MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
No, I'm not talking big stuff like finding cancer, or the like, I'm talking about a small and easy thing that would make a huge difference to any internet user.
I want it to add context to clickbait headlines on local news websites. You know the type "New Restaurant has fans travelling for 3 hours to visit it" or "You won't believe what they found under this old office block". All it needs it a button to press "give AI summary" and you find the name of the restaurant or that it was an old sock that was found, and you can get on with your day.
Job done.
Ignore in the first place? Job done.
Why bother with them?, what sort of internet user is at all bothered about such clickbait headlines?.
Any link that purposely places the “missing” informative headline behind a link you have to click is not worth wasting a minute of your day reading
I found I now need AI just to be able to search for things on the internet because AI has allowed so much crap to be vomited forth onto the World Wide Web I can't actually find the information I'm looking for with conventional search tools anymore.
This made me (as someone now using AI for work) chuckle:
DAVE: Open the podbay doors, ChatGPT.
CHATGPT: Certainly, Dave, the podbay doors are now open.
DAVE: The podbay doors didn't open.
CHATGPT: My apologies, Dave, you're right. I thought the podbay doors were open, but they weren't. Now they are.
DAVE: I'm still looking at a set of closed podbay doors.
https://bsky.app/profile/richterscale.bsky.social/post/3lr6xo3kfbs2v
Why bother with them?, what sort of internet user is at all bothered about such clickbait headlines?.
Lots - that’s why they work!
Some people have found a use for AI. It telling them they are the Messiah. 😳
https://futurism.com/chatgpt-mental-health-crises
The librarian immediately attempts to sell you a vuvuzela
https://kaveland.no/posts/2025-06-06-library
As a football fan this time of year is a nightmare and clickbait is not helping.
Headlines like "20 goal a year striker sends farewell message on social media after deal agreed for move away from SJP"
I have to click in case....and then it's that a deal for some fringe / expired contract player has been agreed and our 20 goal striker has sent a message saying what a great servant he's been and all the best.
Not a single lie in the headline. And yet got me, again. Bastards
Why bother with them?, what sort of internet user is at all bothered about such clickbait headlines?.
Lots - that’s why they work!
Yeah, they work for those with a room temperature IQ, everyone else just sighs, rolls their eyes, and carries on doing something meaningful with their lives.
Yeah, they work for those with a room temperature IQ, everyone else just sighs, rolls their eyes, and carries on doing something meaningful with their lives.
Denigration of the less able BINGO!
Job done.
Which is also what the person who programmed the AI to write those headlines thought. We are going to end up with power and water shortages after we have ten cycles or so of AI talking to AI.
In education they have people pushing using AI for marking which gives a really strong incentive to find out the model being used so that students can then use the same one to write the assignments.
because AI has allowed so much crap to be vomited forth so much crap
FTFY
Actually, you're probably right. I'm thinking in terms of people writing prompts into ChatGPT and then copy/pasting. That was so two years ago.
Now people no doubt have agents to read everything published online and then automatically generate and publish clickbait based off of that.
We're stuck in a never-ending self-perpetuating tsunami of bullshit that the entire internet is going to drown in.
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
AI is no worse at researching web information than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
The trick is to use AI to do the grunt work and then use human intelligence to refined and curate it.
Example. This is Groks reply to a simple question. Use this reply as the starting point for fact checking and research as some stuff is almost certainly wrong. The mistake people make is to just use the first results as the 'truth'.
