LLMs Breaking Everything
We've only just mentioned a new rant about bots in Geminispace. They're a real nuisance to under-provisioned capsules. They're possibly collecting a lot of data for LLMs; it's hard to say.
Noting that LLMs ruin everything, an associate also quoted this new message a few hours ago: "Please use a different browser. We are still under hefty DoS and from time to time we need to lock out some user agent string (browser). Thank you cheap AI," said Werner of gnupg fame.
For me too, many pages are simply not accessible. I apparently use a "wrong" or "bad" browser; so I get blocked under the false assumption I am some rogue LLM bot. Ain't the "modern" Web just lovely?
One might discuss 'the tragedy of the commons' in relation to how the Web's openness jeopardises it. Quoting Harvard Business School (HBS): "While some products might seem harmless, their production and consumption can often threaten ecosystems and deplete natural resources. This phenomenon is known as the tragedy of the commons, and understanding it is crucial if you want to make sustainable choices in your personal and professional practices."
An associate thought we should moreover point out that LLMs are inherently flawed and pouring more money and electricity and data into them makes no difference there (because it is the concept which is flawed, not the scale). Society needs to begin policing the Commons for rogue actors, such as LLM operators.
The above HBS article has five examples, LLMs scraping is a clear sixth example.
That's just dealing with bots alone, it's not the whole problem.
Then there's the issue of Web content, not just the bots that ruin the Web. Yesterday I saw the latest slopfest from a slopfarm that used to be a real blog from Shusain:
Of course it's LLM slop.
Then there's this slopfarm being promoted by Google News again:
The issue here isn't Linux. "Cryptocurrency" is also a misnomer.
Today's Web is a giant pile of garbage or a blob.
Babbage?
No, garbage.
Computing and the Net became a playground for scammers and "bros", like people who "invented" fake currencies and also try to tell us that LLMs spewing out things will have some real value. █