Evolution is search. These projects create demand for high tech manufacturing, this alone is a net positive. The money isn't burned in a pit, it is spent employing people.
Then why don't we give everyone a job? Why don't we do even more "searching", without any restriction? Let's spend, spend, spend government money. If your theory is correct, it can be nothing but a "net positive"...
No, you're being ridiculous. We must stamp out this notion that everything that feels good, is useful. Sometimes it's just a waste.
When I see all the bad verbal reasoning being spewed around LLMs it becomes easier to understand why so many people think these LLMs are intelligent.
Non rigorous reasoning is at the root of the problem here. AI hype is often indistinguishable fro AI slop, because those who believe it are also not very good at demanding and asserting rigor.
I would also recommend TIS-100's "sequel", Shenzhen I/O. TIS-100 is a bit 'dry', with the puzzles being entirely abstract. In SI/O, you roleplay as a developer emigrating to China for work, so all the puzzles are framed as real products you are developing for your company. One of the earlier puzzles, for example, is programming the equipment for a lasertag place.
I second the Shenzhen I/O recommendation, because apart from only assembly programming, the game also has other constraints in the form of having to spacially arange various chips on a limited "enclosure" for the product you're building and connect them. It also rewards optimization both in terms of assembly and chip usage efficiency. Is a wonderful game, really.
I will reveal that I have played far more of Shenzhen solitaire than Shenzhen I/O itself. Zachtronics made a stand-alone version of the game[1], but there's also a fanmade version here:
Which I find more enjoyable, both because it's online so it's easier to reach from anywhere, and also because I feel like the version of the solitaire inside the game is a bit... heavy feeling. Like there's some sort of input delay? Anyhow, I must have around 3000 completed games of solitaire across my devices.
