That doesn’t match what I hear from teachers, academics, or the librarians complaining that they are regularly getting requests for things which don’t exist. Everyone I know who’s been hiring has mentioned spammy applications with telltale LLM droppings, too.

I can see how students would be first users of this kinda of tech but am not on those spheres, but I believe you.

As per spammy applications, hasn't always been this the case and now made worse due to the cheapness of -generating- plausible data?

I think ghost-applicants where existent already before AI where consultant companies would pool people to try and get a position on a high paying job and just do consultancy/outsourcing things underneath, many such cases before the advent of AI.

AI just accelerates no?