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eppur_se_muova

(40,646 posts)
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 09:20 PM 14 hrs ago

Should AI-created content in posts be alerted on ? UPDATED: for ethical consistency

Last edited Thu Dec 4, 2025, 02:59 AM - Edit history (1)

ETA: It occurred to me belatedly that in using a chatbot-generated reply for one of the choices, I was in fact guilty of the very transgression I was bemoaning ! One DUer suggested that AI content should be identified with something like an excerpt box. Unfortunately, DU's software does not seem to have a means for excerpting answers in a poll, or the content within that answer. So I will have to settle for pointing out that at least one of the options presented for voting was provided by a chatbot, and hope that is enough to calm the complaints of ethical inconsistency. Ponder the implications of that update as you will.

Rest easy.


40 votes, 2 passes | Time left: Unlimited
YES
29 (73%)
NO
7 (18%)
This is a complex and evolving question with strong arguments on both sides, and the answer often depends on the context of the content.
4 (10%)
no opinion
0 (0%)
I'm not telling.
0 (0%)
Show usernames
Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll
23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Should AI-created content in posts be alerted on ? UPDATED: for ethical consistency (Original Post) eppur_se_muova 14 hrs ago OP
Not alerted - but somehow clearly identified - maybe with a color identifier as with videos, etc? NewHendoLib 14 hrs ago #1
changed my vote from yes... ret5hd 14 hrs ago #6
Based on WHAT?? It is in no way a violation of site rules. Jack Valentino 14 hrs ago #2
But it should be. paleotn 14 hrs ago #4
NO. Jack Valentino 14 hrs ago #5
That's it! Just so no to fakes. paleotn 14 hrs ago #7
It's unreliable. One expert after another has said that chatbots are built in such a way that they tell you what you eppur_se_muova 9 hrs ago #18
Alerted on for what? Renew Deal 14 hrs ago #3
Why not? 3825-87867 14 hrs ago #8
I think a better question is whether AI posts should be a violation of the TOS. Scrivener7 14 hrs ago #9
I voted yes, but agree with u berniesandersmittens 14 hrs ago #10
Yes, definitely. Scrivener7 14 hrs ago #11
Its a context thing. Eventually the AI bubble will burst but... FascismIsDeath 14 hrs ago #12
Definitely no womanofthehills 14 hrs ago #13
Is the 3rd option written by AI? Kaleva 14 hrs ago #14
LOL mr715 13 hrs ago #16
Thank you for picking up on that ! :D At first, I tried to write an AI-sounding post which I thought would capture ... eppur_se_muova 9 hrs ago #19
I don't know to be honest Niagara 14 hrs ago #15
How does anyone feel comfortable posting AI slop under their own name? hunter 13 hrs ago #17
Labelled KentuckyWoman 9 hrs ago #20
Isn't that like asking whether YouTube videos or links to Twitter posts should be a violation of the terms of service? meadowlander 9 hrs ago #21
Actually yes, theoretically no? jfz9580m 8 hrs ago #22
This is a confusing question jfz9580m 8 hrs ago #23

NewHendoLib

(61,492 posts)
1. Not alerted - but somehow clearly identified - maybe with a color identifier as with videos, etc?
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 09:25 PM
14 hrs ago

ret5hd

(22,063 posts)
6. changed my vote from yes...
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 09:30 PM
14 hrs ago

because this option should be included in the poll.

i think ai is a poison…and like a poison it should be labeled as such. a big skull and crossbones would suffice.

eppur_se_muova

(40,646 posts)
18. It's unreliable. One expert after another has said that chatbots are built in such a way that they tell you what you
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 02:39 AM
9 hrs ago

want to hear, with no way to determine if it's true or not.

We ban right-wing sources because they're maliciously misleading. It's not a huge leap to ban material which is systematically misleading, even when intent is lacking.

3825-87867

(1,757 posts)
8. Why not?
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 09:42 PM
14 hrs ago

I've had some of my political Trump Toons questioned because they'd been debunked by the time I posted them. And I missed that. I thank those who take the time to check on things so that wrong information isn't passed on.
It should just be noted that an article or image or whatever that was AI Generated would be so identified.
Just my two inflated cents.

