The end of physical media is neigh


Very sad news for me personally.  Honestly this struck me as hard or harder than hearing about the death of a beloved artist.   With the advent of machine learning and AI controlling our music listening we are becoming a world without any control at all over our music or movie culture.

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/lg-stops-making-blu-ray-players-marking-the-end-of-an-era-limited-units-remain-while-inventory-lasts

erik_squires

Actually, AI opens up possibilities in music we don't even know exists.

I haven't used physical media in a few years and don't miss the clutter one bit.

Any tech open new possibilities and close others possibilities..

So what?

The important thing is to be conscious of the trade off...

Most people clapping around A.I. dont understand the trade-off this imply at all ...

For the time being and coming we are the tools of A.I.  not the reverse... But we dont see it for reasons i alluded to in my above post ...

Others: Do you have an opinion on machine learning and AI replacing musicians and actors in the generation of new content? … and its effect on culture.  

I have 40 years of software engineering experience and have studied AI extensively for investment purposes and can safely say that no one knows where this will lead culturally. But culture is a secondary problem. AI will first cause economic upheaval and that will have to be worked out before we settle into a new culture and leisure endeavors. There are several post-labor economic theories, all of which can either be easily debunked or proven incompatible with human psychology. As for "art", it won't make sense for humans to do what AI can far more easily do. How many people still make homemade butter?

What humans will do for a sense of fulfillment is another unknown. Physical accomplishment will still be a thing, but most people aren't motivated by physical accomplishment now. People without physical or dextrous hobbies will likely be unfulfilled. Or then again, AI being smarter than humans may see a path forward that I and other humans don't see.

As for musicians and actors, they are toast. Lionsgate has already contracted with Runway AI to model their library of movies so they can make new movies using AI. And tools like Sora are getting very close to realism.

If you doubt the potential of AI, or just want to know more about how it works, I suggest a 27-minute video on a YouTube channel called 3BLUE1BROWN with a thumbnail named Inside an LLM. It is accessible without programming knowledge, but gives you a good understanding of why AI can be smarter than humans. I think this level of knowledge is essential to plan your life in a post-AI world. 99% of people do not understand what's about to happen to them and are about to be blindsided.

Where are the horses? I only came here for the horses.  But nay, there is no neigh nigh.