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We're losing our voice to LLMs

tonyalicea.dev

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Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#11

Post by nasmorn »

adamzwasserman wrote: post #2

It is not a zero sum game. I have always had a very idiosyncratic way of expressing myself, one that many people do not understand. Just as having a smartphone has changed my relationship to appointments - turning me into a prompt and reliable "cyborg" - LLMs have made it possible for me to communicate with a broader cross section of people. I write what I have to say, I ask LLMs for editing and suggestions for impro…

I should probably do that too. I once wrote an email that to me was just filled with impersonal information. The receiver was somebody I did not personally know. I later learned I made that person cry. Which I obviously did not intend. I did not swear or call anyone names. I basically described what I believe they did, what is wrong about that and what they should do instead.

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#12

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 »

WD-42 wrote: post #5

Where are these places where everything is written by a LLM? I guess just don’t go there. Most of the comments on HN still seem human.

I continually resist the urge to deploy my various personas onto hn, because I want to maintain my original hn persona. I am not convinced other people do the same. It is not that difficult to write in a way that avoids some tell tale signs.

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#13

Post by CityOfThrowaway »

In a lot of ways, I'm thankful that LLMs are letting us hear the thoughts of people who usually wouldn't share them.

There are skilled writers. Very skilled, unique writers. And I'm both exceedingly impressed by them as well as keenly aware that they are a rare breed.

But there's so many people with interesting ideas locked in their heads that aren't skilled writers. I have a deep suspicion that many great ideas have gone unshared because the thinker couldn't quite figure out how to express it.

In that way, perhaps we now have a monotexture of writing, but also perhaps more interesting ideas being shared.

Of course, I love a good, unique voice. It's a pleasure to parse patio11's straussian technocratic musings. Or pg's as-simple-as-possible form.

And I hope we don't lose those. But somehow I suspect we may see more of them as creative thinkers find new ways to express themselves. I hope!

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#14

Post by leetrout »

Hits close to home after I've caught myself tweaking AI drafts just to make them "sound like me". That uniformity in feeds is real and it's like scrolling through a corporate newsletter disguised as personal takes.

what if we flip LLMs into voice trainers? Like, use them to brainstorm raw ideas and rewrite everything by hand to sharpen that personal blade. atrophy risk still huge?

Nudge to post more of my own mess this week...

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#15

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 »

mkzet wrote: post #10

The Internet will become truly dead with the rise of LLMs. The whole hacking culture within 90s and 00s will always be the golden age. RIP

Maybe. Nature hates vacuum. I personally suspect that something new will emerge. For better or worse, some humans work best when weird restrictions are imposed. That said, yes, then wild 90s net is dead. It probably was for a while, but were all mourning.

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#17

Post by gchamonlive »

Social media is a reminder we are losing our voice to mass media consumption way before LLMs were a thing.

Even before LLMs, if you wanted to be a big content creator on YouTube, Instagram, tiktok..., you better fall in line and produce content with the target aesthetic. Otherwise good luck.

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#18

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

Not sure if it's an endemic problem, just yet, but I expect it to be, soon.

For myself, I have been writing, all my life. I tend to write longform posts, from time to time[0], and enjoy it.

That said, I have found LLMs (ChatGPT works best for me) to be excellent editors. They can help correct minor mistakes, as long as I ignore a lot of their advice.

[0] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#19

Post by tensegrist »

WD-42 wrote: post #5

Where are these places where everything is written by a LLM? I guess just don’t go there. Most of the comments on HN still seem human.

i think the frontpage of hn has had at least one llm-generated blog post or large github readme on it almost every day for several months now

Re: We're losing our voice to LLMs

#20

Post by LaGrange »

CityOfThrowaway wrote: post #13

In a lot of ways, I'm thankful that LLMs are letting us hear the thoughts of people who usually wouldn't share them. There are skilled writers. Very skilled, unique writers. And I'm both exceedingly impressed by them as well as keenly aware that they are a rare breed. But there's so many people with interesting ideas locked in their heads that aren't skilled writers. I have a deep suspicion that many great ideas have…

I hate when people hijack progressive language - like in your case the language of accessibility - for cheap marketing and hype.

Writing is one of the most accessible forms of expression. We were living in a world where even publishing was as easy as imaginable - sure, not actually selling/profiting, but here’s a secret, even most bestselling authors have either at least one other job, or intense support from their close social circle.

What you do to write good is you start by writing bad. And you do it for ages. LLMs not only don’t help here, they ruin it. And they don’t help people write because they’re still not writing. It just derails people who might, otherwise, maybe start actually writing.

Framing your expensive toy that ruins everything as an accessibility device is absurd.

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