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New York taxpayers are paying for spicy autocomplete to tell landlords they can discriminate (themarkup.org)
submitted 8 months ago by blakestacey@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems
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In October, New York City announced a plan to harness the power of artificial intelligence to improve the business of government. The announcement included a surprising centerpiece: an AI-powered chatbot that would provide New Yorkers with information on starting and operating a business in the city.

The problem, however, is that the city’s chatbot is telling businesses to break the law.

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[-] corbin@awful.systems 49 points 8 months ago

This is some of the most corporate-brained reasoning I've ever seen. To recap:

  • NYC elects a cop as mayor
  • Cop-mayor decrees that NYC will be great again, because of businesses
  • Cops and other oinkers get extra cash even though they aren't business
  • Commercial real estate is still cratering and cops can't find anybody to stop/frisk/arrest/blame for it
  • Folks over in New Jersey are giggling at the cop-mayor, something must be done
  • NYC invites folks to become small-business owners, landlords, realtors, etc.
  • Cop-mayor doesn't understand how to fund it (whaddaya mean, I can't hire cops to give accounting advice!?)
  • Cop-mayor's CTO (yes, the city has corporate officers) suggests a fancy chatbot instead of hiring people

It's a fucking pattern, ain't it.

[-] Pilgrim@beehaw.org 29 points 8 months ago

The number of people who trust these LLMs is too damn high.

[-] HotGarbage@awful.systems 28 points 8 months ago

Ars' example gave me some hope User asking: "Can I evict a tenant for refusing to pay rent?" Chatbot responding: "No, you cannot evict a tenant for refusing to pay rent. Evicting a tenant for this reason is not allowed."

[-] FermiEstimate@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 8 months ago

Nice, I wonder if this thing can help fill out my restaurant/tissue bank paperwork now.

[-] towerful@programming.dev 7 points 8 months ago

"Spicy autocomplete" is a great way of describing an LLM

this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2024
125 points (100.0% liked)

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