posted in Technology
AI chatbots give us a narrow slice of knowledge: Researchers warn of ‘knowledge collapse’
cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1429829/ai-chatbots-give-us-a-narrow-slice-of-knowledge-researchers-warn-of-knowledge-collapse
news.ku.dk/all_news/2026/09/ai-chatbots-give-us-a-narrow-slice-of-knowledge-researchers-warn-of-knowledge-collapse/Replying to @beep@piefed.world
There are a lot of reasons to hate AI, I don’t really buy into this one. “New technology only captures a subset of knowledge” is just not a new issue, and fearmongering around it is not new either.
I would be concerned about language collapse (i.e. models incrementally forget vocabulary + fail to adapt to new terms leading to language becoming incrementally worse) before I would worry about knowledge collapse, and I’m not that worries about language collapse.
Replying to @NotAnOtter@lemmus.org
Well, unlike you, experts are worried. Consider how knowledge is gathered, stored, and disseminated. AI interferes with each of these steps in dramatic ways.
Replying to @yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Fortunately I have media literacy and know that the existence of someone marketing a scary narrative doesn’t actually provide any credibility. I can read scary headlines and pass it through the “does the make sense?” filter before getting worried.
I agree the friction + manipulation that LLMs introduce is troubling, but “knowledge collapse” is the extreme end of that concern.
Replying to @NotAnOtter@lemmus.org
Do you think Terrance Tao (who’s been sanguine on AI) and all the other top mathematicians on the planet succinctly explaining how LRMs are going to decimate our understanding of mathematics are marketing something?
You’re an ignoramus whose tiny dregs of insight can survive virtually cataclysm. I’m not so sure about humanity’s larger domain of shared knowledge.
Replying to @NotAnOtter@lemmus.org
“thing doesn’t work on me, therefore it’s the same for everyone or not a problem”.
Fuckin classic lol.
It’s wild when people like you act wise but expose the complete lack of worldview extremely fast.