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Generative AI could make search harder to trust

wired.com

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Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#11

Post by vorpalhex »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #10

More amusing and frightening is when people search about themselves and turn up AI generated crap. Googling yourself was always a lucky grab bag, with the possibility of long-forgotten embarrassments being dragged up. But at least you'd have to face facts. Now I hear of people discovering they're in prison, married to random people they've never met, or are actually already dead. What is this going to do to recon on…

This is a new way to be anonymous too. Someone post something true but nasty about you? Have LLMs cook up dozens of preposterous stories - you're secretly a rodeo clown, you write childrens books, you built a castle in Rome, you once drank a goldfish, etc.

Increase noise to drown signal.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#12

Post by pseudosavant »

I wonder if there will be a human information/knowledge equivalent of low-background steel (pre-WWII/nukes). Data from before a certain point won't be 'contaminated' with LLM stuff, but it'll be everywhere after that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#13

Post by pseudosavant »

LetsGetTechnicl wrote: post #6

Just another reason that I consider generative AI to be a lot like crypto. A lot of talk about it being the future but really only turns out to be dangerous or useless. I find it incredibly irresponsible that companies are shoving their latest AI tech into all their products when it's still unproven.

Except, unlike crypto, ChatGPT helps me with real day things that I easily find at least $20/month of value from.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#15

Post by IronWolve »

it's almost like AI just repeats data its fed on, even incorrect data, without any real intelligence to determine if the data is correct.... /s

Its not simply garbage in garbage out. There is no logic to verify and analyze the data. You are simply told what is popular in the data.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#16

Post by RandomWorker »

pseudosavant wrote: post #12

I wonder if there will be a human information/knowledge equivalent of low-background steel (pre-WWII/nukes). Data from before a certain point won't be 'contaminated' with LLM stuff, but it'll be everywhere after that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel

My sense is to avoid this have a personal blog.

That being said how many people write blogs with grammerly or chatgpt these days. The temptation to use these technologies all the time is too strong for even self preservation of your own (writers) voice.

My sense is that you use this technology you might be happy with the results at first but on later review you just notice something off in some sentences and maybe it just doesn’t flow right. I’m not convinced that it will replace writers jobs yet. Especially when you want to create something authentic and unique.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#17

Post by happytiger »

LetsGetTechnicl wrote: post #6

Just another reason that I consider generative AI to be a lot like crypto. A lot of talk about it being the future but really only turns out to be dangerous or useless. I find it incredibly irresponsible that companies are shoving their latest AI tech into all their products when it's still unproven.

AI has so completely disrupting Search that it’s destroyed leading platforms effectiveness in a matter of months.

But because of its current lack of optimization for accuracy, we shouldn’t consider it disruptive because it’s not yet proven technology?

You can call it dangerous but you can’t call it useless. It’s also only going towards improvement from here, including drastic reductions in hallucinations.

You have to remember too that AI models are generally attempting to interpret the intent behind the prompt, so many of these crazy articles are happening because people aren’t yet good at writing clear instructions for AI and AI isn’t yet mature enough to disambiguate poor instructions in its output and is trying to deliver on unclear instructional intents.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#18

Post by [deleted] »

happytiger wrote: post #17
LetsGetTechnicl wrote: post #6

Just another reason that I consider generative AI to be a lot like crypto. A lot of talk about it being the future but really only turns out to be dangerous or useless. I find it incredibly irresponsible that companies are shoving their latest AI tech into all their products when it's still unproven.

AI has so completely disrupting Search that it’s destroyed leading platforms effectiveness in a matter of months. But because of its current lack of optimization for accuracy, we shouldn’t consider it disruptive because it’s not yet proven technology? You can call it dangerous but you can’t call it useless. It’s also only going towards improvement from here, including drastic reductions in hallucinations. You have to…

[deleted]

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#19

Post by datadrivenangel »

pseudosavant wrote: post #12

I wonder if there will be a human information/knowledge equivalent of low-background steel (pre-WWII/nukes). Data from before a certain point won't be 'contaminated' with LLM stuff, but it'll be everywhere after that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel

There's the branch of philosophy called epistemology.

Re: Generative AI could make search harder to trust

#20

Post by LikelyABurner »

cr__ wrote: post #7
infoseek12 wrote: post #2

Leaving aside the article to discuss the source for a moment. When did Wired become so antitech? There are good critical viewpoints but most of the articles they are putting out at this point read like bitter diatribes. Which is a shame because they used to be an excellent publication.

People are generally more cognizant of the harms caused by the tech industry than they were even a few years ago.

You can find a plethora of critical viewpoints on Hacker News and the various blogs it links to which are well cognizant of the dangers of the tech industry.

The problem isn’t that Wired is critical, it’s that they’ve gone weirdly reactionary and their writing has gone so mass market dumbed down that Some Random Guy’s Blog is likely to have a better written and researched viewpoint.

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