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Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/128.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/{VERSION} (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/)", "https://tomrenner.com/posts/llm-inevitabilism/" ], "cmd_version": "8.10.1", "end_ts": "2025-07-15T14:47:34.630066+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1752590841.965587", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2025-07-15T14:47:34.580890+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [ { "cmd": [ "(internal) archivebox.extractors.htmltotext", "./{singlefile,dom}.html" ], "cmd_version": "0.8.5rc51", "end_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:13.916191+00:00", "index_texts": [ "The sound of inevitability | My place to put things (/ananke/css/main.min.320ea08c95c252fe4f94f9f4eb96f8eba864e6b6736be7e8518699ff454f1301.css) (https://tomrenner.com/posts/llm-inevitabilism/) (/) My place to put things (/about/) (About page) About (/contact/) (Contact page) Contact (/posts/) (Posts page) Posts (https://mastodon.social/@trenner) (follow on Mastodon - Opens in a new window) (https://github.com/tr325/) (follow on GitHub - Opens in a new window) (http://linkedin.com/in/tom-renner) (follow on LinkedIn - Opens in a new window) The sound of inevitability Posts (https://bsky.app/intent/compose?&text=https%3A%2F%2Ftomrenner.com%2Fposts%2Fllm-inevitabilism%2F) (Share on Bluesky) (https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?&t=Have+you+ever+argued+with+someone+who+is+seriously+good+at+debating%3F+I+have.+It+sucks.%0AYou%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bre+constantly+thrown+off-balance%2C+responding+to+a+point+you+didn%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bt+expect+to.+You+find+yourself+defending+the+weak+edges+of+your+argument%2C+while+the+main+thrust+gets+left+behind+in+the+back-and-forth%2C+and+you+end+up+losing+momentum%2C+confidence%2C+and+ultimately%2C+the+argument.%0AOne+of+my+close+friends+won+international+debate+competitions+for+fun+while+we+were+at+university+%28he%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bs+now+a+successful+criminal+barrister%29%2C+and+he+told+me+that+the+only+trick+in+the+book%2C+once+you+boil+it+all+down%2C+is+to+make+sure+the+conversation+is+framed+in+your+terms.+Once+that+happens%2C+it%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bs+all+over+bar+the+shouting.%0A&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftomrenner.com%2Fposts%2Fllm-inevitabilism%2F) (Share on Hacker News) (https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?&mini=true&source=https%3A%2F%2Ftomrenner.com%2Fposts%2Fllm-inevitabilism%2F&summary=Have+you+ever+argued+with+someone+who+is+seriously+good+at+debating%3F+I+have.+It+sucks.%0AYou%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bre+constantly+thrown+off-balance%2C+responding+to+a+point+you+didn%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bt+expect+to.+You+find+yourself+defending+the+weak+edges+of+your+argument%2C+while+the+main+thrust+gets+left+behind+in+the+back-and-forth%2C+and+you+end+up+losing+momentum%2C+confidence%2C+and+ultimately%2C+the+argument.%0AOne+of+my+close+friends+won+international+debate+competitions+for+fun+while+we+were+at+university+%28he%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bs+now+a+successful+criminal+barrister%29%2C+and+he+told+me+that+the+only+trick+in+the+book%2C+once+you+boil+it+all+down%2C+is+to+make+sure+the+conversation+is+framed+in+your+terms.+Once+that+happens%2C+it%26amp%3Brsquo%3Bs+all+over+bar+the+shouting.%0A&title=The+sound+of+inevitability&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftomrenner.com%2Fposts%2Fllm-inevitabilism%2F) (Share on LinkedIn) (https://reddit.com/submit/?&resubmit=true&title=The+sound+of+inevitability&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftomrenner.com%2Fposts%2Fllm-inevitabilism%2F) (Share on Reddit) The sound of inevitability By Tom Renner July 12, 2025 - 3 minutes read - 479 words Have you ever argued with someone who is seriously good at debating? I have. It sucks. You\u2019re constantly thrown off-balance, responding to a point you didn\u2019t expect to. You find yourself defending the weak edges of your argument, while the main thrust gets left behind in the back-and-forth, and you end up losing momentum, confidence, and ultimately, the argument. One of my close friends won international debate competitions for fun while we were at university (he\u2019s now a successful criminal barrister), and he told me that the only trick in the book, once you boil it all down, is to make sure the conversation is framed in your terms. Once that happens, it\u2019s all over bar the shouting. Earlier this year I read Professor Shoshana Zuboff\u2019s fantastic book (https://shoshanazuboff.com/book/about/) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism . I learned a lot from it (and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll rave about it in more detail in other posts), including many new terms for phenomina that have long frustreated me. Being able to put a name to something abstract allows you to more easily build an argument about it, explain the concept to strangers, and unify opposition to it. It\u2019s a key success of Professor Zuboff\u2019s book that it has introduced so many new terms to the lexicon. The word that is relevant to this post is \u201cInevitabilism\u201d. () (Inevitabilism: the belief that certain developments are impossible to avoid) People advancing an inevitabilist world view state that the future they perceive will inevitably come to pass. It follows, relatively straightforwardly, that the only sensible way to respond to this is to prepare as best you can for that future. This is a fantastic framing method. Anyone who sees the future differently to you can be brushed aside as \u201cignoring reality\u201d, and the only conversations worth engaging are those that already accept your premise . \u201cWe are entering a world where we will learn to coexist with AI, not as its masters, but as its collaborators.\u201d \u2013 Mark Zuckerberg \u201cAI is the new electricity.\u201d \u2013 Andrew Ng \u201cAI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don\u2019t.