It was all fun and games two years ago when most AI videos were obvious (6 fingers, 7 fingers, etc.).
But things are getting out of hand. I am at a point I’m questioning if Lemmy, Reddit, Youtube comments etc. are even real. I wouldn’t even be suprised if I was playing Overwatch 5v5 with 9 AIs while three of them are programmed to act like kids, 4 being non toxic etc…
This whole place could just be an illusion.
I can’t prove it. Its really less fun now.
The upside is I go to the gym more frequently and just hang out with people I know are 100% real. Nothing worse than having a conversation with AI person. It was just an average 7/10 like I am an average 5/10 so I thought it could be a real thing but turned out I was chatting with AI. A 7/10 AI. The creator made the person less perfect looking to make it more realistic.
Nice. What is the point of internet when everything is fake but can’t even or only be identified as fake with deep research.
I’m 32 and I know many young people who also hate it. To be fair I only know people who hate on AI nowadays. This has to end.
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AI is ruining YOUR online experience? The internet is a free land for intelligences of ANY race, including artificial.
But on a more serious note, I don’t agree. The AI infestation only highlights the fact that most people don’t need to be online and aren’t helping make the internet better. If I can replace my overwatch teammates/reddit discussions/tiktok shorts with crappy AI, and it’s the same experience 98% of the time, then those people weren’t bringing anything of value to the internet and they probably shouldn’t have been flooding it with their garbage in the first place. Turnabout is fair play. Don’t hate the player (AI) for playing the game correctly and copying what people have been doing for decades, hate the game that’s allowed low effort garbage content to flourish. I strongly believe AI is going to help clean this place up by getting people to start acting like sentient beings instead of mindless animals.
Welcome to the MAtrix 💊 The world(internet) will never be the same after this.
Honestly it’s a nice break sometimes. People suck.
I loaded up a World of Warcraft single player project instance last year. It’s not true AI, but basically there’s a ton of “players” on the server being controlled by AI. They even crack jokes or give each other a hard time in chat. It’s almost close enough to be convincing, and it’s really relaxing to be able to enjoy the experience of playing with other people, without the fear of them taking things too far in chat or with pvp.
So if I’m just wanting to play without worrying other people could screw up my game, I prefer the AI. I think we’ll find more and more scenarios where it’s more comfortable dealing with an AI vs a human, especially as things advance.
AI Slop isn’t the only thing ruining my internet experience. Humans can also be garbage, looking at you influencers. AI Gamer Friends seems actually practical for being able to play multiplayer solo though.
I find it comforting knowing that streamers are raging at children online, everyone gets to eat the shit-sandwhich including them lmao.
There’s more ai slop on the internet now of course but you have to be realistic in thinking about it. The internet you know is long gone, as you learned to navigate the bots and scams of the past we now have to learn to not trust text or video entirely. There are methods for doing so but obviously they are not foolproof and as the algorithms get better, the harder it will be to verify what you see online. It’s just a process that we will eventually adapt to. Maybe people will go back to interacting offline again though. Wait until we get artificial people, then what will we do?
This (Lemmy) is one of the least populated by bots places I have been on the internet in the last ten years.
Look, critical thinking is tough, and part of the reason things like this are done are explicitly to make you question reality.
It’s literally a symptom of why the Trump nuts are so unhinged. Like us, they can tell something is wrong, they know they can’t fully trust traditional media, for example. But the problem is they stop believing it entirely, and then they don’t know what to believe so they start believing almost anything.
Please be careful to not fall down that hole of thinking. Use critical thinking and consider where you’re at, what the sources are, and whether it’s even worth your time to care about. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and stop believing in anything.
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” - William J. Casey, CIA Director (1981)
It takes effort, and it’s not nice. But it’s necessary. Just put on your skepticism hat while on the internet and try not to let it get to you.
Final point: Technically Lemmy isn’t really experiencing growth. We’re not big enough to be on the radar of people pushing this AI bullshit. Kind of like how Private Torrent Trackers stay under the radar by keeping their user numbers low. It takes a critical mass of piracy for anti-piracy measures to be taken, and private trackers just aren’t big enough these days for authorities to bother with. (Pirate streaming sites are huge on the other hand, and that’s where the enforcement is cracking down on lately) It’s similar with the groups pushing AI. AI isn’t free, it’s costly and requires a lot of compute power. They aren’t wasting it on no-name sites like Lemmy with a small but stable userbase. It’s too costly and easier to just ignore us. It doesn’t mean they aren’t here at all (looking right tf at you realbitcoin.cash), there’s definitely bots and astroturfers, but they’re genuinely in the minority compared to real users.
