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[-] ryven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 2 days ago

This writer seems to be missing the point. The point was not what HitchBOT was. By creating HitchBOT, its makers invited the world to play pretend with them: to pretend (for entertainment purposes!) that HitchBOT was a whimsical hitchhiker in need of aid, and to collectively see how far the participants in this game could get it. Destroying HitchBOT selfishly ended the game for everyone else.

[-] swlabr@awful.systems 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

If Hillary were president HitchBot would still be alive

E: followup, from wikipedia:

Smith and Zeller recreated their invention as hitchBOT 2.0 in 2019. The robot was sent to Paris, France, where it was touring about and appearing in a play, Killing Robots, by Linda Blanchet. That tour was put on hold indefinitely due to COVID-19.

As a metaphor for liberal fantasy and optimism, hitchbot was doomed to die, one way or another.

[-] dgerard@awful.systems 9 points 2 days ago

This commenter seems to be missing the point about the point.

[-] NotSafeForWorld@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 23 hours ago

I'm sorry, I'm afraid it also flies over my head. Can you explain it to me? Is it sarcasm I failed to pick up?

[-] ryven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago
[-] NotSafeForWorld@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 17 hours ago

I'm also still waiting for an explanation. I thought asking nicely would net an explanation, but I only got a snarky response. I feel like I'm in the wrong place if I genuinely want to understand it

[-] self@awful.systems 3 points 17 hours ago

you have 16 posts on Lemmy and most of them are you Genuinely Curiously JAQing off about shit you already damn well knew before going into the thread so lol no nobody owes you a fucking explanation

this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2025
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