>So I’ve recently joined this subreddit, around the time chat gpt was released and first came into the public eye. Since then I’ve been lurking and trying to stay up to date but honestly get lost in the sauce.

That's fair, there's actually just so much that is happening, and has been happening for years, keeping up with it all is overwhelming.

> I don’t really understand the scope of this AI and techno stuff going on. I’m not saying these advancements are not a big deal because it is. However, I can’t help but scoff in disbelief when I see people talk about things like, immortality achieved, true equality within society, capitalism replaced, labour reduced, climate change reversed and the worlds problems are fixed. I see a lot of utopian “possibilities” get thrown around.

No one can predict this. Anyone who says they are confident, is just idealistic and optimistic. No one knows. There are people in the world who want this to be true, who want us to move to a more utopian society. Plenty of those people are in this sub, because they believe that the upheaval and change from something like a true general intelligence can release us from all worldly burdens, to different degrees of craziness.

> Is change of this scale really coming? It seems kinda sci-fi to me. More fantasy than reality.

Honestly, no one knows. One common thought process is:

1. AI will get smarter than humans
2. AI will be able to self improve
3. AI will then be benevolent
4. AI will solve all health/scarcity problems
5. AI will keep us alive forever
6. AI will help us connect our brains to machines
7. From this point, basically anything

This is a common dream for people in the sub, and it's influenced more and more but popular media (Sword Art Online, Upload (Amazon), etc). What's complicated about this is that while this is all basically fantasy or idealism after point 2, the first two points feel increasingly likely. And it opens up all kinds of doors. So I think you'll increasingly see these and other more fantastical dreams.

I just like to focus on the tech.

> I can’t really wrap my head around all the information and terms. Like those weekly AI news posts with all the things that happen in a week make no sense to me. I have no clue whats going on really. I’m inclined to believe we are really on the precipice of huge change since so many people talk as if we are. Although I don’t get the same enthusiasm outside of this subreddit. Its not really talked about in the news or governmentally.

It's starting to happen outside of this group, but yeah there are years and years of terminology and concepts that can be overwhelming for someone who is new to it all. But feel free to ask questions, and many people are willing to be helpful and answer.

> These are just my personal thoughts and to add some discussion aspect to this posts I’ll end of with a question. When do you think these advancements in AI/technology really start to seep into the inner workings of our society and make noticeable change for the layman?

I think it will start now, and will grow bigger soon. I think Google Docs/Microsoft office are going to be the big ones, but we are now getting these tools inside of apps like Slack as well.

This means that people will start using them every day for work, which will Herald in the overarching public discourse.