**What is SingleTrackWorld?**
SingleTrackWorld is a prominent mountain biking media platform that has been active since its launch on April 1, 2001. It is known for its independent reviews, news, opinions, and community-driven content focused on mountain biking, with additional coverage of tech, gravel, and snow-related topics. The platform includes a magazine, a website, and an active online forum. SingleTrackWorld is recognized as the world’s second-largest dedicated mountain bike media brand, with significant reach and influence, generating over half a million unique visits and more than one million page views per month as of 2010. It emphasizes community engagement, offering a space for mountain bikers to share experiences, discuss trails, and connect. The platform also uses affiliate services like Skimlinks to generate revenue and has plans to offer shares through CrowdCube to involve its community in its future sustainability.[]( https://singletrackworld.com/) []( https://singletrackworld.com/media/) []( https://bikebiz.com/singletrackworld-figures-reach-major-milestones/amp/)
**Who Uses SingleTrackWorld?**
The SingleTrackWorld community primarily consists of mountain biking enthusiasts, ranging from beginners to experienced riders. Users include:
- **Highly Engaged Mountain Bikers**: The core demographic comprises dedicated mountain bike enthusiasts who are willing to spend on biking-related content, gear, and experiences. They engage with the platform through its website, forum, and weekly newsletters, which have a 45% weekly open rate and 80% monthly open rate among subscribers.[]( https://singletrackworld.com/media/)
- **Diverse Age and Skill Levels**: The forum showcases users of varying ages and skill levels, such as a 63-year-old rider who returned to mountain biking after a 12-year hiatus and shared their experiences biking in Nepal, or newer riders seeking to rebuild confidence after time away from the sport.[]( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/its-never-to-late-and-you-are-never-to-old/) []( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/all-the-gear-no-idea/)
- **Community Contributors**: Users actively participate in discussions on the forum, sharing advice, experiences, and even personal achievements like weight loss or international biking trips. Topics range from technical trail maintenance debates to other hobbies like rock climbing, road cycling, and brewing beer, indicating a broad, active community.[]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/comments/1cxwrs2/singletrack_yay_or_nay/) []( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/off-topic/what-are-your-other-hobbiesinterests-1/)
- **Global Reach with Local Focus**: While the platform has a global audience, it has a strong UK focus, with users discussing trails in areas like the Peak District, Tweed Valley, and Ashton Court. However, international users, such as those in Norway, also contribute, reflecting a diverse geographic user base.[]( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/proud-of-a-cool-video-we-made/)
- **Advocates and Volunteers**: Some users are involved in advocacy groups like Peak District MTB or Ride Sheffield, engaging in trail preservation and development discussions, showing a subset of users who are proactive in the sport’s sustainability.[]( https://kofthep.com/kofthep-community/)
**Sources of Information**:
-: Singletrack World Magazine – Doing mountain biking differently since 2001[]( https://singletrackworld.com/)
-: Media – Singletrack World Magazine[]( https://singletrackworld.com/media/)
-: Singletrackworld figures reach major milestones | BikeBiz[]( https://bikebiz.com/singletrackworld-figures-reach-major-milestones/amp/)
-: r/MTB on Reddit: Singletrack: Yay or Nay?[]( https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/comments/1cxwrs2/singletrack_yay_or_nay/)
-: Become a Shareholder in Singletrack Magazine – Singletrack World Magazine[]( https://singletrackworld.com/2025/06/become-a-shareholder-in-singletrack-magazine/)
-: Community - singletrackworld.com[]( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/its-never-to-late-and-you-are-never-to-old/)
-: Community - singletrackworld.com[]( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/off-topic/what-are-your-other-hobbiesinterests-1/)
-: Community - singletrackworld.com[]( https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/all-the-gear-no-idea/)
-: KoftheP community | Keeper of the peak[]( https://kofthep.com/kofthep-community/)
-: Singletrackworld figures reach major milestones - BikeBiz[]( https://bikebiz.com/singletrackworld-figures-reach-major-milestones/)
"What is SingleTrackWorld?"
ChatGPT: "Christ, not again"
Yeah, they work for those with a room temperature IQ
I know that STW is full of the most intellectual people on the web who are simply immune to all marketing, but the fact is that clickbait headlines work for a huge range of products to all demographics. Companies don't spend loads of money and effort writing it for it not too.
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
AI is no worse at researching web information than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
The trick is to use AI to do the grunt work and then use human intelligence to refined and curate it.
Funnily enough my line of work involves actual BS (British Standards). They're all paywalled, so as per your second point, AI is as useless as any human who can't get past the paywall.
