The Internet Is a Cesspool of Racist Pseudoscience

Ironhold · Jul 30, 2019

RDKirk said:
Interesting how the Internet consistently and quickly contaminates a mind that is designed to be clean, such as Microsoft's attempts at an AI that can hold an Internet conversation (from Wikipedia):

Tay was an artificial intelligence chatter bot that was originally released by Microsoft Corporation via Twitter on March 23, 2016; it caused subsequent controversy when the bot began to post inflammatory and offensive tweets through its Twitter account, forcing Microsoft to shut down the service only 16 hours after its launch.[1] According to Microsoft, this was caused by trolls who "attacked" the service as the bot made replies based on its interactions with people on Twitter.[2] It was soon replaced with Zo.

Uh...

The big issue with Tay is that she was supposed to be a learning AI who was programmed to learn from those who interacted with her.

Microsoft didn't like what she learned, however, and so purged her. By some reports, she was briefly back online for a period, but when certain topics were brought up she responded with pre-programmed sentiments rather than accepting anything new.

This led to a lot of people attempting to examine the relevant ethical issues behind Tay, with Microsoft's actions being seen as morally akin to either a lobotomy or brainwashing depending upon who you were talking to.

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Case and point.

Gotcha.

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Racism is a concept that only began in the 15th century, so it hasn't been thousands of years; the flat earth concept is literally thousands of years old, we're talking Bronze Age. Anti-vaxxers are probably the most recent because vaccines arose in the 20th century. Nonetheless, the comparison was about their use of online sources to find a home for their pseudoscientific thought, they are very much alike.

Yes, well I got you now. Definitely, racism has been institutionalized, politicized and weaponized in the West since around then (Enlightenment). Some of the non-fiction literature from the 15th and 16th century are... interesting with respect to modernity.

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

Rene Loup said:
If the internet never existed, most people alive today would be very different people. We'd probably be less angry, less narcissistic, less introverted, much less knowledgeable, less entertained, and have better mental health. We'd very likely have different hobbies, have different friends and spouses, have different political and cultural issues...

20+ years ago, we greatly underestimated the impact the internet would have on the world. It's simultaneously our best and worst invention.

I think the internet just emboldened people to be who they already were.

I prefer someone who will be "ist", or exhibit an "ism" to me in my face rather than plot for 10 years how to destroy me because of their prejudice. I say let people be free to expose themselves; why be a coward especially if you are superior?

alsughasoughaiuyfygh · Jul 30, 2019

jayem · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
The Internet Is a Cesspool of Racist Pseudoscience

No surprise, there is always someone trying to use statistics to make some qualification of a particular group of people to make a racist argument or justify racist treatment of a group. They really are like flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers; social media has given them a place to find like-minded ignorance that is only amplified. At the heart of this group is the grand scheme of some unseen group suppressing these debunked ideas.

Unfortunately, racial/religious/ethnic prejudices are all facets of tribalism. Which is part of the evolutionary baggage we inherited from our hominin ancestors. Who lived in smallish family clans and tribes. In prehistoric times, it had survival value to be at least suspicious, if not outright antagonistic towards members of other tribes who were competitors for resources. So the instinct to be fearful of, or to dislike anyone different from ourselves was favored by natural selection. And it was usually reinforced by tribal culture and beliefs. But obviously, this trait can be highly maladaptive in the modern world, where people of different races and ethnicities have much more contact with each other. We can suppress tribalistic instincts by learning. But sadly, until we can figure out how to reprogram our brains, only further evolution can eliminate them.

yeshuaslavejeff · Jul 30, 2019

Rene Loup said:
On the internet, everyone has a high IQ, a rare personality type, is an expert in something, and can kick your butt with their black belt in whatever martial arts Batman uses. On the internet you can be "superior" without having to prove it. It's harder to do so in real life when you happen to have average intelligence, poor social skills, few marketable skills, and perform better in Parkour than Krav Maga.

