this post was submitted on 23 May 2024
953 points (100.0% liked)

TechTakes

1425 readers
306 users here now

Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.

This is not debate club. Unless it’s amusing debate.

For actually-good tech, you want our NotAwfulTech community

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Source

I see Google's deal with Reddit is going just great...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 77 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Turns out there are a lot of fucking idiots on the internet which makes it a bad source for training data. How could we have possibly known?

[–] [email protected] 48 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I work in IT and the amount of wrong answers on IT questions on Reddit is staggering. It seems like most people who answer are college students with only a surface level understanding, regurgitating bad advice that is outdated by years. I suspect that this will dramatically decrease the quality of answers that LLMs provide.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (2 children)

It's often the same for science, though there are actual experts who occasionally weigh in too.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You can usually detect those by the number of downvotes.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Not really. A lot of surface level correct, but deeply wrong answers, get upvotes on Reddit. It’s a lot of people seeing it and “oh, I knew that!” discourse.

Like when Reddit was all suddenly experts on CFD and Fluid Dynamics because they knew what a video of laminar flow was.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

That's what I meant. I have seen actual M.D.s being downvoted even after providing proof of their profession. Just because they told people what they didn't want to hear.
I guess that's human nature.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I get you. Didn’t mean to come across as a “that guy”. So completely agree with you. The laminar flow Reddit shit infuriated me because I have my masters in Mech Eng and used to do a lot of CFD. People were talking out of their ass on “I know laminar flow!”

Well, see, it’s more than that. It’s not just a visual thing and…

“Ahhhh! I know laminar flow! Downvote the heretic!”

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

@Ragnarok314159

Sir… sir... SIR. I'll have you know that I, too, have seen laminar flow in the stream from a faucet. I’ll not have my qualifications dismissed so haughtily.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

My least favorite is when people claim a deep understanding while only having a surface-level understanding. I don't mind a '70% correct' answer so long as it's not presented as '100% truth.'

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago

“I got a B in physics 101, so now let me explain CERN level stuff. It’s not hard, bro.”

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

I was able to delete most of the engineering/science questions on Reddit I answered before they permabanned my account. I didn’t want my stuff used for their bullshit. Fuck Reddit.

I don’t mind answering another human and have other people read it, but training AI just seemed like a step too far.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Hey, buddy, some of us are smartarses, not idiots!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Hey! Speak for yourself!

I for one am totally an idiot!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

I am simultaneously a smartass and a dumbass.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago