AI Trash is Destroying the Web

Social media and Google have turned into a dumpster for "everything AI". It started in December 2022 when ChatGPT went viral, and its associated FOMO have now reached BTC, ETH, and NFT levels.

Everybody understood that AI is the future, and that there was money to be made - So every single BTC and NFT scammer immediately overnight became an "AI expert". Cheap 3rd grade course creators started creating courses on AI, and marketing agencies hired an army of mindless bots and 3rd world citizens to create meaningless comments and reshare their client's garbage AI-based content on Facebook and YouTube.

I can't even go to YouTube or Facebook anymore without some dubious "AI creator" trying to sell me junk. The modus operandi is always the same:

• Some marketing pshychopath claiming that "this is the deal of my life"
• Same guy explaining to me "how he made $5,000 per day doing this"
• Now for weird reasons he wants to "share his secret with me" such that I can "duplicate his success"
• All I need to do to become rich is to send this psycho $29, $79 or $129 in return for access to his knowledge or garbage product

98% of the time there's nothing of real value there. 1% of these offers have some value, but are inferior products, having hired an army of mindless bots and 3rd world citizen to like and comment on their inferior products. The remaining 1% have legitimate offers and will provide you with real value. And therein lies the problem. Those providing real value is drowning in this junk, and it becomes impossible for most to separate the junk from the real products and services.

The problem has reached such magnitudes now that even Google had to acknowledge it, and are trying their best to deal with this garbage.

ProductHunt, a Dumpster for AI

Go to ProductHunt and search for "ChatGPT". Last year there was roughly 50 releases every single day of some AI junkware. 99% of these products are utter crap and have no real value. You can easily recognise the trash because they've all got 50+ comments being some variation of:

• "Great product"
• "Interested"
• "Amazing"
• "Love it"

And they've all got 150+ likes, and 25 meaningless reviews, obviously created by somebody who never actually used the product. Most of them became the ProductHunt winner of the day, and used this as leverage to trick ignorant idiots into giving them money for some 3rd grade product with little or no substance, using FOMO as their primary sales argument.

Two days ago I was offered "a job" by some Russian or Ukrainian lady. I assume you can read for yourself, so I'm not even going to try to explain it to you.

I politely told her to "f--- off" and blocked her. Later I got curious, so I went back and unblocked her, only to see that she had deleted her account.

Before you "get ideas" here, paying $300 to $500 for such a job makes absolutely no sense what so ever. I suspect the real salary is probably closer to $50 per day. The job of course is to manage 100+ YouTube accounts, like, subscribe, and comment on 500+ YouTube videos, to artificially inflate some garbage channel with subs, views, likes and comments.

I told her to f--- off!!

The problem

The problem is the same as littering. It destroys the true beauty of the world, filling the world up with garbage, suffocating its real beauty in the process, making it impossible for most to separate the garbage from the real value.

We have a legitimate AI company, delivering real products. However, I'm now at the point where I'm almost ashamed of admitting I'm working with AI because of this. Because what most people associate with AI is basically the same they associate with crypto-based rug pull schemes, and NFT pump and dump scams - So most people intuitively believe we're scammers once I tell them we're working with AI.

Wrapping up

I have no idea how to fix this, but this is a real problem. It's become impossible to be noticed if you've got a legitimate real product, or you're providing a legitimate real service in the AI space. However, as with everything, step one is admitting we've got a problem, for then to start pointing out these scams for what they are, reporting them to Facebook, ProductHunt, YouTube, etc for what they are - Which are inferior products and scam services.

Because the way things are now, this simply cannot continue! And to the "lady" who offered me that job the other day;

Have you no shame in life? No ethics? No morals? You're a disgrace! Not only for the industry at large, but your village, city, and country. People like you are the reason why everybody immediately thinks that Ukrainians and Russians are all scammers and thieves. If your neighbours had any amount of honour left within themselves, they'd do something about you, because you are the scum of the earth!

Edit - I just went to YouTube. Here's an example of such garbage. One of these days I will buy myself 100+ laptops, and just put them to work, watching these garbage ads, to spend these guys' marketing budget on nothing!

So I obviously did my duty as a citizen, and reported them as a scam!

Comments

[ProgramCrafter]

I don't believe this started with Artificial Intelligence, nor was amplified that much? I'd rather label that "Non-Intelligent Trash is Destroying the Web", and I also doubt whether its effect is bound to Internet only.

[Thomas Hansen]

The thing went completely ballistic with AI. For me having a serious company in the space, obviously that's a big problem ...

But yes, you're right, it's always been there, just like litter in nature, and people throwing garbage on the freeway, etc ...

Same problem actually ...

[ProgramCrafter]

I also doubt whether its effect is bound to Internet only

In other words, I say: those scammers violate the Fiat Social Contract (one unwritten), their words and actions don't represent their beliefs and intents.

One of these days I will buy myself 100+ laptops, and just put them to work, watching these garbage ads, to spend these guys' marketing budget on nothing!

Artifically inflating views, even on ads... reminds of something... ah yes, you'd be also violating the Fiat Social Contract, since actions on your behalf would not represent how much you were swayed by the ad. To a less degree, I concur, but that would create an arms race.

[Thomas Hansen]

To a less degree, I concur, but that would create an arms race

I wasn't entirely serious, but I suspect it would solve the problem. Once they're paying $1,000 for each conversion instead of $1, obviously they won't bother anymore ...