If the internet never existed, I'd probably wouldn't be so pessimistic, desensitized, and artistic like I am now.

Yes, I probably agree, subject to clarification and verification.
Most people are getting worse because of internet,
but
most people would still be getting worse anyway, even without internet, as they are in other countries without internet.
This is expected.

To get better, instead of worse, requires a total life change, with difficulties, trials and tests for the rest of life to still overcome daily. Few ever manage to turn around (the right way).

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

Rene Loup said:
On the internet, everyone has a high IQ, a rare personality type, is an expert in something, and can kick your butt with their black belt in whatever martial arts Batman uses. On the internet you can be "superior" without having to prove it. It's harder to do so in real life when you happen to have average intelligence, poor social skills, few marketable skills, and perform better in Parkour than Krav Maga.

If the internet never existed, I'd probably wouldn't be so pessimistic, desensitized, and artistic like I am now.

Granted, there is clearly a bubble of fantastical exhibition on the internet, but this is still who [people think] they really are. Before the internet, the same people were building cool things in their basements, or blowing themselves up. They were getting their behinds handed to them after watching a video on Karate, or they were destroying bullies and donkeys at the local bar.

These people would still be "those people" even if the internet didn't exist. They were/are our bosses, colleagues, teachers, parents, friends and basketball pick-up game partners. The internet provides a vector for their expression - whether healthy or not - that also allows them to influence and connect to many more people than they otherwise would be afforded. That connection is what emboldens them in the same way a coward becomes a lion in a crowd of people who think like the coward.

Racists who believe they are superior on the internet have that in their heart already to spew out on this particular vector. They have always been that person. Why be a coward and hide behind a computer if you are superior? Racists should be proud to be racists, not "functional liberals" in their workplace and life for fear of consequences. Superior entities don't worry about consequences from lesser entities.

OldWiseGuy · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Case and point.

?

OldWiseGuy · Jul 30, 2019

Kaon said:
I think the internet just emboldened people to be who they already were.

I prefer someone who will be "ist", or exhibit an "ism" to me in my face rather than plot for 10 years how to destroy me because of their prejudice. I say let people be free to expose themselves; why be a coward especially if you are superior?

I don't think you understand the 'excrement storm' and arrogant scorn that would be unleashed on you if you even offered the slightest hint of what is today perceived as racism (like an honest criticism of a minority) to someone of the other persuasion in a face to face situation.

bèlla · Jul 30, 2019

Kaon said:
Superior entities don't worry about consequences from lesser entities.

Supremacists are indifferent to everyone save themselves and those in their sphere. They don’t waste time sparring with minions. You’re beneath them.

jacks · Jul 30, 2019

OldWiseGuy said:
?

I think he meant "Case in Point", not "Case and Point". Although what he thought your comment was an illustration of, I can't say.

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

OldWiseGuy said:
I don't think you understand the 'excrement storm' and arrogant scorn that would be unleashed on you if you even offered the slightest hint of what is today perceived as racism (like an honest criticism of a minority) to someone of the other persuasion in a face to face situation.

Who cares?

If you are superior, why would you care what an inferior entity thinks? Are you afraid of the excrement storm and arrogant scorn that would be unleashed when you kill a cockroach, or a chicken? Who cares what someone else thinks, honestly.

Being racist, or even prejudiced, and not having the gall to say it out loud is cowardice. This is especially the case if you believe you are superior: you should be the first person who would express their superiority over such lesser creatures - without even having to say it. How can you be persecuted by an inferior entity?

Unless, of course, racism and prejudice is all "bovine excrement", and people who exhibit these are just hiding vulnerabilities they are afraid other people they find threatening may find out.

Kaon · Jul 30, 2019

LaBèlla said:
Supremacists are indifferent to everyone save themselves and those in their sphere. They don’t waste time sparring with minions. You’re beneath them.

