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Comment by quasse | Hacker News Reader

Kagi returns basically the same result set including the AI generated slop, which is disappointing.

I'm not sure how they could do any better. AI is enabling the degradation of the public web, and that's what they search.

Pretty soon the web's going to be one big Mikkelsen Twins ebook.

Well, here's an actual photo they could have used: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/29/japan/science-h...

And here is an earlier rendering from 2021: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/12/31/national/japan-...

And it only took a simple Google search to find, from a reputable news source.

This really says it all. Theres the right thing and then 1000 signs pointing every which way saying Eat At Joe's like a bugs bunny cartoon.

Blaming AI for the current trajectory of the Internet is like blaming the Internet for the current trajectory of public discourse & trust - they're both only instruments for the real reasons.

I don't buy the whole "tools are neutral, it's the people who are good or bad" responsibility-dodge argument. It's definitely true that many tools can be used for good or bad, certainly. But the people who create a tool should consider how they expect people will use their tool, and the ease at which people can use it for bad. This is pretty much Engineering Ethics 101.

When you zoom out though, this engineering problem is a cultural and political one.

If you are designing apps in an environment of scammers and shameless grifters, the options for the societies you can build are reduced.

Focusing on the core issue of "how can we stop people from destroying nice things" is critical for society-scale engineering, as it frees ethical engineers to create more magnificent tools.

Ignoring law / politics / etc, and solely focusing on "how can I design this given presence of grifters" is muted engineering.

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