AI-Generated Comments in the Forums

1. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 19 months ago

   I'm starting to see AI-generated comments in the forum.
   
   This may well become the new normal, not just AI in submitted articles but also forum comments will become increasingly common.
   
   The comments don't have the colloquial feel and voice that people normally use in the forums. They have the detached voice of an old school textbook.
   
   Some of the info and advice offered is reasonable, but some is bad, archaic, or misleading.
   
   You go to their profile to confirm suspicions and the writers often make the classic mistakes of someone who's auto-generating/copying and pasting material. Crappy, vague bios, multiple articles published daily, unfeasible amount of specialist "knowledge" on a vast array of topics, etc...
   
   I'm not sure how we're supposed to react to this? I mean we can report articles if they're low quality but what about forum comments? Do we ignore? argue? report?

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   1. 84

      bravewarriorposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      Paul, can you provide links or copies of what you're talking about? You and Bev seem to be able to spot bot words. I'm not yet that adept.

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      1. 87

         theraggededgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

         There's one newbie posting on the 700 words thread. See his comment and check out his articles.

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         1. 84

            bravewarriorposted 19 months agoin reply to this

            I haven't seen that thread, Bev.

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            1. 87

               theraggededgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

               https://hubpages.com/community/forum/35 … ost4282758

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               1. 84

                  bravewarriorposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                  Thanks, Bev. I now remember that thread. I need to pay closer attention. This whole AI thing kinda has me in a whirlwind. I'm discovering that I'm a bit naïve in trusting that people are basically honest. Robots never came into my mindset. Guess I should have watched more sci-fi in my life travels!

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                  1. 96

                     PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

                     There are two comments in the "700 words" thread and one in the "keyword research tools" that I believe to be AI-generated. It's more than one writer.
                     
                     I suspect it will destroy the forums if it essentially just becomes soul-less bots communicating with each other.
                     
                     At least the niches have human editors to act as filters. The forums are to some extent policed by us, certainly in the sense that we're responsible for reporting.

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                     1. 84

                        bravewarriorposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                        I sure hope the forums don't become extinct through corruption, Paul. It's the only form of communication between writers left on this site.

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                     2. 96

                        AliciaCposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                        The problem is that although I’ve seen posts that I suspect were created by AI, I wouldn’t want to report them when I may be wrong. I wish there was some way for me to be certain.

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                           theraggededgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                           It's easy to spot the fake articles. I should put a list of signs together.

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                           1. 96

                              AliciaCposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                              Don’t publicize this list, Bev. I have been reading about AI today. While it could have multiple benefits, there are also major concerns linked to the technology.

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   2. 96

      AliciaCposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      It’s very concerning with respect to human communication. Online communication can be a lifeline for people with an infirmity that stops them from leaving their home. It can also be important for people who can’t communicate fully with other people if they do leave home due to a hearing or speech disability or another problem.
      
      An AI “friend” is not actually a friend, but some people may have to pretend that they are in the near future.

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      1. 84

         bravewarriorposted 19 months agoin reply to this

         Lordy, is this the way of the world now? I have so many online friends, thanks to HP. I can't fathom resorting to getting my friend fix by way of robots!

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   3. 92

      SerenityHaloposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      I might be being really naive, but I don't really understand why someone would use AI for forum comments.

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      1. 96

         PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

         It wasn't something that I expected myself until it began happening.
         
         I guess they see it as a way of establishing credibility and reputation with others. They want to appear knowledgeable not just about subject matter, but also the English language.
         
         Instead, like Bev says, it just draws attention to them.

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   4. STAFF

      Matt Wellsposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      Flag the suspected AI forum posts for moderator review and enter the reason for the flag.

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2. 87

   theraggededgeposted 19 months ago

   It's really weird. Why would anyone think it's a clever thing to do?
   
   What it will do is to drive genuine writers away. Hubpages needs to clarify its stance regarding 'pure' AI content. And if they decide it's unacceptable then maybe place a warning in the hubtool.

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   1. 69

      OldRosesposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      I think the attraction may be for non-native English speakers who are not fluent in English.  Since "perfect" English is the standard here, they may think that they can fool everyone into thinking that they can write fluent English.

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3. 89

   cam8510posted 19 months ago

   I've always felt that was the goal, Shauna.

