AI - Artificial Intelligence or Artificial Ignorance?

[Carolinian]

It'll be real interesting to see how this plays out in the courts, simply because Google isn't making the statements in some official capacity. Before you log in to all AI systems I've seen there are disclaimers that the information given may be mistaken or wholly made up. It's been argued and has so far lost in court that algorithms promoting engagement and ragebait also push more extreme positions as you click through more Youtube videos for instance. Somehow choosing the order and placement of showing you articles or information has been held to NOT make you a publisher so again, you're not liable for the algorithm.

The trickier thing about AI is how does it phrase the alleged slander will matter also, and because it's different for each prompt and time prompting, it's probably going to get into arguments about how the AI was prompted too. We know you can kind of "force" an AI to say some outlandish things based on bullying prompts. I won't say that is the case here, I have no idea. In some sense, this has turned into a Streisand effect. I only know about this because of the lawsuits and reporting.

In this case, Google was notified of the slander and did nothing about it for two years. Their hide needs to be nailed to the wall for that.

 

[nomoretslt]

A month or two ago, a big scandal occurred regarding a high up person in education that never should have had that position to begin with. There were reportedly “connections” that helped this person along, and when I first started researching these allegations, the unwanted AI analysis that now appears at the top of any google search said “claims that so and so had connections with so and so are false.” Turns out AI’s claims were false. In the meanwhile those that saw AI’s first analysis still walk around with false information in their head. Kind of scary. Especially when they try to argue with you. I now ignore the AI.

 

[x3 skier]

My echo dot keeps asking me if I want to add whatever AI Amazon uses to its response. I hope it is being trained to stop asking or something else buy my vehement NO!!!

 

[Tia]

A month or two ago, a big scandal occurred regarding a high up person in education that never should have had that position to begin with. There were reportedly “connections” that helped this person along, and when I first started researching these allegations, the unwanted AI analysis that now appears at the top of any google search said “claims that so and so had connections with so and so are false.” Turns out AI’s claims were false. In the meanwhile those that saw AI’s first analysis still walk around with false information in their head. Kind of scary. Especially when they try to argue with you. I now ignore the AI.

huge problem in that

 

[CalGalTraveler]

For all of it's warts AI is still useful as long as a human is in the loop. I just used it to help me price and negotiate a new car purchase. I was able to plug in the accessories/sticker on both cars/dealers and it gave me instant answers on what to compare in a nice table and how much consumers are realistically paying for the vehicle. It gave me step by step email negotiating points and written emails to send to each dealer. I am saving 10k+ off MSRP.

 

[Brett]

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/09/anthropic-researchers-ai-human-extinction


Meanwhile party like it's 2029

 

[x3 skier]

For all of it's warts AI is still useful as long as a human is in the loop. I just used it to help me price and negotiate a new car purchase. I was able to plug in the accessories/sticker on both cars/dealers and it gave me instant answers on what to compare in a nice table and how much consumers are realistically paying for the vehicle. It gave me step by step email negotiating points and written emails to send to each dealer. I am saving 10k+ off MSRP.

“I am saving” or “I saved” ? Did you actually get the car? Just curious.

 

[Carolinian]

View attachment 129234

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/09/anthropic-researchers-ai-human-extinction


Meanwhile party like it's 2029

There needs to be more controls on AI, but with a race between the US and China for the best AI, I suspect that will not happen.

 

["Roger"]

View attachment 129234

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/09/anthropic-researchers-ai-human-extinction


Meanwhile party like it's 2029

A follow up on this: There were three researchers who developed the NVIDIA chip which led to AI. One of them thinks that there is no chance, none, that AI will lead to something that will cause the extinction of the human race. The other two put p(doom) -- the probability that AI will eliminate the human race -- at 50%. Most likely method for doing this. Create a virus that eliminates the human race.

I am sure that some will treat such a possibility as wildly fanciful (agreeing with the one researcher), but it is very concerning that two people far more knowledgeable than I am do not think it is fanciful at all.

 

[dioxide45]

A follow up on this: There were three researchers who developed the NVIDIA chip which led to AI. One of them thinks that there is no chance, none, that AI will lead to something that will cause the extinction of the human race. The other two put p(doom) -- the probability that AI will eliminate the human race -- at 50%. Most likely method for doing this. Create a virus that eliminates the human race.

I am sure that some will treat such a possibility as wildly fanciful (agreeing with the one researcher), but it is very concerning that two people far more knowledgeable than I am do not think it is fanciful at all.

Until AI can build it's own machines, there isn't really much chance of it creating a virus that can eliminate the human race.

