AI threat

[egb_hibs]

Turning from LLMs this is the sort of thing that means AI will brutalise the IT industry that shat it out.

https://archive.ph/2026.01.18-104615/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/18/silicon-valley-misfits-fixing-worlds-productivity-slump/

"Jaana Dogan, an engineer at Google, said that in an hour, the bot had replicated what her entire team had spent a year building. “I’m not joking and this isn’t funny,” she said."

Meanwhile...

https://archive.ph/2026.01.17-132904/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/schools-universities/computer-science-graduates-cant-get-job/

The latest update from these guys has markets in turmoil with software stocks collapsing. My impression is the reasoning is that their new tools will let people to do for buttons what they presently employ expensive software to do.

I am completely unconvinced by that, at it doesn't change the reasons people buy that software, which isnt mainly about the cost of developing alternatives but about the cost and risk of maintaining them, having standard ways of doing things, and having interoperability with other software.

I think it is far more a risk to IT roles that are there to do custom solutions for businesses rather than commercial software, or to roles involved in building that commercial software to begin with (which should have stocks going up).

But I guess we will see.

 

[egb_hibs]

Worth a read.

Something Big Is Happening

A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

shumer.dev

 

[BurbankHibee]

Worth a read.

Something Big Is Happening

A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

shumer.dev

Thanks for that.

I am glad I am exiting the workforce sooner rather than later because what is coming is frightening.

 

[HaarlemShuffler]

Worth a read.

Something Big Is Happening

A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

shumer.dev

Yep, it's the Everything Changes show and the Change is getting faster, no wonder when you measure the scale of progress.

Now I'm out of the work cycle, I might just invest that twenty bucks a month to pursue power versions of a few projects I have in mind but am far too lazy to complete on my Jak Jones.

If I am spared by the onrushing lack of humanity all around...

 

[egb_hibs]

Thanks for that.

I am glad I am exiting the workforce sooner rather than later because what is coming is frightening.

Its already here in the UK in terms of entry level jobs. Combined with Rachel Reeves helpfully making young people expensive to hire, graduate jobs are tanking.

You are best getting away as far and fast as you can. The mind boggles at how IT Ops support apps developed that noone understands and accruing at unprecedented pace.

Someone is going to have a disaster.

 

[emerald green]

Worth a read.

Something Big Is Happening

A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

shumer.dev

frightening really.

 

[Cavalier]

Some scary shit (if accurate of course)

 

[BurbankHibee]

Its already here in the UK in terms of entry level jobs. Combined with Rachel Reeves helpfully making young people expensive to hire, graduate jobs are tanking.

I believe it is the same here.

The whole capitalist system is going to go tits up by the looks of it and democracy along with it. If the welfare system requires all these young people to pay taxes to prop up the pensions of the aging population, how are they going to pay taxes if they don't have well paying jobs or even a job? What are all those imported doctors and engineers going to be doing?

Incidentally, I saw the automated taxi company was values at something like $120 billion dollars. A taxi company!! Of course, the taxi portion isn't the real business, it's the software that will ultimately be licensed to car manufacturers, that's where the money is going to be made. Taxis could become a thing of the past. You could just rent your car out to ferry people about as a side hustle.

You are best getting away as far and fast as you can. The mind boggles at how IT Ops support apps developed that noone understands and accruing at unprecedented pace.

Someone is going to have a disaster.

We live in interesting times.

 

[GORDONSMITH7]

I believe it is the same here.

The whole capitalist system is going to go tits up by the looks of it and democracy along with it. If the welfare system requires all these young people to pay taxes to prop up the pensions of the aging population, how are they going to pay taxes if they don't have well paying jobs or even a job? What are all those imported doctors and engineers going to be doing?

Incidentally, I saw the automated taxi company was values at something like $120 billion dollars. A taxi company!! Of course, the taxi portion isn't the real business, it's the software that will ultimately be licensed to car manufacturers, that's where the money is going to be made. Taxis could become a thing of the past. You could just rent your car out to ferry people about as a side hustle.



We live in interesting times.

