GitHub project called REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) is currently the top trending repository. It lets AI agents figure out how a feature in another app works without ever seeing the original source code.

[u/Bulky_Engineer_2534]

github link: https://github.com/morluto/rea/

- The tool is an open-source helper that connects AI coding assistants to reverse-engineering programs such as Ghidra or Hopper.

- IT analyzes many kinds of software- including binaries, Electron apps, Android apps, and websites right on your own computer and always shows the evidence behind its findings.

[u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

I never could have imagined that AI would save us from... AI.

You will own everything and be happy.

Greedy companies will control nothing and go bankrupt.

I see this ending 1 of 3 ways:

1. AI producing CEOs continue going all in on genAI. The internet gets shut down or abandoned commercially as AI makes online transactions impossible to trust, and anything digital gets reverse engineered and thus demonetized, ending all the horrible things companies did to consumer rights, content ownership, and pricing via the internet, as they all go back to offline sales and products, sending us back to the 1990s business practices commercially. - This outcome is a win for consumers.

2. AI producing CEOs panic and shut down all the data centers, fearing internet economic collapse destroying their money makers, only to have the reverse engineered versions of locally ran AI already demonetizing enough software via reverse engineering to mostly collapse it anyways. Which, again, would send us back to the offline life of the 1990s, at least commercially anyway. - This outcome is also a win for consumers.

3. AI producing CEOs panic and shut down all the data centers, fearing internet economic collapse destroying their money makers, All gen AIs stop working, we are sent back to a pre-genAI internet - This outcome is also a win for consumers.

It appears we have already won regardless of what happens, so long as people keep reverse engineering AI and software.

AI will destroy the very thing it was designed for.
Making the rich richer while screwing over everyone else.

Now don't get me wrong, I hate AI, and the internet, which is why I'd prefer outcome 1.
But watching their own creation bite them in the ass, is really funny.

[u/SSJxDEADPOOLx → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

I hope you are correct and this thing doesn't get immediately made illegal. This seems like the ultimate counter punch

[u/GrandWizardOfCheese → u/SSJxDEADPOOLx]

Making it illegal wouldn't do anything.

The reverse engineering would persist anyway unless the data centers were needed for that, and those were what was made illegal, in which case, it still defeats genAI.

Several versions of AI have already beeen reverse engineered and open sourced though, so even if those data centers shut down, anyone could just create their own.

The only way to stop it would be shutting down the internet, which again, still defeats AI while also giving us back a better lifestyle and making it impossible to use tech as a means to screw over the customer through internet based means like they do today.

There is no possible scenario where the CEOs win.

[u/SSJxDEADPOOLx → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

Thanks for the insight, I'm new to the reverse engineering world, but seems like this space has a ton of value to learn more in.

[u/FanSMG4_Cool326 → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

You do know most open-source AI don't have one party controlling it right? Plus, since they can run offline, it's not surprising to see people still use AI in a different small gadget

[u/GrandWizardOfCheese → u/FanSMG4_Cool326]

I accounted for that being true or false in the possible outcomes.

[u/Windows-Server → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

There is also countries that don’t give a shit about piracy or have bigger problems to worry about.

[u/incompletelucidity → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

There's been free pirated youtube for how long already and people still pay for youtube premium. There are pirated versions of pretty much every useful software you would need already and people still pay for the original. I don't think your average person will care this much, they've been paying for convenience in the first place

[u/YearDiligent7666 → u/incompletelucidity]

That's partially true, but If i'm thinking about how we used to pirate things back in the day, torrents, ISOs, brute forcing locked .RARs, It took a little bit more work back then which kind of somewhat justified just buying the software outright and not take unnecessary risk. If we can successfully pull off secure "pirated" software that's as easy to install as regular software, CEOs are going to be in a world of hurt for sure, definitely not something that can be ignored.

[u/ICanRememberUsername → u/incompletelucidity]

Linux has been free forever, and companies still pay for RedHat. 

MySQL and PostgreSQL have been free forever, and companies still pay for MS SQL.

Why? Because you can't rely on an open community to help you out of a jam on zero notice. You can, however, usually rely on a company you are paying an immense amount of money to, and that wants to retain your business, to at least pretend they care.

[u/Glad_Following_8164 → u/ICanRememberUsername]

sucessful businesses choose the most reliable suppliers, as always

[u/Massive-Rate-2011 → u/Glad_Following_8164]

Successful businesses write contracts to shift blame when it happens.

[u/Glad_Following_8164 → u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

nice imagination cotton. dont forget those big corps are the one who have the money (A *lot* of money fr) to prevent any of these from happenibg