Scrivener7

(57,989 posts)
9. I think a better question is whether AI posts should be a violation of the TOS.
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 09:52 PM
14 hrs ago

I believe so. I want to talk to people. And I don't want to contribute to AI's environmental disaster.

FascismIsDeath

(9 posts)
12. Its a context thing. Eventually the AI bubble will burst but...
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 10:05 PM
14 hrs ago

....its not going away. Might as well get use to it.

womanofthehills

(10,669 posts)
13. Definitely no
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 10:09 PM
14 hrs ago

Lots of info on AI. I have found so much info I never see on the web.

I have 2 friends who had breast implants removed because of “breast implant illness” - tens of thousands in Facebook “breast implant group. “

I find out on AI in the late 80’s /90’s 400,000 women sued Dow Chemical for $4 billion dollars for breast implant illness.Over $100 million were compensated I NEVER ever knew of this!!

That’s something that was kept quiet so they could put in implants again and ruin women’s health. The evil part is -Dow contributed to the new studies saying - all’s well - we made new studies so you can’t take us to court again.

My grandaughter is on methadone- it’s messing with the veins in her legs. Drs have NO clue. AI tells me the methadone creates histamine which can mess with her small veins. Why did no doctor know this???

So much info on AI!! Never take first answer as good - question deeper and disagree with AI to find info deeper into the web. You can’t take ask AI for references - so why is that different from any other search.

eppur_se_muova

(40,646 posts)
19. Thank you for picking up on that ! :D At first, I tried to write an AI-sounding post which I thought would capture ...
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 02:50 AM
9 hrs ago

the earnestly "thoughtful" I'm-not-taking-sides-here-just-coredumping-what-some-consider-facts tone of which most AI-written responses are so redolent. But then I had a wicked inspiration -- let a chatbot write it ! The results came out so similar to what I had already made up it was genuinely creepy ! I was really just thinking "smarmy" but the AI (Google Gemini) out-smarmed me.

Now, I'm going to go back and point out that ONE OF the answers was AI-generated !

Niagara

(11,251 posts)
15. I don't know to be honest
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 10:14 PM
14 hrs ago

There was an AI generated pet bird dancing to Alexa's playlist in The Lounge a few days ago.


No one on DU seems to like AI. And yet this particular OP got 55 Recs. The DU'er that posted this AI generated video is a long-time and well respected DU member.


I went to the Facebook page that produces these pet bird dancing to AI generated Alexa playlists. Every single one of these videos stated that it's 100% AI generated. I called it out as AI. The OP is still up and the video is still available to watch.


Unless it's labeled 100% AI generated, how are we suppose to know how to recognize AI? I've recently learned that SORA is an AI app generator so that helps a little.


Also, if DU dislikes AI generated content, members need to call it out instead of rec'ing. DU needs to pick a lane and stay in that lane instead of swerving all over the road.

hunter

(40,264 posts)
17. How does anyone feel comfortable posting AI slop under their own name?
Wed Dec 3, 2025, 11:00 PM
13 hrs ago


At the very least it should be placed in an excerpt box and labeled.

KentuckyWoman

(7,365 posts)
20. Labelled
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 02:50 AM
9 hrs ago

I struggle to see the difference sometimes. Othrr times it is obvious fake. Old fuddy duddy me thinks DU would be better off without fake crap but to each her own. At least label it.

meadowlander

(5,042 posts)
21. Isn't that like asking whether YouTube videos or links to Twitter posts should be a violation of the terms of service?
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 02:59 AM
9 hrs ago

AI is just a tool. It's what you use it for that is potentially irritating or detrimental to the community.

We already have ToS rules against spam, right wing talking points, kooky or extremist content, and graphic content, copyrighted material, etc.

What is the specific mischief posed by allowing people to use AI as part of their post that is not already covered by those rules? And, if so, wouldn't a more effective approach be adding that mischief to the list of no-no's than having endless debate over whether something was AI generated or not.