Bubble trouble: The spectre of speculation haunts the ruling class | The Communist

Wobbles on the stock market are intensifying fears that the bubble around AI could burst at any moment, with cataclysmic consequences for the whole world economy. To end this casino capitalism, we need a revolution against the billionaires.

communist.red

BIG G

 

[egb_hibs]

Bubble trouble: The spectre of speculation haunts the ruling class | The Communist

Wobbles on the stock market are intensifying fears that the bubble around AI could burst at any moment, with cataclysmic consequences for the whole world economy. To end this casino capitalism, we need a revolution against the billionaires.

communist.red

BIG G

That's one major bust G, which I think is coming.

I think Burbank was referring to something much bigger, which happens if AI actually delivers and eliminates vast swathes of labour. Which means it also eliminates vast swathes of consumers : and so capitalism ends.

 

[Keepitgreen]

Some scary shit (if accurate of course)

I don't think it is quite accurate, in terms of urgency anyway. Lots to fear for sure, but there are a range of underlying or connected issues and effects that mean it won't be as clear cut as fast as the guy is making out. Security for a start; the agentic apps that made the markets freak out last week only work if the company employing them rips down every security protocol we've just spent decades putting in place. The idea of general AI replacing specialist software as well seems overcooked, though again its defo a possibility.

At the end of the day there are actually humans in charge (for now anyway!) of deciding whether to install this stuff and layoff workers. The biggest choices like that take a long time to make and implement, and folk only make them when they're confident its the right choice, so they need others to do it first.

Like I say, I'm not saying theres not a lot to worry about, just that theres also a lot of hyperbole and I think that post is defo overdoing it a bit.

 

[egb_hibs]

I don't think it is quite accurate, in terms of urgency anyway. Lots to fear for sure, but there are a range of underlying or connected issues and effects that mean it won't be as clear cut as fast as the guy is making out. Security for a start; the agentic apps that made the markets freak out last week only work if the company employing them rips down every security protocol we've just spent decades putting in place. The idea of general AI replacing specialist software as well seems overcooked, though again its defo a possibility.

At the end of the day there are actually humans in charge (for now anyway!) of deciding whether to install this stuff and layoff workers. The biggest choices like that take a long time to make and implement, and folk only make them when they're confident its the right choice, so they need others to do it first.

Like I say, I'm not saying theres not a lot to worry about, just that theres also a lot of hyperbole and I think that post is defo overdoing it a bit.

I tend to agree with chunks of that, but also tend to my worst of all worlds fear where AI is much shiter than hyped but still tans loads of jobs. Put another way, we get the downside without the utopian upside.

I agree with you, and said somewhere above, that people are unlikely to swap out, say, ERP systems (for non KiG readers, these are systems that control corporate functions like finance etc) for AI generated software. Indeed they would be insane to do so.

However, I can absolutely imagine ERP vendors using AI to develop those products. I can also see AI absolutely tanning lots of knowledge work. The legal use case mentioned is absolutely sweet spot - digest tons of data and spit out summaries and / or findings.

Graduate jobs openings are dropping like a stone, and while the AI contribution is difficult to wholly separate from the devastating impact of Reeves' policies, it's in there for sure.

From workflow based roles in supoort orgs to audit, accounts and consultancy, I do expect we will see a huge impact on 'office jobs' from lowly to lucrative. Science jobs too - AI is going to be better at everything from diagnostic medicine to many engineering tasks (real not software engineering). Again, sweet spot stuff. IT itself : well that's toast.

On the other hand, my last dalliance with it was end of 2024 using paid models. Like the article says, much better than free. But still shite

Ps - I have to be slightly pedantic and quibble with 'general AI' as a term. Its hard to frame and I expect you did this to rightly avoid using AGI. Nevertheless we are miles from any kind of general intelligence - and I for one believe we always will be. That really would be a game changer.

 

[BurbankHibee]

Bubble trouble: The spectre of speculation haunts the ruling class | The Communist

Wobbles on the stock market are intensifying fears that the bubble around AI could burst at any moment, with cataclysmic consequences for the whole world economy. To end this casino capitalism, we need a revolution against the billionaires.

communist.red

BIG G

These articles are impossible to read "As children, we all loved to blow bubbles using a plastic hoop and soapy water. There is great enjoyment in watching the bubble grow and grow – the bigger the better.

I'm out but I assume it's going to go on about a "Wall Street Crash/bubble bursting". Well that depends. The market has cycles and downturns and upturns and corrections. Some worse than others. But since I didn't read the full article I'm not sure what the relevance is, maybe you could summarise it for me.

