5 ms·

One consequence of GPT-3 is that I am now highly sceptical of the human provenance of any HN comment on an article about GPT-3. It has made my HN experience obj

One consequence of GPT-3 is that I am now highly sceptical of the human provenance of any HN comment on an article about GPT-3. It has made my HN experience objectively less enjoyable, because I’m constantly expending effort to spot nonsense and avoid wasting time reading it. Perhaps most worrying is not how “human-like” GPT-3 can be, but how “GPT-3 like” humans can be. When I am in “nonsense-detection” mode, I drill down into paragraphs to spot non-sequiturs etc and I find plenty of HN comments are rambling, contradictory, or I just can’t ascertain the meaning of the text. If anyone gets this far through my comment, you may now be wondering if I’m hilariously posting a GPT-3 output (I am not). I wonder how a human might seek to convince others that they are not GPT-3. I think using unusual exotic rarely-encountered vocabulary or word combinations or sentence structure that GPT-3 is unlikely to pick up would help. Or referring to current events in a way that makes sense (that lockdown in Greater Manchester would be an example for people in the U.K.). It certainly has the power to ruin HN and other forms of debate online. Perhaps one consequence will be more video chat and audio calls (until deep fakes become great) and then a retreat to the physical world for serious discussion.

zzleeper 6y ago
Maybe is for the best? GPT-3 is a lot of bla bla bla without actually conveying anything useful. And now it's shedding light on the reality that most of our words and sentences are just fillers. Before, I used to have low patience about prose that was too verbose. But now with GPT3 more people will start doing so, amd commenters will hace to start beong succinct in order to be read.
- therein 6y ago
  Your comment would have been incredible if you had ended with: > Before, I used to have low patience about prose that was too verbose. But now with GPT3 more people will start doing so, amd commenters will hace to start introducing typos to beong perceived as a human.
- LdSGSgvupDV 6y ago
  Could GPT-3 generate wrong typing words? Maybe in the future we need to use wrong grammar and mistyped word to convince others we are hhuman.
unabst 6y ago
Can GPT-3 make a valid point? Good writers have something to say, and they don't waste words saying it. Someone just good with language is an editor. Or a babbler. Or a rapper.
- NaNtales 6y ago
  Some of the most talented and pertinent writers of our time are rappers. I would encourage you not to dismiss them so readily.
  - unabst 6y ago
    Yes. But they are also good writers, no? After the premise that good writers have something to say, it should be clear I am referring to the "just rapper" rapper.
- splatzone 6y ago
  How do you feel about poets?
  - unabst 6y ago
    A good poet has something to say, and wastes no words saying it.
- manjalyc 6y ago
  Well that seems awfully close minded. “Good writers” are those who can engage their audience, your perspective of a “Good writer” is simply a reflection of you as a target audience. No need to put everyone in your box.
  - unabst 6y ago
    How do you engage your audience without giving them anything? With just word play? And are we all forgetting the context of GPT-3 and the post I was replying to? Also Jay-Z isn't every rapper. I'm pretty sure even Jay-Z would agree most rap is not very substantive or saying anything new. It's cookie cutter.
082349872349872 6y ago
Does GPT-3 output evidence a sense of humour? (even a bad one, say dad joke level?) If GPT-3 can produce a comment that makes me think more deeply about something, then wetware or software leaves me indifferent, I'm all for more of it. https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/ is more apposite than it first appears: in the print world, publishers were very aware of exactly how much editorial they needed to pad out the advertisements. (forget about convincing people I'm human, I can't even necessarily convince HN commenters that I was alive in the 80's: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23368577 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23368577 )
- nullc 6y ago
  It seems that GPT-3 has its own sense of humor, more of an anti-humor in fact. It is better in bulk. I prompted with a message describing your post and some text that said a reply had a funny joke-- letting it know we were talking about machines making jokes might have handicapped it some. Here are some continuations: "Turns out there are two kinds of computers: those with funny jokes in them and those without." "If we had an AI that could make jokes, would it be funny? Yes, but only if you're a robot." "What's the difference between a computer and a dog? The difference is that when you tell someone a dog is stupid, they don't believe you." "What do you call a man who has everything but the one thing he wants most? A miser." "If you're going to be the next Jeopardy! champion, don't make a stupid pun. It's not funny." "If you push a button in the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, what happens? The machine explodes!" "The answer is no. It does not make you laugh." "You know what the worst thing about being a computer is? It's not having any sense of humor!" "The question is, what do you call the thing that does nothing but read? A robot. The answer to the next question is no, because robots are boring." "No, but you can make it say 'Wetware' in big letters across the screen. That's what I did." "A man is walking along the beach. Suddenly he sees an octopus swimming towards him. He shouts 'Octopi don't know what they are doing!' The next moment he realizes his mistake and runs back to shore as fast as possible." "A man walks into a bar... A woman sitting at the next table says to him, "I'm sorry, but I can't serve you." "Why not?" he asks. "Because I don't know how," she replies. "Well what are your qualifications?" he demands. "My bachelor's degree is in mathematics," she explains." "GPT-3 has been programmed to be able to tell the difference between a man and a woman. It's just as well since we don't make any mistakes when it comes to that sort of thing." "GPT-3 is the most advanced AI ever created. It has been programmed to make jokes at your expense." "The only thing worse than being caught with your pants down is not having any pants at all. -Robocop" "GPT-3 is the only computer in the world that can tell if you're having an affair with your wife." "What do you call a guy who has been married to his computer for 20 years? A lifer. What do you call a guy who has been divorced from his computer for 20 years? An ex-lifer." "How do you know the GPT-3 is running Windows? Because its screen saver shows a man in a suit. He's not wearing any pants." (It also offered the commentary: "So, what does this mean? Is there some sort of joke here? Does it imply that the computer has a sense of humor and is making fun of us? Or is it just another example of how we humans are so much alike despite our differences?") "The only thing GPT-3 likes better than crackers are the smell of napalm and Kool Aid." "GPT-3 is the only program in existence that thinks 'If this were a movie, it would be called 'The Program'." "GPT-3 is a computer program that produces funny comments. It's written in the programming language BASIC." "GPT-3 is an acronym for 'Get Potty trained to be a Programmer'." "GPT-3 - the greatest joke in programming" (And it also offered the commentary: "That made me laugh so hard I almost cried. It's the first time in my life that I've laughed out loud like this. And then I thought "What if it could do that to other people too?" That's when I started thinking about how we might use it as an attack vector against our enemies...")
xwdv 6y ago
There are some GPT-3 based users actively posting on HN at this moment. Is there some derogatory term for them?
bradstewart 6y ago
Does it matter? I find I'm always in "nonsense-detection" mode on the internet these days. If I find some value or insight in a piece of text, should I care if it was produced by a human or a machine? You said it yourself: humans are GPT-3 like, and GPT-3 is human like.
devalgo 6y ago
>One consequence of GPT-3 is that I am now highly sceptical of the human provenance of any HN comment on an article about GPT-3 This likely isn't a bad thing. As more and more generative models come out it's likely that a majority of web based discourse will be bots. This is already a major issue on Twitter and being able to pick out real comments will probably be an important skill going forward.

