Ask HN: Do you read differently now that anything could be AI generated?
Comments
ValtteriL
skyberrys
That's funny, I actively seek out books written post 2022, because I enjoy the injection of AI related humor and commentary that some authors include.
Similar to how movies now include texting dialogue sometimes, it's now part of art to imitate life. I imagine modern film has couples who met through AI now and so on.
dwa3592
>>When it comes to books, I avoid anything written by an author debuting after 2022
I like that and that's what i have been doing.
Do you go by the feels that the content you are reading is AI generated?
bdangubic
> When it comes to books, I avoid anything written by an author debuting after 2022
This is how civilizations end… Like we are done writing books now? Art too? We gonna stop here? Not sure I understand how this makes any sense…
dwa3592
>>This is how civilizations end.
I concur. It doesn't make any sense.
catcowcostume
One guys stops reading post 2022 books and civilization will end?
Everyone has their own standards. There are people not reading post 1900 books for a while and we still have new books. Let people live by their own rules ffs
dwa3592
No! The civilization won't end because one guy stopped reading books but it might be very very bad for the civilization if people stopped producing original work because AI disincentivized it.
Blackstrat
Fundamentally, if it comes from AI, I'm not interested. I would not rely on AI summaries, and certainly nothing identified as AI produced. AI is not creative in the human sense. I would never knowingly waste time reading something produced by a room full of monkeys banging on a keyboard. The same is true of AI produced code. LLMs are a malignancy that needs to be excised from society.
dwa3592
haha, i get that feeling sometimes. do you look for acknowledged use of AI? how do you tell it's coming from AI?
dokdev
As soon as I realize that it was AI generated, I stop reading. If I am on social media, I also unfollow the account that posted it. There is also a great blog post on this. [1] There is also one other point. To me, everything that comes from an AI needs verification. It goes to a grey area in my mind. It is neither true nor false which makes it very hard for me to learn from AI as well.
[1] https://raymyers.org/post/dont-make-me-talk-to-your-chatbot/
ergl
I feel I have a much more adversarial relationship with articles, comments and blogs online. I've been seeing old colleagues or acquaintances that I used to admire start to publish clearly AI generated blogs and I've noticed that my respect for them has taken a nosedive.
The online world feels much less useful now and I've been trying to read more physical books and to generally spend less time online (unfortunately one can't escape slop, as I've already seen clearly generated illustrations and photographs in billboards and subway adverts).
mkbkn
I skip if I realise or come to know it's an AI-generated text or image. Especially images.
sminchev
Reading a book, I do for fun. to get the stress away. Reading a novel is a whole new experience. To feel the story, imagine the characters, imagine how they feel, how they think. To really hate the bad guy....
AI can't replace that!
dwa3592
Nice! do you worry that you might start reading a book and it turns out to be AI generated?
sminchev
There are enough history novels out there ;)
sdevonoes
There is enough good material pre 2022
aewz6
Stopped reading books. I just ask for summaries of what I am interested in and then deep dive. Then I make notes of the whole session. Review it everyday and keep shrinking it down as much as possible. That file I preload as memory for next session.
sdevonoes
Good try, Sam Altman
dwa3592
>>Stopped reading books.
Because they could AI generated or because summaries are enough to understand the main ideas?- what if the book is AI generated in the first place?
What about news articles?
For AI written content I have a very low tolerance. I bounce right away when I notice I'm reading generated content, especially if it tries to be an essay or anything else than direct answer to my question at hand.
When it comes to books, I avoid anything written by an author debuting after 2022 unless there is a strong recommendation by someone close.
As for genres, it has made me read less purely technical books. My assumption is that I can learn enough of the subject as I go by chatting with a model.