Generative AI models may be causing a “Grey Goo” problem with art, publishing, and user-generated content.
The Grey Goo Problem is a thought experiment where self-replicating nano-robots consume all available resources leading to a catastrophic scenario. This scenario is a popular science fiction trope (see comments).
Several publishers and user-generated content sites like StackOverflow have been impacted by a flood of AI-generated content in the last few months. Clarkesworld, a science fiction magazine, stopped accepting submissions last week. Even LinkedIn is overrun by ChatGPT-generated “thought leadership.”
Tools like ChatGPT need high-quality training data to generate good results. They collect training data by scraping the Internet. You can see the issue here, can’t you?
The Grey Goo scenario is managed through containment and quarantine in science fiction. For example, in The Expanse series (see image), containing the “Proto-Molecule” is a crucial plot element.
The need to contain and quarantine Generative AI will result in more paywalls, subscriptions, and gated content. Crypto may even find its calling in guaranteeing the authenticity of online content.
I fear that the Open Internet that made ChatGPT possible will be crippled by the actions of ChatGPT and its cousins.