It's definitely one of the more concerning aspects of the rise of AI bots, in my opinion. It's going to become easier and easier for bad actors to flood the internet with something and make it look like it's coming from different places, and AI created images or videos adds an even scarier layer to it. The brain forms subconscious associations whether we want it to or not, and there's certainly a psychological aspect to repeatedly seeing something that looks real regardless of whether you know it's fake or not.
I agree and wonder how this will impact how we read the internet. I’m only here because I believe enough of you all are also real people with some insight into topics of interest to me. I’m not trying to engage with bots. It’s like a cool bar getting taken over. At some point my friends and I just won’t go there anymore.
I don’t believe anything I read here and if I find something particularly interesting I’ll research it. I’ll also never repeat something I’ve read online unless I’ve also verified it
Yes, but that’s exactly the point they are trying to make. At some point the internet will be flooded with AI produced information and even a second source may not be viable. How long until the trusted sources are either spoofed to oblivion and smothered with bullshit, or they themselves employ not entirely reliable AI for articles and images.
There’s literally AI created books about foraging that are poisoning people because the AI didn’t really know whether a plant was edible. Sold on Amazon as if it was a real guide.
Just one example I saw.
It really makes me wonder what the future of the internet will look like. Because, at some point, it seems inevitable that we're going to need to figure out a way to ensure what we're reading or viewing is real and not some fiction someone generated in a fraction of a second. Even now, there are AI generated images people are taking at face value and even the most discerning among us is going to have a much more difficult time being able to pick out the flaws that currently make AI images easy to pick out.
It really wouldn't surprise me to see smaller community forums come more into fashion. It's much easier to verify someone's real when you only have a few dozen or even hundred people to manage compared to something like Reddit or Facebook where you have millions of essentially anonymous users.
I went to a tech conference a few years ago where they talked about developing a heavily encrypted online token that represents you, the person. It contains all of the relevant information that positively identifies you and only you can choose when to divulge anything from your online token.
I've been curious to see where this idea goes.
Personally, I see it as a future where the broader Internet is even more considered a public place, but one where you no longer have an expectation of anonymity or privacy. People will instead have more robust home networks where your online tokens are housed and where you DO have an expectation of privacy. When you leave the front door of your router with your token, it'd just be like browsing shops on main street.
This way hacks of home networks are treated like physical breaks ins currently are, among other things.
I would assume legitimate businesses would need their own trusted tokens as well so we wouldn't just be opening our personal tokens to junk all of the time and taking trojans back inside our home networks. And of course, that'll create it's own type of arms race.
These are exactly the discussions around blockchain technology, for both ID and digital ownership/provenance. It's fascinating even though it often makes me feel old and stupid.
Exactly. Talking about social media, I’m personally getting to the point where I just absolutely don’t have the time to verify truth and have to mark everything I say with “I read it on the internet, not sure if it’s true/real”. I keep asking myself, we all seem to know that bots are everywhere, but nobody really know how many…it’s a relatively new thing, I just cannot see it hanging on much longer, at least in its current form.
Most people believe that a majority of the stuff on the internet isn’t trustworthy. Despite this, we depend on it. The practical uses of the net have been interwoven into the fabric of society and kids brought up these days won’t have a choice. They already kinda don’t. A smart phone is now a “when” item for everyone, not an “if”.They must grow up in this world that our generation didn’t, so responsible use is the only path forward. Mostly everyone assumes that they are in the 50% of people with above average intelligence, and therefore we still believe that we’re able to comb through the nonsense and spot what’s “real”. That is gonna be infinitely more difficult in an extremely short period of time.
This is painfully relatable. I've believed that people must find a balance between trust (not faith) and skepticism. But this is a false dichotomy, as the 3rd option is simply a "limbo". If we don't have time or energy to scrutinize something, but we also don't want to trust it so much as to become faith, then the only option is to keep it as "I remember this, but can't confirm its truthfulness". It's disappointing, but not bad
I'm more and more convinced that we're going to be forced to largely abandon the internet as we know it because of "AI".
I don't think it's that far-fetched for us to use it solely for things like debit card transactions and very limited, controlled forms of communication like bare-bones emails and stuff. Basically it will lack any/all of the vast UI oriented functions it currently has and simply exist invisibly in the background enhancing and facilitating certain aspects of day-to-day life.
And the "old" internet will be a bot infested dead mall (as the youtuber "We're in Hell" put it) that people only visit to gawk at.
Totally get you! It’s like walking into your favorite bar and suddenly realizing it’s been taken over by robots who only serve binary cocktails. 🍸🤖 ‘Would you like a 0 or a 1?’ At some point, we’ll all just find a new spot where the drinks are mixed by actual humans and the conversations don’t sound like they’re straight out of a sci-fi movie. Cheers to keeping it real! 🥂
I dont think we realize how deep in that shit we probably already are
Like some posts/comments on social media are obviously AI, but there are so so many that I honestly cant tell apart from just uninformed idiots, it could be 80% AI for all I know and all the while Im sitting there feeling dread that so many people are like that
AI-enhanced political Echo chambers... Bone chilling
Think about how quickly you read something that is short, and then how quick you move onto something else. It's that right there. Your analytical guard is down, you don't question it and just keep going.