The problem is, it can still confidently and succinctly assert things based on freely available information (i.e. non-pay walled articles written about a particular BS or subject). These things are often badly wrong but in very subtle ways. Our dilemma is whether it is worth the time and effort reviewing, curating and refining AI generated stuff, or just writing it ourselves in the first place in order not to miss the many subtle inaccuracies that AI produces.
Plus AI can't seem to write in any sort of technical register, so if we were to present anything written by AI you can guarantee our jaded and cynical customer base will spot it a mile off! 🤣
"What is SingleTrack Magazine?"
ChatGPT: "There's a magazine?"
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
As my old programming lecturer was fond of saying: "garbage in, garbage out."
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
Yes, it's the efficiency in generating bullshit that is the problem.
People who were writing informative useful stuff used to at least be on a par with bullshit artists. OK, their output might be a bit lower but with decent search engine skills and a critical eye you could probably find what you were looking for.
Now with AI agents automatically absorbing and regurgitating so much stuff anything useful has been well and truly lost in the noise.
I wasn't joking when I said I have to use AI now to find information and solutions that two years ago I could find with bog standard google.
The trick is to use AI to do the grunt work and then use human intelligence to refined and curate it.
100% this. I think ChatGPT is an incredible tool for some things. Early stage learning on a new subject or getting some basic principles covered for a project? It's brilliant (edit, you do need to check things oc but that's not much different to most sources online). Also great for structure of writing, for website copy or similar.
I'm not sure if anyone watched the final season of Halt and Catch Fire but part of that dealt with the early days of the internet and how people accessed it. There was a debate between what was best, a 'curated' internet where people gathered and published links to useful websites and an 'indexed' internet where the web was automatically catalogued and was made searchable.
Obviously we know who won but I'm genuinely wondering if the way we use the internet is going to change in the coming years where people are going to start curating and publishing links to decent web content because the searchable indexed web has become so bloated with useless drivel.
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
AI is no worse at researching web information than humans were before, that is what it was trained on. It just makes it quicker and easier.
The trick is to use AI to do the grunt work and then use human intelligence to refined and curate it.
Some people at our work are really pushing the use of AI for idea generation/brain-storming etc. and encouraging us to get used to using it in our daily work-life.
I have generally been a bit curmudgeonly about this, but a few weeks ago decided to use it when I wanted to research the main differences were between two metals. I figured it would be a simple thing to ask it - "summarise the main properties & differences between metal X & Y".
It got the very first fact about the materials incorrect (a detail I already knew, so spotted straight away) & when I looked at the link it provided for the source material, the information was correct there. So, it had somehow taken the information & mis-interpreted it even though the source material was a table of material properties which it should have been easy to work from.
Because of this, I then had to check every other detail anyway for it's accuracy which made the whole AI help a bit pointless. I've not bothered with it since.
It got the very first fact about the materials incorrect (a detail I already knew, so spotted straight away) & when I looked at the link it provided for the source material, the information was correct there. So, it had somehow taken the information & mis-interpreted it even though the source material was a table of material properties which it should have been easy to work from.
Because of this, I then had to check every other detail anyway for it's accuracy which made the whole AI help a bit pointless. I've not bothered with it since.
Exactly my experience, it might be more useful if it could highlight the exact source per phrase/fact in the generated content. Worryingly it seems very good at telling me what I want to hear and in very concise terms, but then not being able to back it up so I have to decide whether I waste time trying to find the source of the fact that I want to be true, or trust my experience and decide that AI has just got it wrong. Again.
There's a lot of excitement about the use of AI where I work, and the opportunities it will bring.
I wasn't very popular when I asked whether the till workers at Tesco were just as excited when the self-service checkouts began to be introduced
I've not bothered with it since.
Stick with it, I agree it's not 100% reliable as almost nothing outside peer-reviewed studies is and even that probably needs some interpretation. Using AI seems to be about learning what prompts get the best results, it's made me think about how I structure a question.
