 GMT