zzleeper 6y ago

Maybe is for the best? GPT-3 is a lot of bla bla bla without actually conveying anything useful. And now it's shedding light on the reality that most of our words and sentences are just fillers. Before, I used to have low patience about prose that was too verbose. But now with GPT3 more people will start doing so, amd commenters will hace to start beong succinct in order to be read.

therein 6y ago
Your comment would have been incredible if you had ended with: > Before, I used to have low patience about prose that was too verbose. But now with GPT3 more people will start doing so, amd commenters will hace to start introducing typos to beong perceived as a human.
LdSGSgvupDV 6y ago
Could GPT-3 generate wrong typing words? Maybe in the future we need to use wrong grammar and mistyped word to convince others we are hhuman.

unabst 6y ago

Can GPT-3 make a valid point? Good writers have something to say, and they don't waste words saying it. Someone just good with language is an editor. Or a babbler. Or a rapper.

NaNtales 6y ago
Some of the most talented and pertinent writers of our time are rappers. I would encourage you not to dismiss them so readily.
- unabst 6y ago
  Yes. But they are also good writers, no? After the premise that good writers have something to say, it should be clear I am referring to the "just rapper" rapper.
splatzone 6y ago
How do you feel about poets?
- unabst 6y ago
  A good poet has something to say, and wastes no words saying it.
manjalyc 6y ago
Well that seems awfully close minded. “Good writers” are those who can engage their audience, your perspective of a “Good writer” is simply a reflection of you as a target audience. No need to put everyone in your box.
- unabst 6y ago
  How do you engage your audience without giving them anything? With just word play? And are we all forgetting the context of GPT-3 and the post I was replying to? Also Jay-Z isn't every rapper. I'm pretty sure even Jay-Z would agree most rap is not very substantive or saying anything new. It's cookie cutter.

