AI-generated forum replies - why?

ANTant · Post by **ANTant** » 19 Mar 2024, 11:35

Hi folks - newbie here with a quick question. Sorry if I'm stirring a pot I shouldn't stir

I've spent some time this morning looking through the review posts in the forum, and have noticed that a fair number of replies to the posts/reviews are AI generated - either summaries of the book, or summaries of the review itself. I work in tech so maybe I notice it more than most people, but anyone who has spent time with ChatGPT can pretty easily recognize the output from that tool.

My question is basically... why? What benefit does that provide, to either the thread or to the commenter themselves? I'm assuming maybe the intention is to bump up the comment counts in their profile to show that they're 'engaging' with the community?

I don't think this is really hurting anything for the time being - it's not spammy, but it's also not really contributing to the conversation. Just wondering out loud why people bother, I guess

Post by **Alice Heritage** » 26 Mar 2024, 01:25

Hi, welcome and thanks for your question.

I'm a moderator and AI-generated replies are NOT allowed, but unfortunately they slip through the cracks for various reasons. I catch as many as I can (I also find them easy to spot) for the time being ... hope to get some new enforceable rules in play.

Post by **Stephen Christopher 1** » 04 Jul 2024, 21:46

Alice Heritage wrote: ↑26 Mar 2024, 01:25 Hi, welcome and thanks for your question.

I'm a moderator and AI-generated replies are NOT allowed, but unfortunately they slip through the cracks for various reasons. I catch as many as I can (I also find them easy to spot) for the time being ... hope to get some new enforceable rules in play.

Hi Alice, thanks for answering this. I've been noticing it a lot too. Some replies to my reviews are 100% AI and I've come across complete reviews, also coming up as 100% AI. I'm so glad you're across it and working on removing them.

Post by **David Awunor** » 17 Aug 2024, 02:45

I guess they do it to appear active in the forum, which probably helps in accumulating points. However, as you said, it's pretty obvious and adds nothing to the conversation.

George Okello 2 · Post by **George Okello 2** » 21 Aug 2024, 23:32

I think AI reviews should not be allowed.Ai just simplifies everything.Thats why they love it

Post by **Alice Heritage** » 22 Aug 2024, 00:55

George Okello 2 wrote: ↑21 Aug 2024, 23:32 I think AI reviews should not be allowed.Ai just simplifies everything.Thats why they love it

It isn’t allowed. The posts add no value and I delete them when modding, but we could certainly use more controls.

Gerry Steen · Post by **Gerry Steen** » 20 Sep 2024, 21:34

Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑04 Jul 2024, 21:46
Alice Heritage wrote: ↑26 Mar 2024, 01:25 Hi, welcome and thanks for your question.

I'm a moderator and AI-generated replies are NOT allowed, but unfortunately they slip through the cracks for various reasons. I catch as many as I can (I also find them easy to spot) for the time being ... hope to get some new enforceable rules in play.
Hi Alice, thanks for answering this. I've been noticing it a lot too. Some replies to my reviews are 100% AI and I've come across complete reviews, also coming up as 100% AI. I'm so glad you're across it and working on removing them.

Hi, Stephen. I have noticed the same thing. A lot, actually. I've read quite a few, long reviews with lots of jargon about the writing structure of the book with zero interesting pieces of info about the book. Akin to a user's manual or a car sales pitch. Did you mention in another post that you have a tool for detecting AI??

Kudos to Alice for trying to get rid of the AI reviews.

Blueberry Dragon · Post by **Blueberry Dragon** » 21 Sep 2024, 06:40

Kudos to @Alice Heritage for being able to spot them as a moderator. That may be a worthwhile skill to develop for the future. Let's play "Spot the AI"!

Post by **Stephen Christopher 1** » 21 Sep 2024, 21:39

Gerry Steen wrote: ↑20 Sep 2024, 21:34
Hi, Stephen. I have noticed the same thing. A lot, actually. I've read quite a few, long reviews with lots of jargon about the writing structure of the book with zero interesting pieces of info about the book. Akin to a user's manual or a car sales pitch. Did you mention in another post that you have a tool for detecting AI??

Kudos to Alice for trying to get rid of the AI reviews.

