Should we plan some intentional discussion on LLMs?

Hi all,

In the previous thread relating to LLMs on the fediverse, a number of social.coop members have expressed a desire for us to come up with policies regarding LLMs. A few of us who took part in the joint hackathon with cosocial.ca ended up talking about this and felt that it would be good to take a step back, slow down, and try to have some discussions about LLMs in a very intentional way.

Proposal: Host an online discussion

As a result, I would like to plan an online discussion via video chat/meeting. We thought when discussing a topic with such a breadth and diversity of deeply held opinions, it could be helpful to do so in a format where folks have the opportunity to see and hear each other. I would really like to see this happen, and to do so, could use the help of a few more folks willing to be on a working group to plan this forum.

As for the audience, all social.coop members would be invited to the discussion. Some folks at cosocial.ca have expressed interest in cooperating to plan and participate in this forum as well, so it would likely be a joint forum for members of both coops to discuss this topic.

The purpose of the discussion as I have in mind would be to discuss what folks feel should be the place of LLMs on the fediverse, particularly as members of a cooperatively run server. We may have very diverse opinions on LLMs but I think taking part simultaneously in the coop movement and the fediverse makes us a very unique and special group. This won't by any means eliminate all disagreement, but I think it is a really strong starting place that provides some common ground to build on. 

The goals of the discussion would be to find common ground regarding LLMs where we can, understand each others' perspectives better, and be better prepared moving forward for policy discussions on the topic. As a proposed joint forum, and since we make decisions on Loomio, the discussion would not be making any decisions to enact new policies for social.coop, or getting too much into specific policy details or language. Hopefully the outcomes of the discussion would provide a jumping off point for those able to attend to continue to dialog and for us to work toward LLM policies for social.coop.

I could really use your help

To plan something like this, again, I could use the help of a few folks. I hope that people with a range of viewpoints on LLMs do volunteer to help. What is important is that people who volunteer are interested in planning a discussion where everyone has an opportunity to be heard, and everyone is encouraged to listen to each other. If you'd be interested in helping, you can comment your interest below or DM me on Loomio.

Thank you!

Aaron

@fwaaron@social.coop