 

[jp10558]

Until AI can build it's own machines, there isn't really much chance of it creating a virus that can eliminate the human race.

I assume they mean via a ... human stooge let's say.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

“I am saving” or “I saved” ? Did you actually get the car? Just curious.

Yes we ultimately bought the car. We saved $10,000+ over 2025 and $17000 over 2026 models.

It was a unique situation because it was a dealer test drive car that had 4 miles on it so it was considered used. The dealer had moved and this car as well as several others, had been stored in the back of a warehouse and they finally realized they had it in inventory and wanted to get it off their lot before the 2026 models came in. We drove to LA to get it (6 hour drive), but we were visiting relatives for the holidays and rather than flying, we drove the car back home.

Needle in the haystack deal and AI found it. Very happy.

 

[dioxide45]

It was a unique situation because it was a dealer test drive car that had 4 miles on it so it was considered used.

I know this is off topic, but isn't that every car on a new car lot? No car is sitting there with 0 miles. Just driving a car off the assembly line to the truck and from the truck to the dealer lot adds miles. By definition, a used car is one that's never been titled to a private individual. A YouTube channel I watch often sells demo/loaner vehicles as a new car. These might have hundreds or thousands of miles. New cars are usually eligible for certain discounts and rebates that a used car wouldn't be eligible for.

 

[dioxide45]

I find the overall "hate" for AI to be very odd. It's especially thick on sites like Reddit. You can't even post and say you've used AI without getting completely attacked. I suspect other revolutionary technologies have done similar things throughout history. I am sure there were many people that didn't like cars when they first came along. Cars killed off much of the blacksmith industry when the horse and buggy went away. We see similar things with EVs and self driving. I looked it up and similar has happened with the telephone, calculators and the printing press. Mostly things we simply take for granted today.

Perhaps AI has a bigger chance to kill a lot more jobs than those other technologies did, but I expect it will create different jobs as most of those other technologies did throughout history. AI certainly makes me more productive and helps me produce a better quality result in the end. I used to be more negative on AI and still don't really think of LLMs as true AI, but it has been helping me and I use them every day now.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I know this is off topic, but isn't that every car on a new car lot? No car is sitting there with 0 miles. Just driving a car off the assembly line to the truck and from the truck to the dealer lot adds miles. By definition, a used car is one that's never been titled to a private individual. A YouTube channel I watch often sells demo/loaner vehicles as a new car. These might have hundreds or thousands of miles. New cars are usually eligible for certain discounts and rebates that a used car wouldn't be eligible for.

Apparently the dealer had plates issued because they were planning to use it as a test drive vehicle. I'm not certain of all the details but I had to sign something that indicated that we knew that the car was "used" I believe they forgot about the car at the back of their warehouse. Even the salesperson was surprised that it haf so few miles on it when we had them pull it out of the warehouse. It had the original factory plasticwrappings. Definitely a unicorn.

We had already agreed on the price on the phone before arriving in the showroom so they couldn't change what had already been agreed

 

[dioxide45]

Apparently the dealer had plates issued because they were planning to use it as a test drive vehicle. I'm not certain of all the details but I had to sign something that indicated that we knew that the car was "used" I believe they forgot about the car at the back of their warehouse. Even the salesperson was surprised that it haf so few miles on it when we had them pull it out of the warehouse. It had the original factory plasticwrappings. Definitely a unicorn.

We had already agreed on the price on the phone before arriving in the showroom so they couldn't change what had already been agreed

Seems odd though. Dealers usually have dealer plates issued to the entity and aren't tied to a specific car. They move the plates from one car to the next as they do test drives. In any case, it seems like AI helped you find a good deal. Though the same deal might have been available if it were listed as a new car as the additional incentives and rebates could have saved you similar amounts of money.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Seems odd though. Dealers usually have dealer plates issued to the entity and aren't tied to a specific car. They move the plates from one car to the next as they do test drives. In any case, it seems like AI helped you find a good deal. Though the same deal might have been available if it were listed as a new car as the additional incentives and rebates could have saved you similar amounts of money.

This was a premium car. I couldn't find any dealer willing to come near this price with the same vehicle trim. Buying a car is a once is a decade event for us so we were willing to drive cross country to get a great deal. The vehicle it replaced was a 20 year old BMW.

 

[billymach4]

I know this is off topic, but isn't that every car on a new car lot? No car is sitting there with 0 miles. Just driving a car off the assembly line to the truck and from the truck to the dealer lot adds miles. By definition, a used car is one that's never been titled to a private individual. A YouTube channel I watch often sells demo/loaner vehicles as a new car. These might have hundreds or thousands of miles. New cars are usually eligible for certain discounts and rebates that a used car wouldn't be eligible for.

