Post by @schnokobaer@feddit.org

2026-09-15 05:05 UTC

This is kind of like the “you won’t have a calculator with you all the time” argument by your 8th grade math teacher in 2003, except instead of making yourself dependent on a little solar powered device (that you could have with you all the time if you really wanted to, even before smartphones) you’re becoming dependent on a subscription service offered by a trillion dollar company that can increase the price tenfold at will, or cut you from the platform entirely, stripping you of all your professional expertise at once.

Replies (9)

@tyler@programming.dev 2026-09-15 05:13

and also the calculator is actively destroying the planet.

Open ##4699483
@logi@lemmy.world 2026-09-15 05:31

that can increase the price tenfold at will That will have to increase the price ten fold to stop bleeding billions of dollars every month.

Open ##4699618
@mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 2026-09-15 05:39

There’s models that run on your phone. “You won’t have a tiny pocket computer with you all the time” really is the exact same argument with different specs. And frankly I’m a lot more likely to do math without a computer than write code without a computer.

Open ##4699653
@BlaestEgnen@feddit.dk 2026-09-15 06:36

This is kind of like the “you won’t have a calculator with you all the time” argument by your 8th grade math teacher in 2003 Which is grand, given we’ve had researchers agreeing effectively incorporating calculators into math education improves everyone’s ability to do math without calculators. There’s pretty good arguments to include calculators from a really young age, to improve the understanding of numbers

Open ##4700076
@schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-09-15 09:28

you’re becoming dependent on a subscription service offered by a trillion dollar company that can increase the price tenfold at will, or cut you from the platform entirely with local open weight models that is no longer an argument tbh

Open ##4701454
@AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 2026-09-15 09:47

I dont think so. If(here is where my argument fails for most people cause i got really good education) your teacher thought you math properly tho point isnt the calculations but that you understand the logic. With ai the problem is the same with as a calculator that just spits out derivatives, graphs, etc by just typing in a formula. The reason you have to understand those is to be able to build upon it.

Open ##4701603
@queermunist@lemmy.ml 2026-09-15 14:22

This is kind of like the “you won’t have a calculator with you all the time” argument It’s not even that! Students without a calculator don’t see their test scores crater.

Open ##4705642
@Malica@lemmy.zip 2026-09-15 15:04

Gives them so much power

Open ##4706198
@baines@lemmy.cafe 2026-09-15 23:17

yea no calculators are deterministic come back to me when ai isn’t fucking wrong silently

Open ##4712969