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MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

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Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#11

This is a heavily editorialized title. It’s just a feature that explains a web platform doc using LLMs. They can be inaccurate sometimes, but as long as that’s clear to the end user (in this case, developers) I don’t think that’s a problem. Heck, many of us do this day-to-day with ChatGPT. In this case, the sin was not making the potential for inaccuracies clear enough.

I cannot see anywhere that MDN say the explanation might be wrong.

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With placebos, the correct question is: does it displace more efficacious procedures. I'd say yes. Even if something is a placebo, it's ability to displace better solutions is the problem

I don't use MDN. I'm just asking if they removed something when they added this feature. Characterizing LLMs as placebos or "designed to produce gibberish" is inaccurate.

They could for example only use LLM's to match query's and use as source for responses like many other -docs as AI- implementations do, wondering why Mozilla wouldn't do exactly the same. as Hallucinations are a normal occurance if not doing so.

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#13
post #11

This is a heavily editorialized title. It’s just a feature that explains a web platform doc using LLMs. They can be inaccurate sometimes, but as long as that’s clear to the end user (in this case, developers) I don’t think that’s a problem. Heck, many of us do this day-to-day with ChatGPT. In this case, the sin was not making the potential for inaccuracies clear enough.

I cannot see anywhere that MDN say the explanation might be wrong.

Im pretty sure they use a vector storage database against their docs/resources so when you query they can just parse those sources and produce a free hallucination response to it.

No need to make things up if you have the sources anyways.

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#14
post #12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use MDN. I'm just asking if they removed something when they added this feature. Characterizing LLMs as placebos or "designed to produce gibberish" is inaccurate.

They could for example only use LLM's to match query's and use as source for responses like many other -docs as AI- implementations do, wondering why Mozilla wouldn't do exactly the same. as Hallucinations are a normal occurance if not doing so.

I agree it's an odd implementation and seems bandwagon-y in this context. Maybe it's the first step in a larger plan?

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#16
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With placebos, the correct question is: does it displace more efficacious procedures. I'd say yes. Even if something is a placebo, it's ability to displace better solutions is the problem

I don't use MDN. I'm just asking if they removed something when they added this feature. Characterizing LLMs as placebos or "designed to produce gibberish" is inaccurate.

I compare them to placebos because they can be effective and they can have zero active ingredient.

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#18
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use MDN. I'm just asking if they removed something when they added this feature. Characterizing LLMs as placebos or "designed to produce gibberish" is inaccurate.

I compare them to placebos because they can be effective and they can have zero active ingredient.

That's a fairer comparison that I read it as. I'd say they're more like a pharmacy, usually dispensing medicine. But we don't really know how half the medicine works, and sometimes it hurts people.

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#19
post #4

Did the AI Explain button replace a more reliable feature?

With placebos, the correct question is: does it displace more efficacious procedures. I'd say yes. Even if something is a placebo, it's ability to displace better solutions is the problem

[deleted]

Re: MDN can now automatically lie to people seeking technical information

#20
post #17

I don’t really understand viewpoints like these. The submitter knows the AI isn’t lying and the submitter is being purposefully obtuse in order to drive controversy.

Hallucinating, lying. What difference does it make when it's giving you an inaccurate, possibly made up explanation of an API?
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