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4. 94

   eugbugposted 19 months ago

   The use of AI in forums has both its benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, AI can help in moderating the content, by identifying and filtering out spam, hate speech, and inappropriate posts. This can save moderators a significant amount of time and improve the overall quality of discussions on the forum. On the other hand, AI algorithms can sometimes make mistakes in their moderation decisions and filter out legitimate content, leading to a decrease in freedom of expression. Additionally, AI is not capable of understanding context or nuance in the same way as a human moderator, which can lead to errors in moderation decisions. Overall, AI has the potential to be a valuable tool for forums, but it's important to use it in conjunction with human moderators to ensure accurate and fair moderation decisions.

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   1. 94

      eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      Yeah, right. Can you give us the funny version?
      
      ""AI in forums is like the bouncer at a club. Sometimes it lets the cool people in, but sometimes it accidentally keeps out the life of the party. But hey, at least it's saving the moderators from having to work overtime sorting out the trolls and spam bots. Just imagine if AI could actually understand sarcasm and jokes, forums would never be the same! We'd have robots cracking up at our jokes and moderation would become a comedy show.""

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         theraggededgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

         We're doomed, I tell ye...
         
         

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      2. 96

         PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

         AI moderation is another issue. It's been around for some time. It's still pretty crude, even though it's got better. Its primary method for moderating hate speech, for instance, is focused on searching for specific derogatory words.
         
         I'm not against the use of AI moderation, even though it's crude and certainly has flaws and limitations.
         
         I'm concerned about comments in the forums here by AI-generated software, which is a recent development. It's honestly not worth involvement in the forums if half the comments are essentially bot-speak...
         
         Interactions where some of the parties are operating without context, nuance, or social connection is kind of weird and tedious.

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5. 82

   Misbah786posted 19 months ago

   I just posted a message in this forum a few minutes ago and then realized it was not the correct information, so deleted it. My apologies; I deleted cos don't want to spam the thread and confuse others.

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6. 93

   Kenna McHughposted 19 months ago

   HP staff needs to handle the unethical practices of writers fast. Otherwise, the AI articles will continue.

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7. 0

   Vladimir - Val Karasposted 19 months ago

   Since I am not ambitiously counting on my writing style being "instantly recognizable", please, let me remind you that I've been re-positing my articles and poems -- which is to explain their recent flooding the Forum. The only other explanation for such massive "production" would be copying and pasting of others' stuff  -- while I am literally disgusted by such an activity.
   Namely, I had closed my account, and after reopening it -- here I go editing some, reposting the most.
   I know, the main subject here has been AI, but I think someone mentioned  "copying and pasting" as well, so I felt this need to explain the multitude of my posts.
   As for AI, I have nothing to contribute, because I am a total ignoramus when it's about these technicalities.
   I just hope everything plays out in a satisfactory way for all of us.

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8. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 19 months ago

   Linda (Alicia) raises an important point; should those of us who don't have Bev's skill at spotting AI content report it?
   
   This morning, I came across four pieces that I strongly suspect are AI-generated. These are clues I think indicate AI-generated text:
   Dull, anodyne text
   A bio that doesn't match the English in the article (e.g. "I have a great passion to content writings")
   A paragraph that says "In conclusion" but is not necessarily the last comment.
   No text capsules with sub titles.
   (I sit to be corrected on this detective work)
   
   Because I cannot definitively say that this or that article is AI-generated, I report that I *suspect* this may be so and let the team, far more schooled in these dark arts than this geezer, examine the article with more sophisticated expertise.
   
   That way I do not falsely accuse anybody, but I can alert the team to a possible breaking of the rules.

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9. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 19 months ago

   I shall start reporting AI-generated forum content, as Matt suggested. Not sure if I'll do it retroactively, but will do so going forward.
   
   I had a play around with ChatGPT at the weekend. It actually surprised me how bad it is, considering all the hype. I also watched an interview with Prof Scott Galloway on the topic.
   
   The troubling thing with AI-generated material is that it can sound fairly convincing on a surface level, even when it's giving out bad info. That makes it a potentially powerful tool for those wanting to mislead.
   
   I can only guess that it will rapidly evolve over the coming years, given all the potential uses it has.
   
   AI will likely be good for use in areas like the medical world, where they can crush massive amounts of data and figure out who's in greater danger of developing certain conditions, such as dementia or diabetes.
   
   Its influence in other areas, such as writing and music, I have my doubts about, though. I feel there's going to be a lot more generic, soul-less interaction happening
   
   I remember in one of the Philip K Dick sci-fi novels where the main character is traveling by an automated taxi and the computer-driver engages him in machine-generated chit-chat. It's meant to be cheery but actually achieves the opposite effect.

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