This statement that AI researchers are taking up smoking was made by Alexander Karp (CEO of Palantir), who just personally bought 37,000 acres of Swedish forest land, presumably in preparation for some form of AI-related geopolitical fallout. It was absolutely not a peer reviewed study or any sort of survey. It was likely something he heard in passing, a less-than-half-serious joke, or just a subjective questionable observation based on an N of a few. Regardless, this narrative was only picked up and amplified by media because he is the CEO of Palantir. He himself is a cigar smoker. Take that for what you will. I have seen no evidence that it is true -but if it were, I'd imagine there would be other indulgences, vices and financial/credit opportunities much more likely to be observed than smoking.
You've moved the goal posts. What we do all know is that when CEOs of huge, geopolitically important international military-contracting megacorporations say or do things things that are surprising, it is newsworthy.
So your theory about no-nothings talking about nothing that they heard nowhere because it makes them feel good because they are self-indulgent fools might be worth giving up.
Now you've devolved to complaining about people noticing things. Do you think that your declaring those things not notable might be because they agree with your preconceived notions about "ultra rich guys" and the totally random things they do for no particular reason?
All online discussions these days are like those chain email forwards of the last generation. <= this is the original point
This statement that AI researchers are taking up smoking was made by Alexander Karp (CEO of Palantir) <= this is is a wrong statement as per the link in the article I very much did read.
The original quote was from Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, not Karp. <= this is someone that points out the statement is wrong, thereby proving the original point.
He bought 37,000 acres of forest land because who wouldn't buy 37,000 acres of forest land if they had the means and opportunity to buy 37,000 acres of forest land?
Did you follow the link? It's another article quoting an anecdote from a CBS interview. It's not an actual statistic from a reputable survey or anything. This is what OP was saying - it's a fuckin telephone game. Chinese whispers. The rumour mill.
And island big enough to sustain itself preferable not with with winters as you will need energy (panels), food and barrier.
A collapsed society in a place like Northern Europe would be terrible as it relies on a lot of complex technology to keep the modern lifestyle going. None of the Scandinavian countries are self sufficient in food.
PS: I don't mean to talk Sweden down but it's definitely not for me. I've been there for work and it's just not my kind of culture. Very indoors, streets dead quiet after 19:00 even in summer, brrr. I could not live like that :) And really long darkness in winter just gets me super depressed.
But I know some people love it. Everyone is different <3
Is this material to the core thesis of this microblogpost?
> Many of his descriptions sound strikingly similar to the rhetoric coming out of places like Anthropic. For example, note the religious overtones of working at a corporation
Just browse a little bit on Twitter or this forum and you’ll have gobs of examples of religious fervor masquerading as techno-enlightenment
When a company publicly proclaims "omg, unchecked development will lead to AI destroying humanity!" (or similar), how brave/stupid would an employee have to be to go against the grain & *publicly* proclaim an opposing viewpoint?
Chances are their paycheck requires enough bravery/stupidity that few (if any) dare to deviate from company groupthink too much.
Employee accepts & lives by that long enough, and they might as well be part of a religious cult.
That religious angle could be just similarities in the psychology / group dynamics involved. Same mechanics -> same patterns observed.
> Jamie, a crypto alum who asked not to share his last name, met a backer for his raw milk startup at a Miami kava bar. The crowd was "50% recovering opioid addicts from Appalachia and 50% Wall Street and Silicon Valley refugees looking for shelter from taxes, pandemic restrictions, and leftist ideological hegemony," he says. A crowd accumulated in the corner, smoking.
> He struck up a conversation with a jacked, Harley-riding investor while chain-smoking Marlboro Reds. Jamie told the investor about his startup, and the two talked about alternative wellness between drags. A week later, the investor signed a check. Smoking poles put him in pole position.
It's all weird but specifically "smoking poles" has a different meaning as far as I'm aware. I can't quickly Google up anyone using "pole" to mean cigarette.
paxy 1 day ago
“Omg did you know that AI researchers are taking up smoking because they think AI will cure cancer??”
Oh really, which researchers?
“I don’t know.”
How many of them? One or many?
“I don’t know.”
What company do they work for?
“I don’t know. But I’m sure it’s Anthropic.”
How do you even know this?
“I saw it on someone’s TikTok.”
So if there are zero verifiable sources why do you believe this?
