I’ve been saying this for years! Once AI generated content is so widespread as to be undeniable, we’ll have to find institutional arbiters of trustworthiness so that we can reliably verify facts. Probably in a print publication of some kind—let’s say a journal. Perhaps these arbiters would then be called journalists.
I can’t wait for people to return to distrusting what they see on the internet. When I was growing up, I was to never believe what I saw online. And then all the adults forgot!
Oh wow thank you! I have been reading him some---I wasn't intending to adopt his style intentionally but I'm extremely flattered that you think I've channeled him at all. That dude is a genius.
I did actually read a piece of his recently that used little hypothetical parables, so maybe that was in my mind after all!
But I did, Jordan! I went outside for a jog today, because the weather is lovely, and at one point, I nearly bowled over a damn TODDLER because her face was buried in an IPHONE. Her parents didn't even notice, because they were too busy staring down at their phones as well. I thought that touching grass would help me, but it only increased my despair! Who gives an iPhone to a toddler during a family walk on a beautiful day?!
Jokes aside ... you make a great point. Perhaps all this lazy AI-generated content will be a net good after all, if it means we end up spending less time on social media to escape from it. 🙂
This was excellent. Sharp, funny, and the Godshark is going to live in my head rent-free. But the idea that we were “never meant to live in 1s and 0s” sticks with me. Not because it’s wrong, but because I’m not sure we were ever meant to live in anything at all.
The internet isn’t some great aberration. It’s just what happens when anxious monkeys have too much time and learn to code. Same with fire. Same with gypsy jazz. Same with protein powder and NBA basketball.
When I hear “put down the phones and go outside,” I’m the first to go trigger my seasonal allergies. But the grass is landscaped, the path is paved, and it’s owned by an HOA. It’s no more “natural” than a screen, and no less artificial than anything else we’ve made to survive ourselves.
We didn’t leave nature - we built nature, one anxious invention at a time.
Yeah, maybe we lost the plot. But there’s no return to monke. Monke got Wi-Fi, body dysmorphia, an ex-wife, and depression. If the internet dies, we probably don’t go back. We likely go forward. Because we always have. The only question is: what kind of strange, anxious monkey thing do we build next?
I’ve been saying this for years! Once AI generated content is so widespread as to be undeniable, we’ll have to find institutional arbiters of trustworthiness so that we can reliably verify facts. Probably in a print publication of some kind—let’s say a journal. Perhaps these arbiters would then be called journalists.
I can’t wait for people to return to distrusting what they see on the internet. When I was growing up, I was to never believe what I saw online. And then all the adults forgot!
See, and the galaxy-brained logical conclusion of this is to not believe journalists, either... 😂
Unrelated, but you’ve been reading more Scott Alexander, haven’t you? This post kinda sounds like him (and I mean that purely as a compliment!)
Oh wow thank you! I have been reading him some---I wasn't intending to adopt his style intentionally but I'm extremely flattered that you think I've channeled him at all. That dude is a genius.
I did actually read a piece of his recently that used little hypothetical parables, so maybe that was in my mind after all!
But I did, Jordan! I went outside for a jog today, because the weather is lovely, and at one point, I nearly bowled over a damn TODDLER because her face was buried in an IPHONE. Her parents didn't even notice, because they were too busy staring down at their phones as well. I thought that touching grass would help me, but it only increased my despair! Who gives an iPhone to a toddler during a family walk on a beautiful day?!
Jokes aside ... you make a great point. Perhaps all this lazy AI-generated content will be a net good after all, if it means we end up spending less time on social media to escape from it. 🙂
It's true, Stephanie...this lake would be so nice if it weren't for ALL THE OTHER FISH IN IT
Can we skip the uncomfortable middle / scary revolution part and go straight to the we all go outside again era?
Sure!
Oh that Simpsons clip is so good! The use of Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony is just… mwah!
Of course Martin is hoop rolling
He's a Sensitive Young Man indeed
This was excellent. Sharp, funny, and the Godshark is going to live in my head rent-free. But the idea that we were “never meant to live in 1s and 0s” sticks with me. Not because it’s wrong, but because I’m not sure we were ever meant to live in anything at all.
The internet isn’t some great aberration. It’s just what happens when anxious monkeys have too much time and learn to code. Same with fire. Same with gypsy jazz. Same with protein powder and NBA basketball.
When I hear “put down the phones and go outside,” I’m the first to go trigger my seasonal allergies. But the grass is landscaped, the path is paved, and it’s owned by an HOA. It’s no more “natural” than a screen, and no less artificial than anything else we’ve made to survive ourselves.
We didn’t leave nature - we built nature, one anxious invention at a time.
Yeah, maybe we lost the plot. But there’s no return to monke. Monke got Wi-Fi, body dysmorphia, an ex-wife, and depression. If the internet dies, we probably don’t go back. We likely go forward. Because we always have. The only question is: what kind of strange, anxious monkey thing do we build next?
My buddy Ellis wins the "meta comment" award for letting AI do this comment 💀
Show us your prompt...SHOW US YOUR PROMPT, ELLIS
*beep boop*