But in any event, AI is going to be a thing, it's going to be a very big thing and it is going to cause upheaval in the job market and therefore the economy at large. Lots of jobs in certain sectors are going to be eliminated. It's a matter of scale. There is a long way to go but it's in the post.

 

[egb_hibs]

These articles are impossible to read "As children, we all loved to blow bubbles using a plastic hoop and soapy water. There is great enjoyment in watching the bubble grow and grow – the bigger the better.

I'm out but I assume it's going to go on about a "Wall Street Crash/bubble bursting". Well that depends. The market has cycles and downturns and upturns and corrections. Some worse than others. But since I didn't read the full article I'm not sure what the relevance is, maybe you could summarise it for me.

But in any event, AI is going to be a thing, it's going to be a very big thing and it is going to cause upheaval in the job market and therefore the economy at large. Lots of jobs in certain sectors are going to be eliminated. It's a matter of scale. There is a long way to go but it's in the post.

These articles are, in the end, rooted in ideas that were pickled in aspic in the steam age, and quite literally so.

To their credit their lack of investment in the status quo allows the authors to describe it without being shackled to its assumptions. But the moment we get beyond that and towards responses, it's not much beyond cavemen discussing responses to AI. Because the stone age is breathing over the shoulder of the steam age compared to the latter vs today.

Which is also why these poor choobs end up as running dogs for capital as it now is, versus how it was in the nineteenth century.

Both funny and sad.

 

[Keepitgreen]

Ps - I have to be slightly pedantic and quibble with 'general AI' as a term. Its hard to frame and I expect you did this to rightly avoid using AGI. Nevertheless we are miles from any kind of general intelligence - and I for one believe we always will be. That really would be a game changer.

Yeah I wasn't meaning AGI. I was meaning this:

Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies

Pearson, Experian and others fall sharply after startup unveils software to automate a range of professional services

www.theguardian.com

As you say though, we're broadly in agreement on this eegie. I think the time frame is longer than yer man in the OP is espousing.

Although, I just got Noah Smiths latest missive on it, and it's nudged me up the worry-ometer slightly..! He reckons devs really are completely cooked.

 

[egb_hibs]

Yeah I wasn't meaning AGI. I was meaning this:

Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies

Pearson, Experian and others fall sharply after startup unveils software to automate a range of professional services

www.theguardian.com

As you say though, we're broadly in agreement on this eegie. I think the time frame is longer than yer man in the OP is espousing.

Although, I just got Noah Smiths latest missive on it, and it's nudged me up the worry-ometer slightly..! He reckons devs really are completely cooked.

Devs are the most cooked, and it's no mystery why when you think about it. Their output is after all, designed to be consumed by computers to begin with!

An AI crawling through sourceforge and github is trawling self describing code (in the case of modern languages anyway) with very narrow and well defined semantics and syntax, and which is structured specifically for how computers work (via many layers of abstraction).

While it may be the opposite for us, I suspect it will be much easier for an AI to make sense of content of this type, than the most trivial piece of written text. And far easier to regurgitate as well.

 

[egb_hibs]

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[Keepitgreen]

Devs are the most cooked, and it's no mystery why when you think about it. Their output is after all, designed to be consumed by computers to begin with!

An AI crawling through sourceforge and github is trawling self describing code (in the case of modern languages anyway) with very narrow and well defined semantics and syntax, and which is structured specifically for how computers work (via many layers of abstraction).

While it may be the opposite for us, I suspect it will be much easier for an AI to make sense of content of this type, than the most trivial piece of written text. And far easier to regurgitate as well.

Aye it absolutely does make sense. I guess after working with devs so closely and for so many years, I became accustomed to believing they were akin to gods, never replaceable and for a good while there when AI came onto the scene, those I spoke to were confidently dismissive of how error-strewn the code being produced was.

Thing is, what do these poor neuro-diverse bastards do when these jobs go kaput? I mean, some roles in tech should be fine to pivot elsewhere *cough*, but these insular, often downright rude geeks are really gonna struggle

 

[blue toon hibby]

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What a waste of two lines.

 

[Keepitgreen]

Man accidentally gains control of 7,000 robot vacuums

Sammy Azdoufal just wanted to steer his DJI Romo with a gaming controller.

www.popsci.com

Its all coming thick and fast (stoap it) in the AI-is-terrifying space just now, but this one stood out today. A hacker story you'd think, but this lad was not a hacker. He just asked an AI tool to do whatever work was required to let him control his robot vacuum cleaner with his Playstation 5 Pad. So far so geeky, but seemingly simple and innocent.