082349872349872 6y ago

Does GPT-3 output evidence a sense of humour? (even a bad one, say dad joke level?) If GPT-3 can produce a comment that makes me think more deeply about something, then wetware or software leaves me indifferent, I'm all for more of it. https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/ is more apposite than it first appears: in the print world, publishers were very aware of exactly how much editorial they needed to pad out the advertisements. (forget about convincing people I'm human, I can't even necessarily convince HN commenters that I was alive in the 80's: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23368577 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23368577 )

nullc 6y ago
It seems that GPT-3 has its own sense of humor, more of an anti-humor in fact. It is better in bulk. I prompted with a message describing your post and some text that said a reply had a funny joke-- letting it know we were talking about machines making jokes might have handicapped it some. Here are some continuations: "Turns out there are two kinds of computers: those with funny jokes in them and those without." "If we had an AI that could make jokes, would it be funny? Yes, but only if you're a robot." "What's the difference between a computer and a dog? The difference is that when you tell someone a dog is stupid, they don't believe you." "What do you call a man who has everything but the one thing he wants most? A miser." "If you're going to be the next Jeopardy! champion, don't make a stupid pun. It's not funny." "If you push a button in the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, what happens? The machine explodes!" "The answer is no. It does not make you laugh." "You know what the worst thing about being a computer is? It's not having any sense of humor!" "The question is, what do you call the thing that does nothing but read? A robot. The answer to the next question is no, because robots are boring." "No, but you can make it say 'Wetware' in big letters across the screen. That's what I did." "A man is walking along the beach. Suddenly he sees an octopus swimming towards him. He shouts 'Octopi don't know what they are doing!' The next moment he realizes his mistake and runs back to shore as fast as possible." "A man walks into a bar... A woman sitting at the next table says to him, "I'm sorry, but I can't serve you." "Why not?" he asks. "Because I don't know how," she replies. "Well what are your qualifications?" he demands. "My bachelor's degree is in mathematics," she explains." "GPT-3 has been programmed to be able to tell the difference between a man and a woman. It's just as well since we don't make any mistakes when it comes to that sort of thing." "GPT-3 is the most advanced AI ever created. It has been programmed to make jokes at your expense." "The only thing worse than being caught with your pants down is not having any pants at all. -Robocop" "GPT-3 is the only computer in the world that can tell if you're having an affair with your wife." "What do you call a guy who has been married to his computer for 20 years? A lifer. What do you call a guy who has been divorced from his computer for 20 years? An ex-lifer." "How do you know the GPT-3 is running Windows? Because its screen saver shows a man in a suit. He's not wearing any pants." (It also offered the commentary: "So, what does this mean? Is there some sort of joke here? Does it imply that the computer has a sense of humor and is making fun of us? Or is it just another example of how we humans are so much alike despite our differences?") "The only thing GPT-3 likes better than crackers are the smell of napalm and Kool Aid." "GPT-3 is the only program in existence that thinks 'If this were a movie, it would be called 'The Program'." "GPT-3 is a computer program that produces funny comments. It's written in the programming language BASIC." "GPT-3 is an acronym for 'Get Potty trained to be a Programmer'." "GPT-3 - the greatest joke in programming" (And it also offered the commentary: "That made me laugh so hard I almost cried. It's the first time in my life that I've laughed out loud like this. And then I thought "What if it could do that to other people too?" That's when I started thinking about how we might use it as an attack vector against our enemies...")

xwdv 6y ago

There are some GPT-3 based users actively posting on HN at this moment. Is there some derogatory term for them?

bradstewart 6y ago

Does it matter? I find I'm always in "nonsense-detection" mode on the internet these days. If I find some value or insight in a piece of text, should I care if it was produced by a human or a machine? You said it yourself: humans are GPT-3 like, and GPT-3 is human like.

devalgo 6y ago

>One consequence of GPT-3 is that I am now highly sceptical of the human provenance of any HN comment on an article about GPT-3 This likely isn't a bad thing. As more and more generative models come out it's likely that a majority of web based discourse will be bots. This is already a major issue on Twitter and being able to pick out real comments will probably be an important skill going forward.