\u201d \u2013 Ginni Rometty These are some big names in the tech world, all framing the conversation in a very specific way. Rather than \u201cis this the future you want?\u201d , the question is instead \u201chow will you adapt to this inevitable future?\u201d . Note also the threatening tone present, a healthy psychological undercurrent encouraging you to go with the flow, because you\u2019d otherwise be messing with scary powers way beyond your understanding. I\u2019m not convinced that LLMs are the future. I\u2019m certainly not convinced that they\u2019re the future I want. But what I\u2019m most certain of is that we have choices about what our future should look like, and how we choose to use machines to build it. Don\u2019t let inevitabilism frame the argument and take away your choice. Think about the future you want, and fight for it. (/tags/technologies/) Technologies (/tags/ai/) AI Related (/posts/cull-your-dependencies/) Cull your dependencies (/posts/should-we-welcome-or-fear-the-metaverse/) Should we welcome or fear the Metaverse? (/posts/why-am-i-doing-this-again/) Why am I doing this again? (https://tomrenner.com/) \u00a9 My place to put things 2025 (https://mastodon.social/@trenner) (follow on Mastodon - Opens in a new window) (https://github.com/tr325/) (follow on GitHub - Opens in a new window) (http://linkedin.com/in/tom-renner) (follow on LinkedIn - Opens in a new window) " ], "output": "htmltotext.txt", "pwd": "/data/archive/1752590841.965587", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:13.855234+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "media": [ { "cmd": [ "/usr/local/bin/yt-dlp", "--restrict-filenames", "--trim-filenames", "128", "--write-description", "--write-info-json", "--write-annotations", "--write-thumbnail", "--no-call-home", "--write-sub", "--write-auto-subs", "--convert-subs=srt", "--yes-playlist", "--continue", "--no-abort-on-error", "--ignore-errors", "--geo-bypass", "--add-metadata", "--format=(bv*+ba/b)[filesize<=750m][filesize_approx<=?750m]/(bv*+ba/b)", "--skip-download", "--cache-dir=/data/yt-dlp-cache/", "--cookies=/data/yt-dlp-cache/cookies.txt", "--proxy=socks5://tor-socks-proxy:9150", "--no-playlist", "https://tomrenner.com/posts/llm-inevitabilism/" ], "cmd_version": "2024.10.7", "end_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:27.107136+00:00", "index_texts": [], "output": "media/", "pwd": "/data/archive/1752590841.965587", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:18.579082+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/home/archivebox/.npm/bin/postlight-parser", "https://tomrenner.com/posts/llm-inevitabilism/" ], "cmd_version": "2.2.3", "end_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:13.760860+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury/", "pwd": "/data/archive/1752590841.965587", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2025-07-15T14:48:06.522993+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/home/archivebox/.npm/bin/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmpcyao5faj", "https://tomrenner.com/posts/llm-inevitabilism/" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2025-07-15T14:47:52.220241+00:00", "index_texts": [ "Have you ever argued with someone who is seriously good at debating? I have. It sucks.\nYou\u2019re constantly thrown off-balance, responding to a point you didn\u2019t expect to. You find yourself defending the weak edges of your argument, while the main thrust gets left behind in the back-and-forth, and you end up losing momentum, confidence, and ultimately, the argument.\nOne of my close friends won international debate competitions for fun while we were at university (he\u2019s now a successful criminal barrister), and he told me that the only trick in the book, once you boil it all down, is to make sure the conversation is framed in your terms. Once that happens, it\u2019s all over bar the shouting.\n\nEarlier this year I read Professor Shoshana Zuboff\u2019s fantastic book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. I learned a lot from it (and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll rave about it in more detail in other posts), including many new terms for phenomina that have long frustreated me.\nBeing able to put a name to something abstract allows you to more easily build an argument about it, explain the concept to strangers, and unify opposition to it. It\u2019s a key success of Professor Zuboff\u2019s book that it has introduced so many new terms to the lexicon.\nThe word that is relevant to this post is \u201cInevitabilism\u201d.\n\nPeople advancing an inevitabilist world view state that the future they perceive will inevitably come to pass. It follows, relatively straightforwardly, that the only sensible way to respond to this is to prepare as best you can for that future.\nThis is a fantastic framing method. Anyone who sees the future differently to you can be brushed aside as \u201cignoring reality\u201d, and the only conversations worth engaging are those that already accept your premise.\n\n\n\u201cWe are entering a world where we will learn to coexist with AI, not as its masters, but as its collaborators.\u201d \u2013 Mark Zuckerberg\n\n\n\u201cAI is the new electricity.\u201d \u2013 Andrew Ng\n\n\n\u201cAI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don\u2019t.\u201d \u2013 Ginni Rometty\n\nThese are some big names in the tech world, all framing the conversation in a very specific way. Rather than \u201cis this the future you want?\u201d, the question is instead \u201chow will you adapt to this inevitable future?\u201d. Note also the threatening tone present, a healthy psychological undercurrent encouraging you to go with the flow, because you\u2019d otherwise be messing with scary powers way beyond your understanding.\n\nI\u2019m not convinced that LLMs are the future. I\u2019m certainly not convinced that they\u2019re the future I want. But what I\u2019m most certain of is that we have choices about what our future should look like, and how we choose to use machines to build it.\nDon\u2019t let inevitabilism frame the argument and take away your choice. 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