Will forums become redundant due to AI ?

Forums › Social networks, social media and tools › Will forums become redundant due to AI ?

xpd

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#305725 31-May-2023 09:44

Just talking about AI in the office and got me thinking..... majority of online forums are "Q + A"..... so now AI can give you answers quickly (and generally accurate), would you still frequent forums ?

Or is it more of a social thing for you, visiting and replying to people ?

Humans are inherently social animals, but if AI was to take over aspects of being social, would you manage......

Food for thought ? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm probably just rambling :D

XPD / Gavin

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#3082664 31-May-2023 09:50

I suspect varying opinions and options will always be useful, plus the human connection is nice.

Currently AI can produce highly plausible but completely incorrect answers to queries. I asked Bing AI (which is based on ChatGPT 4) a technical question recently. It gave me step by step answers to achieve what I wanted to achieve with a cloud firewall, but they were completely made up as those options didn't exist and for reasons I realised later, couldn't exist.

bmoff

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#3082666 31-May-2023 09:52

Given some of the garbage that's posted on Geekzone, I thought we were already there!

MarkM536

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#3082728 31-May-2023 12:33

Forums share unique user experiences, fault finding and solutions.

If someone else hasn't had the same issue/idea, AI won't have data to give you an answer.

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#3082729 31-May-2023 12:34

The irony is you are asking this question in a forum, rather than the AI. Maybe that is then your answer :)

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#3082742 31-May-2023 12:46

You could probably feed the posts of regular Geekzone contributors into an AI program and then ask a question and get the AI response you would expect from those particular GZers. But as has been shown it depends who has coded the AI.

There should still be value in the human interaction aspect. Otherwise you could just get the chatbots to “talk amongst themselves” for our amusement.

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Senecio

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#3082755 31-May-2023 13:10

No, AI can never replace the social interaction nor provide real world experience. If I ask for feedback on a certain product here I know I will get helpful responses from people who have used that product and can share their experience with it. AI can't do that.

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Bee

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#3082778 31-May-2023 13:51

If AI means robotic dinosaurs as in Horizon Zero Dawn, then we need to stop AI now! I hope this forum at least, will always exist but already forums are an endangered species -killed by Youtube and Facebook.

Edited as always for correct punctuation.

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Earbanean

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#3082782 31-May-2023 14:02

Senecio:

No, AI can never replace the social interaction nor provide real world experience. If I ask for feedback on a certain product here I know I will get helpful responses from people who have used that product and can share their experience with it. AI can't do that.

Yep, it probably can. AI could ingest, analyse and summarise for you, reviews and comments about that certain product from people across the whole world. GZ will just have the views of it's own members which will probably by a tiny subset of total global users - and may be a subset of zero people who have used the product at time of posting.

gehenna

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#3082787 31-May-2023 14:20

I don't come to forums just to get answers to questions. I come to get answers from the people on the forums themselves. We all have unique opinions, with a NZ context, and our experience shapes our answers. I can get a fact from AI, I can't get an opinion about something like i can from a local peer.

Earbanean

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#3082791 31-May-2023 14:34

gehenna:

I don't come to forums just to get answers to questions. I come to get answers from the people on the forums themselves. We all have unique opinions, with a NZ context, and our experience shapes our answers. I can get a fact from AI, I can't get an opinion about something like i can from a local peer.

I tend to agree. However, as devil's advocate, why can't AI present you with unique opinions from NZ user experiences. GZ isn't a person. It's a computer app running on a server that presents input from people. Similarly, AI can ingest and present opinions from real people - NZ or otherwise.

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#3082793 31-May-2023 14:41

Earbanean:

Similarly, AI can ingest and present opinions from real people - NZ or otherwise.

Only if those opinions have been documented on the Web,

Most people searching for answers come to GZ after google fails them.... While AI might raise the bar , pretty much most of the stuff that comes out of GZ responses are from peoples experiences that they haven't dumped on the Web,

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#3082794 31-May-2023 14:42

coffeebaron:

The irony is you are asking this question in a forum, rather than the AI. Maybe that is then your answer :)

Soooo... this is what ChatGPT said in answer to "now AI can give you answers quickly (and generally accurate), would you still frequent forums ?"

As an AI language model, I don't have personal preferences or needs like humans do, so I don't frequent forums or engage in online communities. However, I understand the value of forums for human users. While AI can provide quick and generally accurate answers, forums still serve several purposes:

Discussion and collaboration: Forums allow users to engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and collaborate on specific topics. This interactive and social aspect of forums can't be replicated by AI alone.

Diverse perspectives: In forums, you can interact with multiple individuals who may have different viewpoints, experiences, and expertise. This variety of perspectives can lead to richer discussions and help you gain a broader understanding of a topic.

Specific or niche knowledge: Some forums are dedicated to specific subjects or fields where enthusiasts, experts, or professionals gather. These communities often have a deep understanding of their respective domains and can provide specialized insights that may not be readily available through general AI models.

Real-time updates and personal experiences: Forums can be useful for receiving real-time updates, current news, or firsthand accounts from individuals who have faced similar challenges or experiences. This kind of information can be valuable, especially in rapidly evolving fields or situations.

While AI can provide quick answers, forums continue to offer unique benefits, including community interaction, diverse perspectives, specialized knowledge, and personal experiences. Depending on your needs and preferences, forums can still be a valuable resource alongside AI-powered solutions.

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#3082797 31-May-2023 14:47

Earbanean:
Senecio:

No, AI can never replace the social interaction nor provide real world experience. If I ask for feedback on a certain product here I know I will get helpful responses from people who have used that product and can share their experience with it. AI can't do that.

Yep, it probably can. AI could ingest, analyse and summarise for you, reviews and comments about that certain product from people across the whole world. GZ will just have the views of it's own members which will probably by a tiny subset of total global users - and may be a subset of zero people who have used the product at time of posting.

Assuming everything was replaced by AI content, then there wouldn’t be any reviews for the AI to analyse. Perhaps if it was given access to the background analytics of Siri and picked up people swearing about their Brother printer getting another paper jam however …

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Earbanean

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#3082802 31-May-2023 14:55

MadEngineer:

Assuming everything was replaced by AI content, then there wouldn’t be any reviews for the AI to analyse. Perhaps if it was given access to the background analytics of Siri and picked up people swearing about their Brother printer getting another paper jam however …

I think that's part of the fear. Once it has access to every email, text message, phone call, etc then it will know what billions of people in the first world are thinking and saying. The opinions currently available on online forums will seem like cave paintings to the vast data SkyNet, I mean AI, will have.

cddt

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#3082910 31-May-2023 16:20

AI won't make forums any more redundant than social media has. Which is "not entirely", in case my position wasn't clear (I don't use social media except a couple of forums).

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