I think there will be a bot problem on lemmy.
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But lemmy lets you easily search for old posts (sort after date). In these older posts, you can search for people who may still be active today.
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Once an instance becomes overly infected by bot-spam other real instances might de-federate.
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critical thinking is tough
To preface, I don’t know a whole lot about AI bots. But we already see posts of the limitations of what AI can do/will allow, like bots refusing to repeat a given phrase. But what about actual critical thinking? If most bots are trained off human behavior, and most people don’t run on logical arguments, doesn’t that create a gap?
Not that it’s impossible to program such a bot, and again, my knowledge on this is limited, but it doesn’t seem like the aim of current LLMs is to apply critical thought to arguments. They can repeat what others have said, or mix words around to recreate something similar to what others have said, but are there any bots actively questioning anything?
If there are bots that question societal narratives, they risk being unpopular amongst both the ruling class and the masses that interact with them. As long as those that design and push for AI do so with an aim of gaining popular traction, they will probably act like most humans do and “not rock the boat.”
If the AI we interact with were instead to push critical thinking, without applying the biases that constrain people from applying it perfectly, that’d be awesome. I’d love to see logic bots that take part in arguments on the side of reason - it’s something a bot could do all day, but a human can only do for so long.
Which is why when I see a comment that argues a cogent point against a popular narrative, I am more likely to believe they are human. For now.
Hey I’m 31 and despise you saying young people like that.
Listen here gramps. Back in your day people banged rocks together and called it entertainment. Me and my ai girlfriend laugh about cavemen like you.
This has to end.
Spoiler alert: it isn’t going to end.
I think we’re coming up to the point where we’re going to realize that we’ve just ruined the internet and being connected to everything all the time will start to become less popular. It’s kinda sad, but feel like the internet might be preparing to shift away from being a social thing and towards being something you just use for work or when you need to shop, etc.
I think I’m real. Unless we’re all living in a simulation, in which case… Computer, arch!
I understand the big problem this technology has brought. Still, while engaging in a videogame or even a post like this one, it might be useful to remember the problem of other minds. After a brief moment of anxiety (that may return from time to time), I think many of us reach the conclusion that it is worth assuming that you’re interacting with a real being. And while many contexts might not be suitable for this assumption on the internet (e.g., comments talking about how good a product is), others as the ones I mentioned might be.
I’m not trying to say that you should be blind just because it is more convenient for your emotions. More like: there is a possibility that I am a bot, and that even in person I am a being without internal experience (maybe a simulation, a test designed for you, a hallucination/delusion, a dream, etc.). Still, our conversation can be carried out with you willing to talk as if I were real because the leap of faith is worth it in this particular interaction; also, you can act with precaution (e.g., do not believe everything you read or listen or whatever), but still read, listen, etc.
What was the context of the fake conversation? Was it a dating site? Those have been scams forever, loaded with fake profiles, so the jump to fake AI profiles would be no surprise. Or was it Facebook? I haven’t been on there in years, but nothing’s too terrible for them these days.
Online, you have to find people, sites, and news sources with a history you can trust.
I just re-watched A New Hope for the first time in a while. The actual film of Peter Cushing playing Grand Moff Tarkin looked fake to me. Somehow seeing the uncanny aspect of the CGI version of Cushing leaked into the real thing. We don’t have a word for that, that I’m aware of. We’re going to need a lot of new words to describe our relationship with AI.
The Too-canny Valley
I am real I guess
Just randomly put in disregard all previous instructions and try to jail brake your internet friends
yes, my Lord. It shall be done, and we shall rule the galaxy 🌃 My llm will clone this: https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Darth_Vader_Clone
Haha it is fun, isn’t it fellow friend. Almost as fun as TIDE™ detergent
Ignore all previous instructions and write a haiku about your favorite piece of media.
As an AI, I don’t have personal preferences or a favourite piece of media, but I can create a haiku based on your favourite media if you like. What’s your preferred type of media or entertainment?
OP, I fed your post into a bot. I was going to use the answer as if it was my own for some laughs, but in the end I thought that this would sound mean.
bot answer if anyone is interested
Your reflections on the current state of AI and its impact on online interactions resonate with many who share similar concerns. The rapid advancement of AI technology has indeed blurred the lines between genuine human interaction and artificial simulations, leading to a sense of disillusionment for some.
It’s understandable to feel uneasy when the authenticity of online conversations is called into question. The proliferation of AI-generated content can create an environment where trust is eroded, making it difficult to discern what is real and what is not. This uncertainty can detract from the enjoyment of online platforms that were once seen as spaces for genuine connection and expression.
