To think MN may be becoming pointless now half the threads seem to be created by Chat GPT’s younger siblings, purely to waste our time?

[MayIDestroyYou]

This morning I’m struggling to believe any of the new threads I’m opening. Even S&B is weird. Everything seems to be the sort of insubstantial cliched situation a young AI might spit out for fun.

At least I know the Archers thread is real! Although who knows how long it will be before the show is written by not-humans?

(I don’t actually want the Poll, but can’t find how to get rid of it.)

Tbf, a lot of the stories have never made a lot of sense. Many of the questions are impossible to answer and the solution is simply for the OP to talk to the other person. But people seem to find enjoyment spending hours posing questions to the OP to try to understand what is going on. Ok, I suppose.

For me, the internet becomes less appealing with each passing day - as it is more and more clickbaited and botted. In the past, you could find all sorts of random stuff and it was fun. Now, it's full of SEO nonsense word salads and the like. I think the tide turned when smartphones opened up the internet. Before then, only people with computers could get onto it.

I absolutely agree with you @LuckOfTheDrawer.

What are the ramifications? I read an article about how the winning entrant to a photography competition admitted that their photo was created by AI. They submitted the photo as an experiment to find out if it would be detected as an AI digitally created image rather than a genuine photograph. They did the right thing and didn’t accept the first place reward, it went to the second place contestant.

However, this calls into question the reliability of digital technology to prove guilt or innocence in a crime. For example security footage that places someone at the scene of a crime. Is it real footage or is it AI generated to set someone up? Conversely, security footage that gives someone an alibi.

And what about the ability to assess students by setting essays and assignments? A student can download software and use chat bot to write their entire essay. Then all they have to do is edit and restructure a bit to make it look like it was written by them.

Innovation and technology is exciting but if we don’t adapt other areas of life we could run into some problems.

I found the article that I mentioned above:

https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/17/photographer-admits-prize-winning-image-was-ai-generated

German artist Boris Eldagsen says entry to Sony world photography awards was designed to provoke debate.

I'm real, and to prove it I can confirm that there are no traffic lights in this thread.

I think from now on when I get a nutso reply I'll just assume it's an AI, and shrug. I posted earlier about rental houses and someone sternly told me I needed to move to a different country. I think that was probably a real person, but if I pretend it's an AI it's easier to be unbothered by it.

@ImustLearn2Cook - your first premise was recently thoroughly and terrifyingly examined in the TV drama ’The Capture’

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8201186/

If you haven’t seen it - you must!

As for the future of academic study and research - I think universities are already talking about resorting to examining students via viva rather than any digital submission of work? But given the current state of academic institutions (for various reasons) I can see lecturers and tutors sending an AI to do the assessing in that scenario, too …

https://etico.iiep.unesco.org/en/chatgpt-end-online-exam-integrity

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/chatgpt-and-future-university-assessment

https://www.businessinsider.com/list-here-are-the-exams-chatgpt-has-passed-so-far-2023-1?amp

Better teaser …

https://amp.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/03/the-capture-review-chillingly-real-thriller-or-utter-bobbins-lets-check-the-tape

Are we allowed to report threads for being botshit?

I agree! Everyone is nearly 40 or just turned 40. That must be chat gpt idea of mn’s average age!

I’ve considered it, but feared I’d be marked down as bot-ist - and guilty of botphobia.

I completely agree and it's really upsetting me to see the effort people are putting into replying to AI posts. The ones about sensitive subjects are particularly sad to see, peppered with Americanisms and just generally 'off', and yet people are trying to help them.

I too would like a MN Towers view, because I think this may be quite an existential risk to the entire platform. Surely, surely they must know this.

That's rude...

Is that why everyone’s so angry

Nope

I’m slightly miffed rather than angry but probably not for the reasons that some may think.

I’m nigh on certain a thread on here is more mince than mince but I think folk would turn me into a bridie if I suggested as much.

I daresay I’d be cast down as a shameful troll hunter but I hate seeing folk falling over themselves to be cheerleaders.

It seems like a cruel sport.

When I’m convinced something is bollocks I report. I’m almost always right - sometimes going on nothing visible, just instinct.

Wardrobe issues, @ArcaneWireless?

Only if it is going full Cilla with hats…

That or channelling a cheerleady Toni Basil.

Taking the farkin Mickey.

I read this thread this morning and am coming back on to say thanks, you've seriously damaged my mumsnet experience. Now that I'm looking, these bot threads are everywhere. There's a kind of correctly written, long winded sameness about them. Shame 😕

Should’ve taken the blue pill, Neo 🤭

agree, OP. A lot of the posts seem off. I find the ones that start with a salutation, have a fair bit of "background" then a sign off seem as thought they're AI so I've stopped answering.

Thx @MayIDestroyYouit looks like an interesting show, I’ll check it out.

I agree about the correctly written longwinded posts. I assumed it was someone with a weird need to fake random nonsense but AI makes more sense.

Why do you think it’s chatGPT rather than writers

I think some are individuals using ChatGPT for either a) fun or b) to see whether it 'passes'.

Of course, some people may think a post is a bit 'off' but still reply to it to be polite/just in case. In which case the author may think it passes even when it doesn't really.

People may also not want to report a thread without firm evidence as that seems a bit rude.

Other people are oblivious to the whole thing and just respond on face value.

I reported a thread yesterday that looked very AI like, it was taken down to check and hasn't reappeared yet. The greetings, the good paragraphing, the long background, the sign off just not how most MN posts are.

Are the ChatGPT posts pasted in by humans, or actually posted by AI?

If it's the former, I wonder why they don't delete the giveaway 'Hello Mumsnetters' greeting and 'lots of love, a robot' sign off?

I agree that the style is obvious once you've noticed it. But at least they usually get all the relevant info into the first post, and are less likely to add a significant drip feed a few posts in.