I'm uncomfortable with the use of profanity as a core element of this campaign branding, especially given that it seems to be an educational outreach effort. While this seems targeted at college age and above, I think it would be highly relevant content for a teen audience as well. While I swear in privacy on occasion I think it has no place in the classroom. I really don't care for it in the workplace either but I grant that private enterprises can have their own culture.
It is frustrating because I agree with most of the content and the need for informed debate on the topic. It is a bit like my reaction to reading Cory Doctorow: I agree with his politics but really dislike the hamfisted way he packages his advocacy in the form of action adventures. As if the merits of his arguments need to be packaged in cotton candy to be consumed, and there is an undercurrent of self-promotion and personal branding that feels suss.
Probably all a "me" problem with associations built up over time from seeing snake oil being packaged using a similar playbook. If you have to sell your message by dressing it up with scroll effects and provocative offensive language you've already lost me.
This is something we've given serious consideration, having taught a course called "Calling Bullshit" (http://callingbullshit.org) for almost a decade and having authored a book by the same name that gets downranked on various Amazon features because of its title.
But the bullshit is a term of art here, after the seminal 1986 article "On Bullshit" by Princeton philosopher Harry Frankfurt (later published as a little book). We strongly feel that it is exactly the right term for what LLMs are doing, and we make the case for that in lesson 2 of the course. (https://thebullshitmachines.com/lesson-2-the-nature-of-bulls...)
We're also concerned about accessibility for high school teachers etc., and thinking about what to do in that direction.
I'm curious: do you find "bs" to be any less offensive?
FWIW, I don't think you should cave on this. For me, your choice to use it over "hallucination" instantly elevated the insight of the lessons. I also think the authenticity of the voice of the lessons benefits from owning the decision to use it fully rather than compromising with the shorter "bs" version.
I assume that the use of the word "bullshit" on this site is at least in part informed by "On Bullshit,"[1] which is a pretty common undergraduate reading.
It is frustrating because I agree with most of the content and the need for informed debate on the topic. It is a bit like my reaction to reading Cory Doctorow: I agree with his politics but really dislike the hamfisted way he packages his advocacy in the form of action adventures. As if the merits of his arguments need to be packaged in cotton candy to be consumed, and there is an undercurrent of self-promotion and personal branding that feels suss.
Probably all a "me" problem with associations built up over time from seeing snake oil being packaged using a similar playbook. If you have to sell your message by dressing it up with scroll effects and provocative offensive language you've already lost me.