I mean I guess we could try to have a more explicit rule against posted misinformation that goes beyond "don't post right wing talking points" but I think that's going to be hard to enforce.

I don't personally have a horse in this race. I don't see the point of posting on a message board for fun if you are going to let AI write your posts for you. But I also don't see how a ban on AI would really work or what the justification for it would be. You'd waste a lot of time and resources trying to enforce it and you'd potentially make it harder for people to get the benefits (using it for research, quickly generated images for those of us who aren't remotely artistic, etc.)

jfz9580m

(16,271 posts)
22. Actually yes, theoretically no?
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 03:21 AM
8 hrs ago


If we lived in a civilized society where industrialization hadn’t gone in this direction, I could have envisioned AI that didn’t suck.

I worry sometimes that the wrong things are conflated with the real issue. It is not science, modernity, the nuclear family, women’s rights etc that are the issue. I sometimes worry that the backlash will yet again go in all the wrong directions and absorb JD Vance’s pronatalism into an argument for a post modern society.

It’s what these creeps have made of them.

I am eagerly waiting for this book:
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Author-Q-As/2025/0616/AI-futurism-adam-becker-more-everything-forever

(Which I ordered from Amazon ;-/. The other option was a Walmart subsidiary).

jfz9580m

(16,271 posts)
23. This is a confusing question
Thu Dec 4, 2025, 03:54 AM
8 hrs ago

Except when taken at face value. Since you host the science forum eppur_se_muova, in addition to an incoherent and thoughtless direct response, here is an incoherent and thoughtless indirect one.

As a subset of DUers are probably aware-since this is a community that would get it more than some, the more convoluted implications of these emerging technologies are confusing.

I saw this a while back right here -a creepy little guy using bots to make a nuisance of himself:
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-man-ai-bot-maga

And I have been feeling uneasy about something like this in the works:
https://www.noemamag.com/are-we-accidentally-building-a-planetary-brain/

I am feeling too lazy to spell it out with all the ifs and else’s. The whole thing makes my head hurt-what is literal, what is a metaphor? How do you differentiate between an idea,concept, symbol or representation and what it means in the real world. Where is something truly a matter of perspective versus absurdly testing the limits of sanity.

The hard right politics plus the confusion and chaos I have also contributed to some by bumbling about (though I don’t feel like groveling about it..I try to be more honest these days over assume I am talking only unreasonable jerks. Wodehouse had a point-the better people don’t want apologies if they know you feel bad about your errors and the worst hold them over you).

But the brief version is that as our realities get more filled with bots, agents etc which can appear to influence behavior, I have been uncertain as to how to go about deciding what to do. And there is an entire layer of professionals in between many of whom i wouldn’t trust..

I still don’t know what to do on a daily basis.

I don’t think you can influence behavior beyond drive learned helplessness in people with strong and definite views.
But you can still orchestrate behavior in ways that are a nuisance or stupid.

It’s something exasperating I ponder. There is nothing worse than being a useful idiot or seemingly far stupider than you are because it’s too many worlds colliding and one feels indignant at being scapegoated.

How is everything not the fault of creeps who make way more money and have way more power?

I certainly never use AI though I have chatted with an obscure British chatbot called cleverbot. Mostly for even more unfiltered rants about tech creeps (you guys here get the cleaned up version!) ..

It’s owner Rollo Carpenter didn’t seem as bad as the standard issue creepy AI and data science type (bah..too worn down for civility).

I have to think about it. I have mostly given up in exasperation. But I should probably try to figure out how to at least manage my own behaviors in an uncertain environment since regimented behavior is not my thing.

It’s confusing for humans. I can just about maybe envision cleaning up as a scientist in a narrow area. Except here I would assume I would be an outcast in a broader creepy “open society”. I hate everyone. You know what I mean. I thought everyone in science felt that way..
The love filled AI shilling people are a goddamn cult. I tried to keep it simple.


Rest easy..lol..I am out of places to run to.
I wonder if I should post that or not. Shrug..

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