The AI duly came up with the goods; but inadvertently gave him total control of over 7000 other robot vacuums. Worldwide. Doesnt sound that great, oh I can clean someone elses gaff for them, woohoo - but the hoovers (I'll use my word for them thanks) have cameras on them that he could view out from!

Accidental carnage as a result of AI, has it been considered enough? Er, no, but can it ever be? Lets find out!

*edit* Did work a treat on his hoover mind you:

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[egb_hibs]

Man accidentally gains control of 7,000 robot vacuums

Sammy Azdoufal just wanted to steer his DJI Romo with a gaming controller.

www.popsci.com

Its all coming thick and fast (stoap it) in the AI-is-terrifying space just now, but this one stood out today. A hacker story you'd think, but this lad was not a hacker. He just asked an AI tool to do whatever work was required to let him control his robot vacuum cleaner with his Playstation 5 Pad. So far so geeky, but seemingly simple and innocent.

The AI duly came up with the goods; but inadvertently gave him total control of over 7000 other robot vacuums. Worldwide. Doesnt sound that great, oh I can clean someone elses gaff for them, woohoo - but the hoovers (I'll use my word for them thanks) have cameras on them that he could view out from!

Accidental carnage as a result of AI, has it been considered enough? Er, no, but can it ever be? Lets find out!

*edit* Did work a treat on his hoover mind you:

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Wow. That's quite impressive tbf. Hopefully steps are now taken to secure said vacuum cleaners. Not least given the extensive data they collect about you. I was once in an institution I shall not name, when I learned that a manufacturer of said gizmos had tried to sell them the data collected, which through inference could be used to determine what rates you 'should' be paying for home and life insurance. Surprisingly this was rebuffed on ethical (and I suspect legal) grounds, but someone likely bought it.

 

[Keepitgreen]

Wow. That's quite impressive tbf. Hopefully steps are now taken to secure said vacuum cleaners. Not least given the extensive data they collect about you. I was once in an institution I shall not name, when I learned that a manufacturer of said gizmos had tried to sell them the data collected, which through inference could be used to determine what rates you 'should' be paying for home and life insurance. Surprisingly this was rebuffed on ethical (and I suspect legal) grounds, but someone likely bought it.

Its a really interesting point, and one thats floated about for, well, probably decades now. The amount and variety of data being collected on each of us, and what it could be conceivably used for; like your insurance example and tons besides.

It looks like (or is certain, really) that these AI tools will not only speed up the types, gathering and analysis of data, but also place into far more hands the ability to use it.

For a long time now its obviously been the powers that be e.g. polis, intelligence agencies, governments that had the effort and resources to do it, and did so. Right about now though, that's all changing..

 

[brianmc]

Not to go full Ryan tinfoil hat mode, but, I don't think the Ai is the scary 'elephant in the room'.

That would be Quantum computing.

It's the atomic bomb race - but with much, much scarier potential.
Whoever wins the race wins the world.

Quantum computing will render ALL current encryption obsolete: and I don't just mean they'll be able to guess your Pornhub password (Bigguy69) yeah you know who you are.....

It'll be able to crack ALL current password protected stuff. From individual medical records, to private Government communications. Encrypted military secrets, all banking data - for everyone and every institution, you, me, the CIA, the Taliban, and of course every countries nuclear launch codes!

Scary as fuck.

But wait, if the quantum computing power is actually controlled by General Ai then it's even worse for humans as a species.

Imagine the scenario: the world is running out of natural resources, pollution is ever increasing, wars are continually exploding in multiple points all over the globe. Man's inhumanity to man is as brutal as ever. We're basically doomed.

Our Ai overlords ask themselves 'What are the 3 best ways to end this madness AND save the planet?(and therefore their own existence)'

Whilst I've no idea what answer 2 or 3 could possibly be I'm 100% sure the first answer is 'Remove all humans'

And at that point it's game over.


*It's unlikely to happen before the end of the season so we might still have to endure those sister fisting gunts celebrating the League title, but rest easy my green n white pals - I reckon humanity as a whole will be anihalated within 10 years, which basically equals draw!!