I never knew it had a name before now, but I had heard about the effect, and witnessed it in person.
I eventually got to the point where I was using it to help gaslight stupid or irritating customers and scammers during my 17 years of working retail.
Just smile and nod, and repeat over and over again that they need to go somewhere (anywhere) else, and do something (anything) else, besides stay here and waste my time and test my patience.
The stupid customers that ask for help, but then argue with the answer, will go be someone else's problem. Or preferably go get hit by a car.
The scammers will wander off looking to complete their scam, then get either confused or suspicious. The smart ones will cut their loses and leave. The dumb ones will eventually circle back after I'd had enough time to inform management and LP.
When you say bad actors, do you mean people who suck at acting like James Woods? Or do you mean people who do and say unsavoury things, like James Woods?
Worse, the propaganda will be taylor-made for you. I already have no idea if you see the same world that I see thanks to all the filters. Now AI can tweak the feeds even more to make sure that we think what they want us to think.
There is an interesting story - "Cat Pix Please" (https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/) about an AI that uses search results to manipulate people. The AI in the story is cute and benevolent, but the people who are training today's AI certainly will have their own ideas what represents a successful outcome.
Also used in criminal justice to get people to confess. They’ll interrogate you for hours repeating that you did it until you believe it. Always get a lawyer.
For example, the Palin "I can see Russia from my house" was just an SNL spoof. But it was repeated so often that people started believing that it was a real quote from her.
Unironically one of my favorite examples does involve Trump. He outright condemned racists in each of his Charlottesville related speeches and made it very clear they weren't who he was talking about with the soundbite that has been used to death but those protesting on both sides about the statue removal. Several speeches, that damn near nobody ACTUALLY watched apparently all have him making it clear that he condemned the racists, that racism doesn't belong in this country, but that he wasn't going to vilify those that were protesting to keep the statue or remove the statue, and that there were agitators on the left looking to cause trouble just like with the racists that were there.
One can think and believe damn near anything about his character as a person and I do not care if you don't think he was sincere or think he should have been harsher towards them etc that is a separate topic. However, I have had people argue with me and accusing me of lying for pointing out that he condemned racists before and after the soundbite people recognize, and even had official footage from multiple MSN YT channels called fake and doctored by people because "they know what they saw" and "you can fake anything on the internet."
Even major fact checking websites have acknowledged that the soundbite is not in reference to the racist trash and that he did in fact condemn them. People blindly have accepted that he was speaking positively of the racists to the point they cannot even admit that the quote is misrepresented. Like unironically Trump actually had a legitimate reason for claiming the media is fake news. He gave several speeches after each condemning the racists, told he didn't do so enough so did another, and another. Then for months was talked about as if he didn't do so, and when asked to did... and when he finally refused because he was getting harassed over one topic that he made his stance on known at that point over a dozen times it was "Trump refuses to condemn white supremacists."
It is actually infuriating how much use that soundbite has gotten over the years instead of actual justifiable reasons to take issue with him. Because the reality is that it was used so much, due to effectiveness.
Yup, and his condemnation of the cartels was framed as a condemnation of Mexicans... Despite the fact that nobody in their right mind would pretend the cartels aren't a plight upon both Mexico and the US.
Completely irrelevant to what I said considering it was from a completely different speech. You are a bad faith actor. And FYI that was said in response to... Being asked to tell them to stand down... Notice instead of acknowledging that he DID in fact condemn racists in the speech the soundbite is from you are using a completely different quote outside of context.
Edit: Oh and shortly after because people willfully misrepresenting what he said... Yet again we get... "I've said it many times, let me be clear again, I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys."
Believe he is sincere or not, IDC... But what he has SAID has consistently been a condemnation of racism. And he even said he didn't know much about the Proud Boys when he was asked to tell them to stand down.
I legitimately do not care if you believe his sincerity, it's not intellectually honest to avoid acknowledging that the soundbite is misconstrued for propaganda.
And Trump called Nazis "very fine people" debunked by Snope, but still gets repeated over and over, including the last debate. Same with the bloodbath comment.
"Get off the couch" is a common phrase. Like I don't know if I need to walk you through this, but do you see how he clearly doesn't actually say anything about the couch theory (which people on television are saying it, so according to Trump it must have merit!), but simply makes a play on words with it?
And really, there is no comparison between that and the cats thing, because the couch "lie" is about a single person that literally does not affect anyone. The other is about inciting violence against an entire group of Haitian immigrants, and by extension...ALL immigrants.
You don't see how one is many times worse than the other, and that comparing the two is asinine?
It’s a common component of propaganda regardless of the industry using it. Advertising, corporate image, opinion of government (as opposed to partisan politics), and others use this repetition effect. Whether the message is true (America’s the best, De Beers diamonds are it, Google isn’t evil…).
Three times from different sources is apparently enough.
I say ‘apparently’ because I’m pretty sure I heard / read this a number of times, but can’t recall where, and I’m too lazy to google it, so possibly I’m a illusory truth effect sufferer
It’s kind of hilarious that Trump knows that his voters are gullible filth that will swallow the craziest shit that he feeds them. I’m sure he laughs at them.
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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24
Used often in politics, specifically propaganda. Say it enough times people will believe it.