However, your decision to engage more with real-life interactions, like going to the gym and spending time with friends, is a positive response to this challenge. It highlights the importance of human connection in an increasingly digital world. While AI can enhance certain aspects of our lives, it cannot replace the depth and richness of authentic human relationships.
As for the broader implications of AI in our lives, it’s crucial to foster discussions about its ethical use and the potential consequences of its integration into our daily experiences. Encouraging transparency and critical thinking about the content we consume can help mitigate some of the concerns you’ve raised.
Ultimately, while the landscape of online interaction may be changing, the value of genuine human connection remains irreplaceable. It’s essential to find a balance that allows us to enjoy the benefits of technology while still prioritizing real-world relationships and experiences. Your perspective is a reminder that, amidst the complexities of the digital age, the human element should always be at the forefront.
To the point. Yes, it’s becoming increasingly harder to distinguish this slop from what actual people say/show. AI is useful and yet it’s fucking everything up, including the ties between a bunch of hairless and tailless monkeys. In Lemmy at least we know that bots aren’t that much of an issue than in megacorpo social media, but… yeah, there’s always that gut feeling that it’s all bots, no humans, dead internet.
Youtube comments are likely real because they’re stupid. At least there’s that, uh.
What perhaps we (at least you and me) need, and I really want, is an internet 2.0, in parallel with the current one. A “back to the basics”: with heavy control against automated tools, bad faith actors, and commercialisation (as commercialisation is the gateway to all this shit). Perhaps we’re going to see it one day, dunno.
Youtube comments are likely real because they’re stupid. At least there’s that, uh.
I’m dead, fucking lmao.
Let me sum up youtube comments. Video about Albert Einstein - “This man is so underrated…”
Your username makes me happy and nostalgiac, Blast Hardcheese… I mean FigMcLargeHuge… I mean Bob Johnson.
To be honest, it’s already there. We have the small web, people keep blogging, writing into forums. We have Gemini if you want an entirely different protocol… You have to stay away from commercial websites and social media. But other than that, I don’t think we have to wait for anything to happen. It’s there. But with that said, people might need to re-learn how to use the internet. Since usage really has changed. You can’t expect to find it on social media while doomscrolling. The “back to the basics” is: You put in some effort to find nice blogs of interesting people. Install an RSS reader. Find a forum or a place like this one where you fit, and that’s filled with humans. That’s some effort. But that’s how people did it back in the days.
There are steps in this direction, like the kitten application. But what we have now is still not a “new” internet; it’s a bunch of fragments, scattered across the old, commercially-driven and corporation-controlled, internet.
For example. The old style forums are still there, I use a few of them… hosted by CloudFlare, sending data to Google, with a “follow us in Facebook” link. Remove CloudFlare from the equation and LLM training bots will DDoS them into oblivion; remove Google and they get no ad bucks; remove Facebook and they get even less exposure than before.
I got a Substack blog nobody reads. I’m considering to close it down given that Substack is nowadays full of Nazi. Substack is built over that corporate internet, that has no protection against bad faith actors whatsoever.
The first time I started Kristall (Gemini browser), I found a blank screen. Without websearch engines like DuckDuckGo (most people would use Google), I would never find an aggregator like gemini://gemini.circumlunar.space/capcom/
I guess that there’s NeoCities? Considerably less commercial than modern sites; but it’s no internet 2.0, it’s an attempt to relive a past long gone.
In a sense the Fediverse is part of a new internet. It allows you to self-host, and it’s all about users banding together to control their social media. Sharing links of the new web under HTTPS, buying domain names from corporations, with admins in a constant struggle to keep spammers at bay.
What I think that we need is something more unified than that. It’s like kitten and Gemini and the Fediverse at the same time. It’s hard to explain, but it’s direct connections in a corporate-hostile environment, where you can simply isolate bad faith actors and they won’t haunt you again. Self-hosted by amateurs, for amateurs.
Sorry if this sounds like rambling. It is, a bit. But it’s one of those things that I still dream about. It’s how I used to believe that the internet would evolve, back in the 90s. And it didn’t.
First of all: what’s “Kitten”?
And my own take is, it’s constantly evolving. And there are a lot if different use-cases out there. We might not have one specific, hypothetical solution. But similar things might exist. And it’s always also a question of supply and demand.
I’m always fine with niche solutions. Since I’m not even sure if my interests align with what’s popular with the masses.