“Because it sounds fun, and confirms my biases. Now I’m going to forward this to a hundred other people or I’ll have bad luck.”
This is a meaningless example but this is true for so much more.
arxell 1 day ago
paxy 1 day ago
Has a single researcher come out and backed up this story?
> who just personally bought 37,000 acres of Swedish forest land, presumably in preparation for some form of AI-related geopolitical fallout
Ultra rich guy put some land in his investment portfolio. What a shocker!!
pessimizer 1 day ago
So your theory about no-nothings talking about nothing that they heard nowhere because it makes them feel good because they are self-indulgent fools might be worth giving up.
Now you've devolved to complaining about people noticing things. Do you think that your declaring those things not notable might be because they agree with your preconceived notions about "ultra rich guys" and the totally random things they do for no particular reason?
paxy 1 day ago
jassyr 1 day ago
ishouldnotbutk8 1 day ago
>CEO of Palantir bought 37,000 acres of Swedish forest land in preparation for some form of AI-related geopolitical fallout
is the kind of online discussion GP complains about
ks2048 1 day ago
the__alchemist 1 day ago
HeyLaughingBoy 1 day ago
montagg 1 day ago
vanschelven 1 day ago
Arodex 1 day ago
vanschelven 1 day ago
This statement that AI researchers are taking up smoking was made by Alexander Karp (CEO of Palantir) <= this is is a wrong statement as per the link in the article I very much did read.
The original quote was from Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, not Karp. <= this is someone that points out the statement is wrong, thereby proving the original point.
Clear now?
bigbuppo 1 day ago
LogicFailsMe 1 day ago
Arodex 1 day ago
everyday7732 1 day ago
christkv 1 day ago
sicher 1 day ago
christkv 1 day ago
A collapsed society in a place like Northern Europe would be terrible as it relies on a lot of complex technology to keep the modern lifestyle going. None of the Scandinavian countries are self sufficient in food.
kentm 1 day ago
ilteris 1 day ago
wolvoleo 1 day ago
I'd find some remote Pacific island personally :) Or New Zealand.
wolvoleo 1 day ago
But I know some people love it. Everyone is different <3
kaffekaka 1 day ago
hackyhacky 1 day ago
That's also how politics has worked since (at least) 2015. Who needs evidence about outlandish claims when the vibes are right?
Anyway, me and my friends are going to go eat some cats and dogs.
win311fwg 1 day ago
You accidentally added 1, 2, and 5.
margalabargala 1 day ago
I think their date was pretty close, they just left off the BCE.
rustyzig 1 day ago
datsci_est_2015 1 day ago
> Many of his descriptions sound strikingly similar to the rhetoric coming out of places like Anthropic. For example, note the religious overtones of working at a corporation
Just browse a little bit on Twitter or this forum and you’ll have gobs of examples of religious fervor masquerading as techno-enlightenment
jacquesm 1 day ago
RetroTechie 1 day ago
Chances are their paycheck requires enough bravery/stupidity that few (if any) dare to deviate from company groupthink too much.
Employee accepts & lives by that long enough, and they might as well be part of a religious cult.
That religious angle could be just similarities in the psychology / group dynamics involved. Same mechanics -> same patterns observed.
paxy 1 day ago
They claim AI researchers aren’t saving money in 401k because they believe there will be an AI utopia.
Which researchers? Can you name a few? Is there any proof of this trend?
Heck if anything AI researchers have bigger bank balances than all of us. They’ll be fine for the future no matter what.
datsci_est_2015 1 day ago
layer8 1 day ago
https://archive.is/avuUH
ZeroGravitas 1 day ago
> Jamie, a crypto alum who asked not to share his last name, met a backer for his raw milk startup at a Miami kava bar. The crowd was "50% recovering opioid addicts from Appalachia and 50% Wall Street and Silicon Valley refugees looking for shelter from taxes, pandemic restrictions, and leftist ideological hegemony," he says. A crowd accumulated in the corner, smoking.
> He struck up a conversation with a jacked, Harley-riding investor while chain-smoking Marlboro Reds. Jamie told the investor about his startup, and the two talked about alternative wellness between drags. A week later, the investor signed a check. Smoking poles put him in pole position.
It's all weird but specifically "smoking poles" has a different meaning as far as I'm aware. I can't quickly Google up anyone using "pole" to mean cigarette.