4 ms·

> I don't think there is an algorithm that can tell the difference between fact an opinion So, you're telling me that this news story about a fake news story d

by louthy 10y ago

> I don't think there is an algorithm that can tell the difference between fact an opinion So, you're telling me that this news story about a fake news story detector is in fact fake? Shocking. I wonder how the detector would do against the article? Seriously though. I agree with all the above, and also as soon as we have something resembling a fake news story detector, it will be gamed. Like SEO games search engines. It's inevitable. Somehow we need to teach people how to spot the bullshit and not propagate.

kcorbitt 10y ago
This rather reminds me of https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/
the_cat_kittles 10y ago
> as soon as we have something resembling a fake news story detector, it will be gamed ... > Somehow we need to teach people how to spot the bullshit and not propagate those two things are in contradiction!
- qb45 10y ago
  Not sure what contradiction you mean. Human bullshit detectors are being gamed all the time (and had been since forever) but they are still more effective than anything contemporary computers could do. Unlike computers, people can go and see events themselves, ask questions to witnesses, ask questions to experts, self-organize, google, bing if google returns crap, lookup official deadtree records and generally do quite a lot of things cheaters would have hard time anticipating in advance.
  - pohl 10y ago
    The very modern fake news phenomenon is a notable example of human BS detectors being successfully gamed by, for example, small shops in Macedonia that generate large volumes of nonsense that confirms their tribal biases and harvests ad revenue from viral sharing. The humans they trick are operating with media literacy skills that were adequate a decade ago but are not today. There is certainly an arms race here.

4 ms·

> I don't think there is an algorithm that can tell the difference between fact an opinion So, you're telling me that this news story about a fake news story d

by louthy 10y ago

kcorbitt 10y ago
This rather reminds me of https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/
the_cat_kittles 10y ago
> as soon as we have something resembling a fake news story detector, it will be gamed ... > Somehow we need to teach people how to spot the bullshit and not propagate those two things are in contradiction!
- qb45 10y ago
  Not sure what contradiction you mean. Human bullshit detectors are being gamed all the time (and had been since forever) but they are still more effective than anything contemporary computers could do. Unlike computers, people can go and see events themselves, ask questions to witnesses, ask questions to experts, self-organize, google, bing if google returns crap, lookup official deadtree records and generally do quite a lot of things cheaters would have hard time anticipating in advance.
  - pohl 10y ago
    The very modern fake news phenomenon is a notable example of human BS detectors being successfully gamed by, for example, small shops in Macedonia that generate large volumes of nonsense that confirms their tribal biases and harvests ad revenue from viral sharing. The humans they trick are operating with media literacy skills that were adequate a decade ago but are not today. There is certainly an arms race here.