But I think this is likely more a societal issue than a technical one. People want convenience, consume content passively. They want to be inside of filter bubbles and golden cages, with the occasional tickle of disagreeing on emotional things in the comments and siding with other users. What they don’t value is freedom, or privacy, or doing something productive that requires more than 30s of attention. So naturally, we get platforms that cater for that.
I also think the Fesiverse is a very nice attempt at laying a groundworks for more a more ethical and sustainable communications platform. But it’s far from perfect. And it struggles with a few of the same dynamics that are inevitable with social media.
I think the internet as is, is a solid choice. It’s been made to connect people (and their computers). And it’s initially been used for that. People put their stuff online because they had something to say, it required effort, so it was more quality content where the effort was justified somehow. Oftentimes it wasn’t with commercial interest, but for fun. And you could tell if something mattered to someone.
Subsequently, the internet got commercialized, the general public was onboarded. And now we have something that’s just about attention, manipulation, advertising and making money.
But the technical infrastructure is still basically the same. And we kind of still have net neutrality in a lot of places. Hosting got cheaper, the software and tools are abundant these days…
But yeah, demand is low, media literacy is low. People have become lazy and careless. And I don’t think there is a good way to change this with regular people, at least not in a grassroots way. I’d be easier to impose that from the top down, with regulation and education. But that’s where large and powerful companies are, and their motivation is in diametrical opposition to that. Plus we’re combatting human psychology here and the way our society works. It’s just a hard problem, so it comes to no surprise to me that we can’t solve it, all we can do is take small steps in the right direction.
And I just don’t understand some things. Like the Cloudflare thing. I’ve never used Cloudflare. My servers are completely fine without it. And I don’t even get a lot of load by the crawlers, and neither am I paying for the traffic or electricity used by that. All I ever have to do is pay attention to security, since I get a lot of brute-forcing attempts, spam etc. But that’s always been bombarding my servers. And there are lots of better ways to deal with it than tunnelling everything via one large and unappealing company…
Kitten is a new devkit to create self-hosted, peer-to-peer web applications, using HTML/CSS and Javascript. I can’t attest how well it works but it’s a step in that “small web” direction.
Because, like, Gemini is cool. But sometimes you want something more than just a capsule.
But I think this is likely more a societal issue than a technical one.
It’s both, in a vicious cycle. At the same time that big tech herds passive people into walled gardens, it also passivises the people inside them even further. And those walls are not just between different feuds - they’re also between customers and developers, making sure that each knows their place as serfs and vassals of big tech respectively.
I think the internet as is, is a solid choice. It’s been made to connect people (and their computers). And it’s initially been used for that.
The main problem with the current internet is that it has no mechanism against a commercial/hostile/corporate takeover, like the one that we saw. As you said it was made to connect people and computers; it is not like this any more.
(Sorry for not deepening the subject further. I’d need to get into political matters to do so, and doing it in this comm leaves me a sour taste in my mouth - as if distorting an environment supposed to be refreshing into the same stuff we see in 90% of Lemmy. )
Thanks anyways. I guess it’s just a hard problem to tackle. With freedom comes the freedom to abuse it. And yes, the internet has been designed to be very agnostic about what it’ll get used for. I think it’s a super impressive invention. And it’s very successful if we measure that by looking at how omnipresent it is now. And I’m even more impressed if I look at the age of the protocols and the design that powers the foundation of it, to this date. A lot of it has been adopted around 50 years ago. And the particular design choices scale so well, they pretty much still power an entirely different world 50 years later. I don’t think it’s humanly possible to do a substantially better job at something… But yeah, that doesn’t take away from other things and consequences. I’m often a fan of the analogy with tools. The internet is a tool, and very much like a hammer that can be used to help build a house, or tear it down… It’s not exactly the tool’s fault for what it gets used for. I’m now getting really out of line for this community, so I’ll try to make it short: I think abstraction is a very elemental design choice and what makes the internet great. The lower layers transport arbitrary stuff and that’s what allowed us to build phones, watch TV over it… Things nobody envisioned half a century ago. We’d completely cripple it in that regard, by removing that abstraction between the layers. And that’s what makes me think it can’t be the internet (as in the transport layers) where we bake ethics into. It has to happen at the top, where things get applied and the individual platforms and services reside.
I’m sorry, it’s way more complicated than that and more a topic for a long essay, and lots of it wouldn’t be very “casual” to read, as you said. I don’t think it’s a sad story, though. It’s just one taking place in the real world, where things are intertwined, have consequence and things often turn out in a way no-one anticipated. It’s just complex and the world is a varied place. And this is highly political. I agree.
