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I've been finding that digital only sources have been declining in quality for probably 5 years now. I have actually greatly reduced my reliance on them due to
by citizenpaul 2y ago
I've been finding that digital only sources have been declining in quality for probably 5 years now. I have actually greatly reduced my reliance on them due to the fact that anytime HTTP is involved you add a layer of potential marketing obscuring the goal. I've been finding especially lately that I would have been better just getting a book. In fact I've greatly increased by personal library after years of stagnation as the online source quality has decreased.
Books are dense on info (assuming its not a churned out book which are also a problem now with self publishing) the internet tends to be full of fluff and greatly increases the time that I spend sifting rather than just learning and researching. My best purchase in the last couple years is a 10.3" ebook reader. Technical subject books don't work well on smaller readers and it makes a huge difference in quality of my personal development/research/learning.
I do agree that right now LLM's can help you a lot when you are starting on especially on a subject you know little about. However this will absolutely be poisoned over time because marketing will always creep in until it dominates the HTTP source. There is simply too much money to be made jamming a product in someones face no matter how subtle over providing impartial information when it comes to HTTP. The subtle ads are the most insidious because they can often waste lots of your time without you realizing it. Sometimes for years if you don't realize you were evangelized rather than educated.
- SamPatt 2y agoThe majority of online content can decrease in quality while LLMs can increase in quality. If the decrease in quality is noticeable to you, then it can be accounted for by future model makers. We already know that quantity isn't everything. The average coming down only creates a stronger contrast for the high-quality work. As a writer, I'm excited about having LLMs available to help me. They're already indispensable.
- citizenpaul 2y agoI'll give an example a while ago I wanted to learn a new'ish tech. I did some research LLM and search which led me to an online course. I figure eh $20 is probably worth it to hear from someone that has used it. After a couple of chapters I realized the author had no idea what they were doing and were literally reading page for page word for word from the official documentation. Valueless Trash masquerading as information. We've only just started down this forever merry-go-round of AI slop regurgitating and obscuring the often free source material for nothing more than profit off other peoples work.
- spudlyo 2y ago> However this will absolutely be poisoned over time because marketing will always creep in until it dominates the HTTP source. I often remind myself that we are in the golden age of LLMs, like the pre-enshitification days when Google would nearly always return relevant and useful results, and I felt like with access to the Internet I could learn anything.
- citizenpaul 2y agoThis exactly mirrors my expectations.
- laptopdev 2y agoEverytime I hear ebook my brain pictures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewok#/media/File%3AWicket_W_Warrick.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewok#/media/File%3AWicket_W_Wa...