Sam Altman Is Full Of Shit
www.wheresyoured.at
Note: In my last newsletter, I said that my next post would be the second part of my Facebook autopsy. Donā€™t worry, thatā€™s still coming, but given the recent drama between Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Scarlett Johansson, I felt the need to write something. Donā€™t worry, I

Wake up honey, new Zitron just dropped.

Looks like Sammy boy has a crush on Scarlett Johansson and wanted to model his sexy chatbot after her role in the movie Her. The damage control is actually hilarious.

Altman subsequently claimed that the actress for Sky was cast before the company reached out to Johansson.

ā€œYeah, I donā€™t want to go out with you anyway. Also, I already have a girlfriend but she goes to a different school, so you wouldnā€™t know her. And no, I wonā€™t tell you who it is!ā€

I mean, we all knew that OpenAI is a fucking clown show of a company run by wannabe nerd frat boys with way too much money, but I didnā€™t think weā€™d get high school level relationship drama this season.

  • mad_asshatter@lemmy.worldEnglish
    239Ā·
    6 months ago

    Hey, Iā€™m gonna be THAT guy:

    This begs the question: If the voice behind Sky belongsā€¦

    No, it doesnā€™t. It raises (prompts) the question.

    Begging the question

    I feel much better, thanks.

    • zogwarg@awful.systemsEnglish
      33Ā·
      6 months ago

      Hi, Iā€™m going to be that OTHER guy:

      Thank god not all dictionaries are prescriptivists and simply reflect the natural usage: Cambridge dictionary: Beg the question

      On a side rant ā€œbegging the questionā€ is a terrible name for this bias, and the very wikipedia page youā€™ve been so kind to offer provides the much more transparent ā€œassuming the conclusionā€.

      If you absolutely wanted to translate from the original latin/greek (petitio principii/Ļ„į½ø į¼Ī½ į¼€ĻĻ‡įæ‡ Ī±į¼°Ļ„Īµįæ–ĻƒĪøĪ±Ī¹): ā€œbeginning with an askā€, where ask = assumption of the premise. [Which happens to also be more transparent]

      Just because weā€™ve inherited terrible translations does not mean we should seek to perpetuate them though sheer cultural inertia, and much less chastise others when using the much more natural meaning of the words ā€œbeg the questionā€. [I have to wonder if begging here is somehow a corruption of ā€œbeginā€ but I canā€™t find sources to back this up, and donā€™t want to waste too much time looking]

      I feel mildly better, thanks.

      • blakestacey@awful.systemsEnglish
        18Ā·
        6 months ago

        If natively fluent speakers of the English language use beg the question in the ā€œwrongā€ way time and time again, finding the ā€œincorrectā€ meaning a natural fit with their understanding of the verb to beg, then the ā€œincorrectā€ meaning may well be the one we should roll with.

        • Mike@awful.systemsEnglish
          13Ā·
          6 months ago

          Pedants being wrong on the Internet is exactly why I have an OED subscription. :) ā€œBeg the questionā€ in the sense of ā€œto assume without proofā€ doesnā€™t have a supporting quote newer than 1870, which suggests to me thatā€¦ yeah, it can be considered obsolete.

            • gerikson@awful.systemsEnglish
              9Ā·
              6 months ago

              Thereā€™s a segment of the population that would be enormously relieved if phrases like a question that begs an answer replaced the usual begs the question uses. These are people who think using beg the question to mean ā€œto cause someone to ask a specified question as a reaction or responseā€ is completely and thoroughly wrong. There are probably more of these people than you think, and they are judging the rest of us.

              Well put M-W staff writer, well put.

        • nonfuinoncuro@lemm.eeEnglish
          61Ā·
          6 months ago

          I also stopped correcting people about the ā€œcorrectā€ meaning of ā€˜mootā€™ a while ago too. Also when http://begthequestion.info went offline I hung up that hat for good. Still get a twinge inside every time I hear either