But parent shouldn't feel too proud of their prognostication skills. OpenAI is a venture of Sam Altman and Elon Musk, so how could it be anything other than what it is? You'd have to be insanely naive about SV (and, more broadly, what "non profits" of billionaires in any sector even are) to assume this was ever born of altruism.
Yet the vast, vast majority did and a still large proprtion continue to proclaim that these projects were born of altruism and continue to serve these altruistic goals and these people are most incredible altruistic humans to ever grace this fine planet of ours.
I also don't profess surprise at who OpenAI have turned out to be. Rather I am surprised that other people are surprised.
It's not a heel turn, except in their wider cultural fortunes. It has been obvious to me from literally day one that everything to do with DALL-E and ChatGPT and onwards is bad for culture. There has never been anything other than creepy, dystopian, Black Mirror overtones.
But the valley falls for hucksters every time. And it's often the same hucksters.
It's not just schadenfreude (which I admit is unattractive, if beguiling.)
It also gives me hope that ordinary people are beginning to get to grips with the idea that they don't have to accept or be excited for new technologies just because they are new technologies, and that the people bringing new technologies don't have to be good people just because they are capable people. Seemingly smart people can be intellectually and morally lazy.
I have no obligation as a techie person to be excited about AI, or to be default-positive about the "leading firm", or to give the benefit of the doubt, or anything like that. There's no moral rule that one should be positive about new technology until it's proved bad. This is a classic tech industry false belief.
OK so the fall is not happening as quickly as Juicero. But it's a start.
What's your case for why should I not be happy?