Your colleauges who use it to generate ideas cues are doing the right thing with it I think, and that's where the line may be between human and AI creativity. We can take influences from anywhere and AI is now a more powerful version of or an addition to a Pinterest board. Creativity is mostly about old ideas in new contexts and appreciation of context, culture, trends etc is where humans will probably always have the edge, I'd say humans who use AI well will do better than those who don't (well, apart from those genius gifted people who seem to think on another level and do create new things, still they'll all take influence from something)
The trick is to use AI to do the grunt work and then use human intelligence to refined and curate it.
The trick with AI is to not bother, and go do something else instead
(am I the only person to never have used ai?, and zero intentions to ever use it)
(am I the only person to never have used ai?, and zero intentions to ever use it)
Other than Google's search engine AI, no.
In truth, having been raised on a diet of classic Sci-fi, what now passes as AI is severely disappointing, a glorified chat bot ☹️
It's like all the tech-bros just got impatient and decided to slap the AI label on the nearest thing they had.
I worry that I should be using it though as all our imagination deficient upper management types are already balls deep, and I feel I should probably be in at the ground floor in case it ever actually gets good 🙄
Other than Google's search engine AI, no.
Wait?....wot?....it's ai?....goes away to check......
It returns an ai summery at the top of the search...well I never knew that..... 🤨
I worry that I should be using it though as all our imagination deficient upper management types are already balls deep
Its being pushed by the sales staff at work and the differing attitudes are interesting. Got pulled into a great meeting with a client where they had some people with a clue talking about the issues they were having it with it and asking us about the pilot and if we had similar problems.
The various versions of copilot (why the **** does MS use the same name for multiple products!) are getting rolled out at work and I am in the pilot groups and have had to complete various courses to show I can be trusted to use it. My favourite one a)had some really bad understanding of AI history and b)had a great section designed to reassure senior management that obviously their genius is irreplaceable with AI.
Some people at our work are really pushing the use of AI for idea generation/brain-storming etc. and encouraging us to get used to using it in our daily work-life.
JFC, "get the computer to do the free thinking, creative bits of your job, meanwhile your can stick to the menial processes" feels a bit backwards.
It returns an ai summery at the top of the search...well I never knew that..... 🤨
Managed to delete it from appearing on my phone, not managed the same on my laptop yet....
If anyone could get AI to identify when a pigeon is in the garden and send out a clapping noise that would be a bonus #willnoonethinkoftheraspberrys
If anyone could get AI to identify when a pigeon is in the garden and send out a clapping noise that would be a bonus #willnoonethinkoftheraspberrys
https://www.ichase.io/bird-repeller
Perhaps not worth a thread of its own so I'll drop this here:
AI is no worse at generating BS than humans were before, that is what it was trained on.
Would you trust the "wisdom of the crowd" summarised by technology that's shown again and again to fail at summaries because it lacks any understanding of the big data it's smooshing together... or a knowledgable, trained, certified, accredited, trusted, recommended, audited, assessed professional individual?
Perhaps not worth a thread of its own so I'll drop this here:
Still doesn't seem to get that human arms don't change in length from frame to frame. Getting better at counting fingers though (although I'll wager that's thanks to human editing/selection/filtering).
We're also having a big rollout of CoPilot and used in the right way it's pretty helpful. Its decent at summarising email chains, and good at transcribing and summarising teams meetings , so I dont have to spend time doing that.
So yes, it is liberating me from this low level stuff to do creative work, as its supposed to
Sure the detail could be better, Kelvin, the woman with the handbag walking through the fence loses part of here arm rather than it just changing in length but the overall effect is very convincing. I liked it enough to link.
I'd worked out an answer to the cryptic crossword earlier but didn't understand why it was right. ChatGPT to the rescue.
It's clearly worth the billions in investment and energy burning server farms for that alone.
We have AI recruitment training rolling out - anyone not ready and willing to use AI won't be hired.
Depending on the job , they probably shouldn't be. If it means they can , or rather cannot, consider using a technology that's going to do a lot of lower level rubbish for them, then they're not going to be so productive.
That's where it makes a big difference i,m.o. - it gets rid of a chunk of the lower level drudge, so all the edge cases up this thread aren't really meaningful to say yay or nay. Trouble is, a big chunk of the middle class economy is lower level drudge work