In what sense will it be killed? I don't plan to stop writing my own messages or notes, just because AI can write, and I seriously doubt many other people who prefer their own voices will change either.

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chownie 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I stopped using reddit entirely because it's bots talking to other bots on threads posted by bots, I stopped making posts at the start of this year because I no longer know if a human being is ever reading them. I then deleted the account.

I am increasingly feeling that way about HN, too. If this is all the equivalent of a videogame conversation with an AI, why am I bothering to put the effort in?

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f311a 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Well, imagine that 90% of the comments on HN are generated and it's very hard to spot it. Would you read them?

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ndriscoll 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Are they interesting, well thought out, well articulated, and insightful?

https://xkcd.com/810/

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gavinray 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

If you take this question far enough, you eventually reach a core philosophical debate:

"Does it matter what anything innately is, beyond the effects it has on you?"

For example: Suppose you were given a human companion with a robot brain that was your ideal friend. They made you laugh and you enjoyed every moment you spent with them.

Does it make it any less impactful/genuine to you that they're not a "real" human, or is your felt experience the only meaningful end-measure?

For me, it's the latter.

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chownie 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Are they interesting, well thought out, well articulated, and insightful?

The average AI post is likely a carbon copied reddit comment from 2011, that is to say, "no".

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ndriscoll 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Then either they're easy to spot, or the human ones are equally low-value.

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chownie 5 hours ago | parent [-]

I would love if it could be a false dichotomy, but given conservative estimates pin about 30% of online posts to AI it seems like there may be a third outcome: we patch the visible holes of humans posting less and less from disinterest by making the bots post more and more.

The end result is that comment sections aren't enticing to join in on, just read. Which is perfect for ad impressions.

	▲	ndriscoll 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The sites that are there for ad impressions already worked this way though. The incentives were geared toward poor human discussion as well (c.f. reddit as a best case, and e.g. instagram/tiktok/youtube as what they'd like to be). So the problem here is ads, a desire to grow to include the entire world to show them ads, and a desire to do whatever it takes to keep their attention to show them ads.

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plagiarist 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The average human post on reddit is a carbon-copied comment from 2011

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wat10000 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I’m afraid we might be doing this experiment now and the answer is yes.

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konart 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Imagine that 90% of the comments on HN are generated and it's very hard to spot it. And you read them.