Hi Gerry, yes I use gptzero dot me to check, it's highly reliable and even highlights in yellow which sentences are generated by AI. Unfortunately, most of the ones I've seen in the review forums that I've checked have been 1005 AI

Adrian Bouknight · Post by **Adrian Bouknight** » 22 Sep 2024, 19:36

ANTant wrote: ↑19 Mar 2024, 11:35 Hi folks - newbie here with a quick question. Sorry if I'm stirring a pot I shouldn't stir

I've spent some time this morning looking through the review posts in the forum, and have noticed that a fair number of replies to the posts/reviews are AI generated - either summaries of the book, or summaries of the review itself. I work in tech so maybe I notice it more than most people, but anyone who has spent time with ChatGPT can pretty easily recognize the output from that tool.

My question is basically... why? What benefit does that provide, to either the thread or to the commenter themselves? I'm assuming maybe the intention is to bump up the comment counts in their profile to show that they're 'engaging' with the community?

I don't think this is really hurting anything for the time being - it's not spammy, but it's also not really contributing to the conversation. Just wondering out loud why people bother, I guess

Comments, up to 200, boosts your reviewer score. Not by very much, it's a relatively small number in the grand scheme of things. Some people probably do not have the patience to actually write out 200 comments. Interestingly enough though, it would probably be easier to just make legitimate comments, than it is to use AI to respond to things. It's not like an editor or admin is going to critique a casual forum comment and dock you for bad punctuation.

Adrian Bouknight · Post by **Adrian Bouknight** » 22 Sep 2024, 19:38

Funny story, I had someone use AI to comment on one of my threads, and the AI read the book title of someone's most recent review, "Job's Wife" (as in the book of Job of the Old Testament), and the AI thought that it was an actual person in the discussion.

Gerry Steen · Post by **Gerry Steen** » 25 Sep 2024, 12:43

Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2024, 21:39
Gerry Steen wrote: ↑20 Sep 2024, 21:34
Hi, Stephen. I have noticed the same thing. A lot, actually. I've read quite a few, long reviews with lots of jargon about the writing structure of the book with zero interesting pieces of info about the book. Akin to a user's manual or a car sales pitch. Did you mention in another post that you have a tool for detecting AI??

Kudos to Alice for trying to get rid of the AI reviews.
Hi Gerry, yes I use gptzero dot me to check, it's highly reliable and even highlights in yellow which sentences are generated by AI. Unfortunately, most of the ones I've seen in the review forums that I've checked have been 1005 AI

Hi, Stephen. Did I read it right? "gptzero dot me" ?

Post by **Stephen Christopher 1** » 25 Sep 2024, 22:06

Gerry Steen wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 12:43
Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2024, 21:39
Gerry Steen wrote: ↑20 Sep 2024, 21:34
Hi, Stephen. I have noticed the same thing. A lot, actually. I've read quite a few, long reviews with lots of jargon about the writing structure of the book with zero interesting pieces of info about the book. Akin to a user's manual or a car sales pitch. Did you mention in another post that you have a tool for detecting AI??

Kudos to Alice for trying to get rid of the AI reviews.
Hi Gerry, yes I use gptzero dot me to check, it's highly reliable and even highlights in yellow which sentences are generated by AI. Unfortunately, most of the ones I've seen in the review forums that I've checked have been 1005 AI
Hi, Stephen. Did I read it right? "gptzero dot me" ?

I couldn't write it as a web link as that's not permitted in the forums, yeah the dot me threw me as well, but it's correct, it's not dot com

Gerry Steen · Post by **Gerry Steen** » 25 Sep 2024, 22:30

Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 22:06
Gerry Steen wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 12:43
Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2024, 21:39
Hi Gerry, yes I use gptzero dot me to check, it's highly reliable and even highlights in yellow which sentences are generated by AI. Unfortunately, most of the ones I've seen in the review forums that I've checked have been 1005 AI
Hi, Stephen. Did I read it right? "gptzero dot me" ?
I couldn't write it as a web link as that's not permitted in the forums, yeah the dot me threw me as well, but it's correct, it's not dot com

Thank you, Stephen. I'll check it out.

Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis · 26 Sep 2024, 09:38

I've decided to start reporting the posts that are plagiarized or AI-generated. I was commenting on another reviewer's review the other day, and I noticed that the person before me used an AI-generated post. The subject wasn't even the correct book. He posted three comments on the review. One was mostly icons that were just silly and, again, the wrong book. I reported all three, and I'll see what happens. So far, I haven't received any notifications that anything was done. Hopefully, if we all start reporting these posts, we will get rid of these people who are not taking OBC seriously and don't work hard on either their reviews or their posts.