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Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

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Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#261

Post by dang »

xeyownt wrote: post #240
dang wrote: post #42

We don't allow genai text on HN itself - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#generated and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47340079 . How to enforce it is a separate question, of course, but the rule exists. We don't have a similar rule yet about article content but my sense is that the community mostly doesn't want to read it—or, to put it more conservatively, discounts it. This is why we see s…

I find PG's article so dismissive. I know several people that have difficulty writing but are still f*cking smart. So what, they should refrain from using AI to help them because the AI police says so? But yeah, let's continue classifying people based on their outer qualities and habits... History showed us were this leads us to. And here an em dash -- to freak out the AI police.

I agree with your second paragraph - in fact I posted something pretty sympatico a couple hours ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48887812. But I have such a different reaction to pg's article that I can't fathom why you say that.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#262

Post by defrost »

mh- wrote: post #247
defrost wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> comments that don't violate any guidelines, but are flagged to dead. Vouch them and/or email to hn@ycombinator.com and say why you think they deserve to be [undead]. I see that a lot, some have been erroneously caught by the real time AI detect filter (which actually isn't too bad at slicing out the actual AI gen comments) others have gone hard against the zeitgeist. I've had the mods reinstate comments that I've t…

I always vouch them but have never bothered to email. I figure the mods are seeing the same HN I am. But maybe I spend too much time here some evenings.. But yes, it's the "going against the zeitgeist" ones I have in mind. It feels very damaging to the community.

> I figure the mods are seeing the same HN I am.

It's a rare individual that reads all the comments .. my impression is they appreciate on point heads up emails about accidentally auto-binned comments and are happy to reverse flagging on good comments, even those that try and make the dark side of a case.

Probably best not to try and flood the zone with anti/pro pet subject matter karen emails though.

FWiW I semi frequently pick apart comments supporting cases I'm in favour of .. because I want to see better arguments being made and to discourage weak easily dismissed shallow support.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#263

Post by dang »

TimorousBestie wrote: post #136
minimaxir wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN guidelines are to flag/downvote and move on anyways.

And if you flag/downvote AI content (or any other class of content) too consistently, you’ll find your flags and downvotes quickly become ineffective. So the guidelines are in some sense a red herring.

That's not true- can I ask what you saw that made you come to that conclusion?

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#264

Post by mh- »

dang wrote: post #260
mh- wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the meantime, here's one I saw recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660796

That definitely wasn't a genai-related issue but the kind of issue it was is a knot that I'm too tired to untangle right now!

lol, fair. It wasn't a great example. Have a good night.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#265

Post by dwroberts »

xeyownt wrote: post #240
dang wrote: post #42

We don't allow genai text on HN itself - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#generated and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47340079 . How to enforce it is a separate question, of course, but the rule exists. We don't have a similar rule yet about article content but my sense is that the community mostly doesn't want to read it—or, to put it more conservatively, discounts it. This is why we see s…

I find PG's article so dismissive. I know several people that have difficulty writing but are still f*cking smart. So what, they should refrain from using AI to help them because the AI police says so? But yeah, let's continue classifying people based on their outer qualities and habits... History showed us were this leads us to. And here an em dash -- to freak out the AI police.

> I know several people that have difficulty writing but are still f*cking smart. So what, they should refrain from using AI to help them because the AI police says so?

Do what other people do when they cannot do something: don’t do it?

I can’t draw or do art and I don’t have an AI generate art for me so I can LARP as an artist.

You can just… not do things? Nobody is putting a gun to your head to make you write blog posts and post them on HN.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#266

Post by archagon »

teiferer wrote: post #258
sph wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then we are fucked. A quality platform must strive for more quality than what the average lurker, likely a bot, decides is worth reading. That’s how you get modern Reddit. Is the goal of this site to remain high-quality, or to rely on random, anonymous users to discern quality? Consider the possibility that the two options might be incompatible.

It might come as a surprise to you, but "random anonymous users discerning quality" is exactly how this site operates and that's working pretty well.

I beg to differ. It's a far cry from where it was a decade ago.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#267

Post by archagon »

defrost wrote: post #236
mh- wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Apologies if you've commented on the following already, but I've not seen it.) The most concerning growing trend I see is comments that don't violate any guidelines, but are flagged to dead. I'm not talking about posters that are shadowbanned, but about comments that engaged thoughtfully on a topic but the rest of the thread disagreed emphatically with. I also don't even mean controversial takes on hot-button issues…

> comments that don't violate any guidelines, but are flagged to dead. Vouch them and/or email to hn@ycombinator.com and say why you think they deserve to be [undead]. I see that a lot, some have been erroneously caught by the real time AI detect filter (which actually isn't too bad at slicing out the actual AI gen comments) others have gone hard against the zeitgeist. I've had the mods reinstate comments that I've t…

Personally, I've never seen a dead comment come back to life. I'm not sure using the vouch button does anything. (It does for submissions, though.)

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#268

Post by frm88 »

dang wrote: post #224
causality0 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I do know is that users should flag articles that they think don't belong on HN If this is true then this statement should be added to the guidelines. Many a time I've seen a submission and thought "My god, this is the most moronic thing I've ever read in my life, nearly every single factual claim in this is wrong" but I don't flag it because "don't post utter drivel" is not in the guidelines.

What did you think flagging was for? (Genuine question) It's true that we don't spell things out precisely, but that's because it's impossible to spell things out fully precisely. If you start, where do you stop?

What did you think flagging was for? (Genuine question)

Same as on other sites: Spam and/or bot, abuse and/or insults and other ad hominems and particularly the point in the guidelines where you go: Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity. and Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.

Not that my flagging amounts to anything, there's so much domestic US politics articles from mainstream media on here that I often wonder whether I misunderstand the guidelines, but then, I'm just an Europoor /s

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#269

Post by mh- »

defrost wrote: post #262
mh- wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always vouch them but have never bothered to email. I figure the mods are seeing the same HN I am. But maybe I spend too much time here some evenings.. But yes, it's the "going against the zeitgeist" ones I have in mind. It feels very damaging to the community.

> I figure the mods are seeing the same HN I am. It's a rare individual that reads all the comments .. my impression is they appreciate on point heads up emails about accidentally auto-binned comments and are happy to reverse flagging on good comments, even those that try and make the dark side of a case. Probably best not to try and flood the zone with anti/pro pet subject matter karen emails though. FWiW I semi fre…

I agree with that, the ones I see flagged are frequently espousing viewpoints I disagree with. But they should be debated then, and flagging them denies everyone that opportunity.

Re: Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

#270

Post by dang »

TimorousBestie wrote: post #138
dang wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be curious if you'd read https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48887149 and let me know (once I've finished editing the damn thing) how this changes, or doesn't change, your response.

It didn’t change my opinion, which matches OP’s.

Perhaps you could explain why?
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