One of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’

Cory Doctorow shared the exact same opinion in this interview he gave this week. I personally don’t think his “reverse centaur” idea is nearly as catchy or worth adopting as enshittification was, but the intent behind it is spot on.

Reverse centaur is a terrible term. Even having heard it explained, repeatedly, I could not even explain what it means. It’s not catchy, too many weird syllables; the word “centaur” makes it sound nerdy as fuck for any casual use, I doubt most normal people even remember what a centaur is; and it just does not immediately convey it’s meaning as a result.

What is it even supposed to mean?

centaur: brain of a man, speed of a horse. reverse centaur: brain of a horse, speed of a man.

but the horse is the computer.

brain of a horse, speed of a man.

This is wrong on so many levels. We wouldn’t bother even using LLMs if they are were merely the “speed of a man”. And anybody who’s bothered to actually use the technology can tell you that’s it doesn’t have the “brain of a horse”.

Human review is still important, but the depth of knowledge they have is pretty damn advanced. The moment you completely remove the human element is where everything falls apart.