The Nintendo Thread of Existential Doom

[Bongo]

Language models do not have any concept of truth or meaning. They will state falsehoods because the words are statistically likely to appear in that order. You should always verify the output unless the only thing you need it to be is grammatically comprehensible.

 

[Lokii]

The sonic bootleg for NES has a red seal because at the end Sonic kills Robotnick.

 

[q 3]

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Do you want a Butlerian Jihad? Because this is how you get a Butlerian Jihad.

 

[muteKi]

Muad'Dib time

 

[Mogri]

ChatGPT is really good at making stuff up because it just spiders through the Internet and pulls together the information it finds. If it hears bullshit, it will spout bullshit. It's a sophisticated parrot.

It is very similar to a human in this sense.

 

[Sprite]

When I tried out ChatGPT it gave me a pop-up to the effect of “this thing will make factual errors, please do not use it to look up facts” but of course that’s what everyone does.

 

[Exposition Owl]

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

(This isn't meant to criticize you--I love a good Dune reference, after all. I'm just venting.) The thing is that these programs *aren't* machines made in the likeness of a human mind, and half the problem is that people are treating them as though they were. I would like to think that if you were to say to people, "We're going to write a program that does a Google search on whatever question you type in, but it will give the results in the form of a paragraph rather than a page of links," they'd be taking things with the necessary grains of salt. However, because we call this "AI," people think they're talking to the frakking Enterprise computer, which would of course never give incorrect exposition.

 

[Kazin]

ChatGPT told me Pokemon Emerald had a day/night cycle and thus you could evolve Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon normally based on happiness and the time of day, like in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal. It was then that I knew ChatGPT was total bullshit. I wish I was kidding lol

 

[Sprite]

I asked it to tell me a story about a pair of shoes that became sentient and used a riding mower to fly to the moon. The story was charming enough but halfway through it forgot that shoes are shoes and treated them like an alien species.

 

[Vega]

I also asked ChatGPT why Metroid Prime was developed in the United States, and part of its answer claimed Miyamoto created the Metroid franchise. Buzz, wrong.

I asked it to tell me a story about a pair of shoes that became sentient and used a riding mower to fly to the moon. The story was charming enough but halfway through it forgot that shoes are shoes and treated them like an alien species.

A human screenwriter on a deadline and with enough creative freedom will make a choice like this.

 

[ShakeWell]

Do you want a Butlerian Jihad? Because this is how you get a Butlerian Jihad.

Am I too old to be a Mentat? Because if not, then yes, I do want that.

 

[Vega]

I would like to think that if you were to say to people, "We're going to write a program that does a Google search on whatever question you type in, but it will give the results in the form of a paragraph rather than a page of links," they'd be taking things with the necessary grains of salt. However, because we call this "AI," people think they're talking to the frakking Enterprise computer, which would of course never give incorrect exposition.

The next Star Trek episode is about how all the Enterprise computer does is return the results of a Google search in the form of a paragraph, and how the crew needs to be skeptical of its results, but they're too lazy to do that and it leads to their ruin.

 

[Exposition Owl]

The next Star Trek episode is about how all the Enterprise computer does is return the results of a Google search in the form of a paragraph, and how the crew needs to be skeptical of its results, but they're too lazy to do that and it leads to their ruin.

An episode in which the problem was that the ship’s computer wasn’t smart enough would make for an interesting change of pace. Usually what gets the crew into trouble is that the Enterprise is too smart.

 

[Violentvixen]

An episode in which the problem was that the ship’s computer wasn’t smart enough would make for an interesting change of pace. Usually what gets the crew into trouble is that the Enterprise is too smart.

Wait, has that really never happened? I don't watch a lot of Star Trek, but the computer always giving correct information is kind of shocking.

 

[Sprite]

I do love the one where they meet the culture that communicates entirely through mythological memes and Troi gets frustrated trying to get information from the computer because it returns far too many results to be at all useful. That falls under “too smart” though.

 

[Octopus Prime]

There was one episode where Dr. Crusher had to convince the computer it was wrong because the population of the universe kept shrinking because of Time Loop Shenanigans.

 

[YangusKhan]

Wait, has that really never happened? I don't watch a lot of Star Trek, but the computer always giving correct information is kind of shocking.

Some Holodeck episodes might be adjacent to this, I suppose. That's one way the writers can typically throw in some "computer gone amok" type stuff. But that still kinda feels like what Sprite is saying with "computer is too smart."

 

[Vega]

There was a film series from Poland in the 1980s called The Decalogue. Each part was inspired by one of the ten commandments. The one about "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" was about a man who wrote a computer program to predict the thickness of pond ice for his son to skate on, but he had too much faith in the answer and the ice turned out to be too thin and the boy fell in and drowned.

I found out about it from a review of the anime show Human Crossing, which has similar storytelling ambitions.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

I also asked ChatGPT why Metroid Prime was developed in the United States, and part of its answer claimed Miyamoto created the Metroid franchise. Buzz, wrong.

Yet I'm sure there are real people who have made that mistake.

 

[Vega]

Yet I'm sure there are real people who have made that mistake.

I think Miyamoto contributed more to Prime (3D game development experience, turning Ocarina of Time's Navi into the info scanner) than Sakimoto did (lore), so I don't really begrudge people this point.

 

[Phantoon]

I asked it to tell me a story about a pair of shoes that became sentient and used a riding mower to fly to the moon. The story was charming enough but halfway through it forgot that shoes are shoes and treated them like an alien species.

That sounds quite like a dream to me. They lose the thread quite badly too

 

[Sprite]

That sounds quite like a dream to me. They lose the thread quite badly too

AI videos are absolutely dreams. They’re so accurate it’s terrifying.

 

[Vega]

AI-generated TV ad for a pizzaria.

 

[Violentvixen]

AI-generated TV ad for a pizzaria.

Terrifying

 

[Vega]

What if the Virtual Boy, Power Glove and Nintendo 64 merged into one product?

 

[Becksworth]

Hey now, this is the Nintendo Thread of Existential Doom, not the AI Thread of Existential Nightmare Fuel.

 

[Tato]

Finished Pulseman on NSO, it was good. Doesn't do as much with its gimmick as it could and the level design is a bit blah aesthetically, but it was a fun platformer that didn't overstay its welcome. I'd put it well below Dynamite Headdy and Ristar but it's still a nice time.

 

[Becksworth]

Switch sales were "dissappointing" last year. It's almost like it's in 7th year now and is already the 3rd best selling gaming console/handheld of all time (and hell even if its decline continues faster than expected it will still likely be awfully close to the top two by the end).

Now I'm just throwing this out there Nintendo: Have you considered a price drop?

 

[RT-55J]

we all know in our heart of hearts that eventually the Switch 1 and Switch 2 will be on store shelves at the same time, both retailing for $299 for all eternity