Merge pull request #118 from dev-human/add-article-ai-overlords

Add an article on generative AI

content/article/2023-09-04-i-welcome-our-new-ai-overlords/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+---
+title: I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords
+description: Is use of AI drowning out the worthwhile content on the internet?
+authors:
+  - ramondelafuente
+categories:
+  - Philosophy Bits
+tags:
+  - creativity
+  - perspective
+
+---
+
+This week I received a notification in my LinkedIn inbox. It was an invitation to collaborate on an article,
+and naturally my first thought was "OMG I'm finally  getting recognized for the quality of my writing!". I clicked 
+the link to see what exactly was being asked of me, and see what made me such a good fit for this article.
+
+![LinkedIn Invitation](linkedin-invitation.png "Linkedin Invitation")
+
+## Powered by AI, but how? 
+
+The first thing I noticed on the page that I was taken to was a by-line under the title: 
+
+![Powered by AI](powered-by-ai.png "Powered by AI")
+{{< subtext "Powered by AI and the LinkedIn community" >}}
+
+So some part of this article makes use of AI somehow, but there is no further explanation.
+The page itself is split into two columns, where on the left are headlines and some text, and on the right side are
+comments from other people. Notably, the left side has no author.
+
+In the example article, the first block of text ends with:
+
+> In this article, you will learn how to create a basic RESTful web service with a web application framework in six steps.
+
+The six steps are the headlines on the left:
+
+- Choose a framework
+- Set up the environment
+- Define the resources
+- Implement the routes
+- Write the logic
+- Test and deploy
+
+## Wait... what?
+
+This list of 6 steps is so generic, it reminds me of the "Draw an owl" meme:
+
+![Draw an owl](draw-an-owl.jpg "Draw an Owl")
+
+Each block has a single paragraph under it. This borders on the absurd. If you where able to cover a topic as diverse 
+as the creation of a RESTful web service without a specific language or framework specified, it would certainly take
+more than 6 paragraphs. And even the paragraphs themselves are void of any real content. The first paragraph under 
+"Choose a framework" reads:
+
+> The first step is to choose a web application framework that suits your needs and preferences. There are many 
+> options available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most popular frameworks for 
+> creating RESTful web services are Flask, Django, Express, and Rails. These frameworks are written in different 
+> programming languages, such as Python, JavaScript, and Ruby, and have different levels of abstraction, flexibility, 
+> and complexity. You should consider factors such as the learning curve, the documentation, the community support, 
+> and the compatibility with other tools and technologies when choosing a framework.
+
+I challenge you to find a developer of _any_ skill level to use this generic statement to make a decision on which 
+Framework "suits their needs and preferences". It's a completely empty statement. And none of the other 5 steps is
+any better. It's clear that the entire left-hand side is generated by what we now refer to as "AI"; a 
+Large Language Model.
+
+So what is the point of this article? It's not to inform, because it doesn't. It's not to entertain, because it doesn't.
+The only purpose of this article is to "exist" so that it can be indexed by search engines.
+
+![Google results](google-results.png "Google results")
+
+The community-driven comments on the right side are solely there to make it look like there is some kind of discussion,
+driven by the egos of the "invited ones".
+
+## It is really such a problem?
+
+This particular example is one of the less problematic ones. There is a very slight chance that the generated 
+content + comments will yield some value to someone. More vile examples use generative AI to purposefully cheap people
+out of their life savings. These pages do not seem to do any harm, right? But it will not take long 
+for the commenters to jump on to the automatic generation bandwagon. In fact, I'm 100% sure that some commenters are 
+already automating their comments. And then the whole thing degenerates into fully auto-generated content taking 
+up resources in the form of actual generation by AI, storage and bandwidth, indexation by search engines and the 
+wasted attention of people who are looking for actual information. The problem is becomes worse as all this content 
+will at some point be ingested as real training data for an AI system in the future.
+
+Henry Thoreau wrote in Walden:
+
+> It is not the tailor alone who is the ninth part of a man; it is as much the preacher, and the merchant, and the 
+> farmer. Where is this division of labor to end? and what object does it finally serve? No doubt another may also 
+> think for me; but it is not therefore desirable that he should do so to the exclusion of my thinking for myself.
+
+It seems visionary that he wrote in 1854 about how "thinking" would be replaceable. Granted, he was probably not 
+talking about machines. But given that he wrote it in the chapter called Economics and referring to the division of 
+labor, I'm sure he would have been abhorred by the current gold-rush involved with "replacing human thinking". Here 