Well, supremacists may believe any of us are beneath them for any reason, but they don't act like they are superior. Indeed, they make it a point to spar with their alleged minions - they beg to be heard, but hide their identities because of cowardice. Before, they infiltrated places of power (police, congress, executive positions at companies, etc.) and passed their alleged superiority off in law and execution thereof. Now that the world is global, it is forcing the closet cowards to come out more often, and be more vocal. Still, the increase in voice is hidden behind the veil of the Internet.

Too bad they are still afraid of the consequences - from lesser entities. Why? What is so scary about lesser entities that would have superior entities scared to express themselves freely instead of clandestinely?

Maybe the idea of superiority they have is substantiated on ephemerality and abstractions? I only know One who is superior to me, but for some reasons humans that die believe they are superior to other humans that die - and they use their emotional prejudices manufactured for their mentalities to substantiate their feelings. It's learned and taught behavior - from parents to child to society, and so on.

OldWiseGuy · Jul 30, 2019

Kaon said:
Who cares?

If you are superior, why would you care what an inferior entity thinks? Are you afraid of the excrement storm and arrogant scorn that would be unleashed when you kill a cockroach, or a chicken? Who cares what someone else thinks, honestly.

Being racist, or even prejudiced, and not having the gall to say it out loud is cowardice. This is especially the case if you believe you are superior: you should be the first person who would express their superiority over such lesser creatures. How can you be persecuted by an inferior entity?

Unless, of course, racism and prejudice is all "bovine excrement", and people who exhibit these are just hiding vulnerabilities they are afraid other people they find threatening may find out.

Inferior or superior you have to live with these people.

SummerMadness · Jul 30, 2019

jacks said:
I think he meant "Case in Point", not "Case and Point". Although what he thought your comment was an illustration of, I can't say.

Thank you, and corrected. If you miss the point, that's cool, at least you picked up on the incorrect usage of a term, but I "could care less."

OldWiseGuy · Jul 30, 2019

Kaon said:
Well, supremacists may believe any of us are beneath them for any reason, but they don't act like they are superior. Indeed, they make it a point to spar with their alleged minions - they beg to be heard, but hide their identities because of cowardice. Before, they infiltrated places of power (police, congress, executive positions at companies, etc.) and passed their alleged superiority off in law and execution thereof. Now that the world is global, it is forcing the closet cowards to come out more often, and be more vocal. Still, the increase in voice is hidden behind the veil of the Internet.

Too bad they are still afraid of the consequences - from lesser entities. Why? What is so scary about lesser entities that would have superior entities scared to express themselves freely instead of clandestinely?

Maybe the idea of superiority they have is substantiated on ephemerality and abstractions? I only know One who is superior to me, but for some reasons humans that die believe they are superior to other humans that die - and they use their emotional prejudices manufactured for their mentalities to substantiate their feelings. It's learned and taught behavior - from parents to child to society, and so on.

I'm not a racist (contrary the opinion of many here) but I am superior to most people in many ways. For example, when shopping,

I park properly between the lines, or between vehicles.
I don't get in other people's way while shopping.
I bring a corrugated box to carry my groceries home.
I place my groceries on the checkout belt in the order that they should be bagged (or boxed in my case).
I usually box my groceries myself as fast as they are checked out, no bagger needed.
I have my credit card in hand ready to pay, no fumbling around.
I put my shopping cart away neatly.

This is just a small example of my superiority over others. There are many more category's where my example is exemplary.

OldWiseGuy · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Thank you, and corrected. If you miss the point, that's cool, at least you picked up on the incorrect usage of a term, but I "could care less."

What is your "case in point"?

jacks · Jul 30, 2019

SummerMadness said:
Thank you, and corrected. If you miss the point, that's cool, at least you picked up on the incorrect usage of a term, but I "could care less."

Don't you mean "Couldn't care less"?

SummerMadness · Jul 30, 2019

jacks said:
Don't you mean "Couldn't care less"?

That's why I used the quotes.

The Internet Is a Cesspool of Racist Pseudoscience

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