Colinabstractcode@eigenmagic.net
Oct 12, 2026, 8:55 AMThe slop machine is a lot less impressive when you remember when search was actually useful.
Replies
bdf2121cc3334b35b6ecda66e471bdf2121cc3334b35b6ecda66e471@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 11:00 AM@abstractcode I wrote an application with cgraph/graphviz and, man, I feel like most SE use of LLMs would disappear if people wrote documentation like the Bell Labs folks
Brendan Halpinbthalpin@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 12:42 PM@abstractcode The big strength of the slop machine is that it (appears to) understand your question, in a way that search engines didn't. The big weaknesses are that the elegant and plausible answer is very likely wrong, and that it doesn't link well back to primary sources.
toerrortoerror@mastodon.gamedev.placeOct 12, 2026, 12:48 PM@bthalpin @abstractcode I suspect in part they can't link to primary sources because a lot of it is stolen content from books.
Aleksei � Matiushkinmudasobwa@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 2:46 PM- toerrortoerror@mastodon.gamedev.placeOct 12, 2026, 2:50 PM
@mudasobwa @bthalpin @abstractcode If the books are not publicly published online, then you can't link to them. You also probably don't want to remind people that the information you are giving them comes from a source that definitely did not volunteer their content to make your machine. Better to make people think it's intelligent.
- Aleksei � Matiushkinmudasobwa@mastodon.socialOct 12, 2026, 2:54 PM
“The idea—and even the desire—that the Internet would remain unregulated is gone.” ~ Lawrence Lessig, Code 2.0
Sue me.
Andre123 :tux:andre123@snowfan.itOct 12, 2026, 2:01 PM@abstractcode I've been searching this morning for a simple pdf of the instruction manual of a printer I bought second hand... it took way more time than it would have taken 10 years ago with a basic search ... this is not progress unfortunately !