There’s a deluge of “AI”-generated long-form stories, usually accompanied by “AI”-generated pictures, on Facebook. Many of them are clearly made-up feel-good stories about someone doing something unusual and kind for someone else.
They’re easily identified – most start with a similar introduction about how the person never did this before and then something about them, usually including their age, which is often in the 70s – but people still persist in sharing them. And someone always points out in the comments that this particular piece is “AI.”
Actually, the fact that it was written by the predictive software labeled as AI isn’t the major problem here. This crap is a problem regardless of whether it’s generated by software or by some badly paid schmuck trying to cobble together a living.
The stories are presented as if they are true, but they aren’t. They detract both from fiction and from true stories about humans doing something good. And they are put in front of us on social media to keep us from engaging with our friends there.
Another thing I see regularly are supposed biographies of people and other supposedly historical stories presented in a clickbait way – “They thought she was just a little old lady, but then she she did this and wowed everyone.” These are often about real people.
Some of the facts are reasonably accurate, but the take is not usually the way things happened. The most recent one I’ve seen has been about Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey. I’m pretty sure these are fake pages with pieces by “AI.” They’re certainly not trustworthy, but they’re even more likely to be shared because they look factual.
When someone shares these things because they want them to be true – and I think that’s why most people share them – they are continuing Facebook’s relentless push to make everything in our lives completely false.
It’s pretty clear that the broligarch crowd thinks the rest of us are NPCs and that nothing we do or say really matters. I don’t think it occurred to the people developing social media that we ordinary folks like having a tool that enables us to keep in touch with our friends; they were making something to gather data on us. Continue reading “Stop Sharing “AI” Slop!”…