Lately I've been hooked Tomi Mikula of Delivrd. Also Benz n Bowties. What YT Channel are you watching?

 

[dioxide45]

Lately I've been hooked Tomi Mikula of Delivrd. Also Benz n Bowties. What YT Channel are you watching?

I don't know really and it isn't deep stuff. Just seems to be shorts that show up through my feed. It is a Mercedes dealer in Ohio.

 

[billymach4]

I don't know really and it isn't deep stuff. Just seems to be shorts that show up through my feed. It is a Mercedes dealer in Ohio.

Benz n Bowties

 

[Chrispee]

IWhen I was in university I worked part time at a car dealership (albeit in Canada). Occasionally a dealership will move a new car to used inventory despite not having being titled or used as a loaner. The most common reason I saw was if the dealership was one car away from hitting a lucrative manufacturer bonus that month. More rarely, I think if a vehicle had been sitting for a long time without selling the dealership could want it off their floorplan financing.

If the USA is like Canada when it comes to dealer demo plates, the actual test drive dealer plates are different than the loaner car plates.

 

[dioxide45]

Benz n Bowties

That's the channel. Those shorts made me realize that even people buying luxury cars make really stupid financial decisions. Like $50K in negative equity or wanting to trade in after owning for a few months.

 

[youppi]

Apparently the dealer had plates issued because they were planning to use it as a test drive vehicle. I'm not certain of all the details but I had to sign something that indicated that we knew that the car was "used" I believe they forgot about the car at the back of their warehouse. Even the salesperson was surprised that it haf so few miles on it when we had them pull it out of the warehouse. It had the original factory plasticwrappings. Definitely a unicorn.

We had already agreed on the price on the phone before arriving in the showroom so they couldn't change what had already been agreed

Do they have punched the car (sold to their own service department) many months/years ago ? When they do this, the warranty starts at that time and when they sell it later, they should discount it as a used car even if it's brand new.
I bought one of my cars like that 10 years ago. The dealer punched the car in January, plated it in July for a sale director, he made 1200 km and I bought it in September with ~9 months lost on the warranty but I saved 20% of the car price like a 1 year used car.

 

[youppi]

IWhen I was in university I worked part time at a car dealership (albeit in Canada). Occasionally a dealership will move a new car to used inventory despite not having being titled or used as a loaner. The most common reason I saw was if the dealership was one car away from hitting a lucrative manufacturer bonus that month. More rarely, I think if a vehicle had been sitting for a long time without selling the dealership could want it off their floorplan financing.

If the USA is like Canada when it comes to dealer demo plates, the actual test drive dealer plates are different than the loaner car plates.

Punching cars exist in the USA too.
As per Gemini:
Yes, "punching" cars exists in the United States exactly as it does in Canada. In fact, because the U.S. automotive market is roughly ten times larger than Canada's, the scale of punching is much more massive south of the border. [1, 2]
The practice is governed by the exact same North American auto manufacturer frameworks (OEMs) and corporate sales targets across both countries. [1]

The Scale of Punching in the USA
In the U.S., punching is an open industry reality and has occasionally sparked major national controversies: [1, 2]

• The Luxury Brand Wars: Automotive executives from companies like BMW of North America have publicly admitted that the pressure to win the "Top Luxury Seller" title in the U.S. has led to thousands of cars being punched at the end of the year to inflate sales figures on paper. [1]
• Federal Investigations: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has actively penalized automakers for this. For instance, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) paid a $40 million penalty following a federal investigation into allegations that they systematically rewarded dealers for punching fake sales numbers to maintain an artificial streak of monthly growth. [1]

What Americans Call It
While "punching" or a "punched car" is universally recognized by car salespeople across North America, U.S. dealerships and consumers also use a few other common terms for them: [1, 2]

• Service Loaners / Demo Cars: This is the legitimate vehicle category they are moved into.
• RDR (Retail Delivery Report): The official paperwork name for submitting a car as sold to the manufacturer. A fake punch is sometimes called "dropping an RDR".
• Retired Loaners or CVP (Courtesy Vehicle Program) Cars: Often sold as a distinct category on U.S. dealer lots. [1, 2, 3]

 

[jp10558]

I know this is off topic, but isn't that every car on a new car lot? No car is sitting there with 0 miles. Just driving a car off the assembly line to the truck and from the truck to the dealer lot adds miles.

I think the closest I've gotten was ~3 miles on a car I bought from Honda while it was on the truck to the dealer. Even my special ordered Subarus ended up with 4ish miles because I guess probably moving them to the port final assembly locations and back where they installed things like the self dimming mirrors.