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from the avoiding-the-ouroboros-of-LLM-slop dept.
Blogger Matt Webb point out that nations have begun to need a strategic fact reserve, in light of the problem arising from LLMs and other AI models starting to consume and re-process the slop which they themselves have produced.
The future needs trusted, uncontaminated, complete training data.
From the point of view of national interests, each country (or each trading bloc) will need its own training data, as a reserve, and a hedge against the interests of others.
Probably the best way to start is to take a snapshot of the internet and keep it somewhere really safe. We can sift through it later; the world's data will never be more available or less contaminated than it is today. Like when GitHub stored all public code in an Arctic vault (02/02/2020): a very-long-term archival facility 250 meters deep in the permafrost of an Arctic mountain. Or the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
But actually I think this is a job for librarians and archivists.
What we need is a long-term national programme to slowly, carefully accept digital data into a read-only archive. We need the expertise of librarians, archivists and museums in the careful and deliberate process of acquisition and accessioning (PDF).
(Look and if this is an excuse for governments to funnel money to the cultural sector then so much the better.)
It should start today.
Already, AI slop is filling the WWW and starting to drown out legitimate, authoritative sources through sheer volume.
Previously
(2025) Meta's AI Profiles Are Already Polluting Instagram and Facebook With Slop
(2024) Thousands Turned Out For Nonexistent Halloween Parade Promoted By AI Listing
(2024) Annoyed Redditors Tanking Google Search Results Illustrates Perils of AI Scrapers
(Score: 4, Informative) by looorg on Tuesday January 21 2025, @11:28AM (5 children)
They do something similar here, it's a process -- On shelf, in archive, sold, burned. So it takes a while before the book burning starts. But there is a process to replace old with new. That said I do visit the library, either at the university or city a few times per month. What is noticeable for several decades now is how they are changing. It's not so much about the book and knowledge anymore. The library is about entertainment.
Both libraries I visit now now has a cafe/sallad bar attached to it. They do have an excellent cookie-buffet at the local library.
There is free internet service, multiple computers. Free to borrow.
There is a large selection of music and movie dvd available to borrow. There is also a large selection of computer and console games, I suspect that this one will dwindle tho as they are all physical copies so they can't have things that actually tie to an account on Steam or anything. So that is probably a short lived thing that will get removed "soon".
I mostly go there to either pick up some book or to read papers or magazines. But it would seem like old books are going away, getting replaced by new. There is a large focus on books, comics and graphical novels for children. Even tho most of the visitors are older, or seniors.
Anyway I think it was a long time since the library was actually some kind of eternal repository for knowledge. There are no stern librarians around anymore to shush you if you talk. Which I find odd and annoying, if I sit and read I don't want to hear other idiots talk on their phones.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Unixnut on Tuesday January 21 2025, @12:19PM (1 child)
Round these parts (UK/Europe) I have never heard of books being burned. Generally books go through a cycle. When new books/stock is delivered if there is no space than the old books are split into two:
1. Rare books are kept
2. Common books are disposed of
Then the next step (when another new stock of books come) is the process above is repeated, except the last generation "rare books" get sent to the central library to be archived (and nowadays digitised).
As for the disposal itself, first thing the library will do is offer the books for free to the public, as well as charities and local bookshops. The local bookshops will try to resell the old books, and if they run out of space due to new stock arriving, they will offer them for free (usually they place them in front of the book shop on the public way, you just pick whatever takes your fancy and walk off with it). Finally any books that are not even taken for free are sent to the paper recycling mill, where they get turned into more paper.
The Charities will do similar, either sell them to raise money for their cause, or in some cases provide books to their cause directly (e.g. old peoples homes or hospital wards).
Problem is the libraries round here are stuck in a doom loop of degradation. I don't think my local library has had new stock delivered in 10 years at least. Its a cycle of funding cuts because "nobody reads books anymore and library visits are down on last year" resulting in no funding to buy new stock, resulting in nothing much new for people to read, causing fewer people to visit, which then starts another round of funding cuts.
My local library looks really neglected and the above is the reason the librarians gave, until the libraries are shut down and the buildings sold to property developers for more expensive housing projects (the cynic in me would say this might well be the real reason their funding was cut in the first place).
Having the libraries as a repository of knowledge for LLMs would give them a reason to get more funding, so not only can they store, digitise and curate information, the increased funding could well improve the experience, bring in new stock and entice people to visit, thereby regenerating them and breaking the cycle of stagnation.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by pTamok on Tuesday January 21 2025, @01:19PM
Perhaps the data hoarders will help/save some future generation.
It's important to document what is happening now so that future generations (if they come to exist) have the opportunity to avoid making the same mistakes as us.
(Score: 4, Informative) by pTamok on Tuesday January 21 2025, @02:39PM (2 children)
Fahrenheit 451 [wikipedia.org] (published in 1953).
If you have not read it, or at least seen the film, then maybe you should.
I also recommend The Pedestrian [wikipedia.org] (published in 1951).
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday January 21 2025, @05:04PM
That some people outright refuse to read Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates some of the major themes of the story.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Wednesday January 22 2025, @02:05AM
And see if Seashells remind you of anything today.