+he is texting about it:
+
+![Thoreau checking social media](thoreau-checking-social-media.png "Thoreau checking social media")
+{{< subtext "Generated by DALL-E: 'Photograph of Henry Thoreau at Walden pond checking social media on his mobile phone'" >}}
+
+The "problem" LinkedIn is currently solving is getting a high ranking in search engines. Or maybe soliciting 
+members to provide more free content with as little effort as possible. There are currently twenty-something topics
+on LinkedIn with maybe a hundred articles each. That's 2500 pretty much useless pages and if this "works", we can
+expect the number of pages to increase soon. And every other platform to follow suit. 
+
+The benefits of content generation only exist in the current system (of monetization), and only the first ones to
+implement these mass content-generation tricks will benefit. The creation of useless pages with zero value to
+humanity that provide value for an individual or a company will eventually damage the system as a whole, a digital
+version of the "commons dilemma".
+
+The resulting mass of auto-generated content that is coming at us soon is - I believe - going to overwhelm what we 
+currently have as a system to filter out the noise. Human curated sources like "The syllabus" might be a path to 
+the future, but in our current digital environment these are rare and maybe also not capable of dealing with the 
+increased input either.
+
+One of the most hilarious (in a sad way) things in the current landscape is the fact that AI companies are also offering 
+their products as the solution. Because "AI could filter out the AI generated content"... If that is the solution then 
+all I can say is: *AI AI AI*.
+
+## So it really is such a problem...
+
+There are very specific areas where I believe AI assisted content generation can be of great value. Especially in 
+the areas where there is a big gap between the number of communicators and the number of listeners, for example 
+education.
+
+If AI can help teachers write material... and it can help students understand that content by adapting to their 
+way of learning, helping them see what they do not yet understand or have an incorrect notion of. That way we 
+leverage the power of AI to lift human knowledge to a higher level.
+
+![Lift human knowledge](pencil-drawing.png "Lift human knowledge")
+{{< subtext "Generated by DALL-E: 'pencil drawing of a human walking up the stairs with a stack of books'" >}}
+
+In the meantime, I think using AI for "individual productivity" is not unreasonable. We might be a little obsessed with 
+productivity in our current society (if only we had a good idea of what to do with all the saved time). But if using
+AI improves your life then why not - unless you're currently figuring out how to automate LinkedIn comments on AI 
+generated articles of course. 
+
+I'm writing this article with an AI plugin in the editor (CoPilot) that finishes my sentences like an understanding 
+partner. Sometimes the completions are total rubbish, but even then the appearance of an incorrect statement can 
+trigger my response and keep my writing "in motion". Some suggestions are good and kept in place. Very rarely 
+does a suggestion truly change the intended purpose of an article, a paragraph or even a sentence. I still consider 
+my article "human written".
+
+When the reason to use generative AI is to "minimize your effort", realize that the effort is part of the 
+equation when it comes to social interaction. Your comment on my article is valuable because I know you spent 
+time on it. If you optimize that away through automation the value of that interactions is reduced - 
+in fact the value of _all_ interactions is reduced because nobody can be sure that any response cost any effort. 
+(I already wrote about the {{< external-link "Erosion of trust" "https://dev-human.io/2023/04/the-erosion-of-trust/" >}} 
+resulting from auto-generated supposedly-human interaction).
+
+Let's make sure we don't erode so much trust that we fail to benefit from AI. I'm sure it's here to stay, but we 
+should make sure we enjoy its company.
+
+---
+
+_References_
+- ["Walden", Henry Thoreau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden)
+- "Can Generative AI bots be trusted?", ACM magazine, June 2023 vol. 66 No. 6
+- [The Syllabus](https://www.the-syllabus.com/)
+- [AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/26/23773914/ai-large-language-models-data-scraping-generation-remaking-web)
+- "Can Universities combat 'The wrong kind of AI'?", ACM magazine, december 2022, vol 65 No. 12
+- https://www.digitaleoverheid.nl/nieuws/departementen-werken-samen-aan-visie-op-generatieve-ai/

data/authors/ramondelafuente.yaml

@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@ name: Ramon de la Fuente
 bio: Company owner, Developer, User group organizer and family man (not necessarily in that order). Likes to build and maintain business critical software with the team at Future500 B.V.
 avatar: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/24ef80339ca19df482961c1571cda607.png
 url: https://future500.nl
-twitter: https://twitter.com/f_u_e_n_t_e
+mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@f_u_e_n_t_e
 github: https://github.com/ramondelafuente
 linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/future500/

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