Over the past couple of years, we have been told that AI is the greatest thing to come along since the discovery of fire. Turns out that things are a little more complicated than that. Basis the views of a veteran tech journalist Steven Vaughn-Nichols, the ET Online team says:
“A new report by VICE reveals a startling truth: the AI we built to mirror human creativity is now stuck in a feedback loop of its own making—and it’s beginning to fall apart.
Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s Gemini have been trained on the vast swathes of human knowledge available online. From literary works to technical documentation, news reports to Reddit threads, it is this rich, human-authored material that gave these systems their seemingly uncanny abilities.
But now this source is running dry.
As more and more content online is AI-generated, these models are being trained on their own regurgitations. Veteran tech journalist Steven Vaughn-Nichols calls this phenomenon “model collapse,” a point at which the output quality nosedives because the model is learning from corrupted, recycled information. In a world where humans lean increasingly on machines to generate content, the AI is left feeding on itself—and the results are alarming.”
Because the LLMs consume too much AI generated content, Mr Vaughn-Nichols says, their output has become potential harmful at worst and nonsensical at best. Such AI can misdiagnose patients and invent fake legal precedents.
All of this produces an ironic situation for the Big Tech companies, namely: “Unless tech companies figure out a way to incentivize real people to keep creating quality content—words, ideas, research, storytelling—then the AI boom we’re living through could quietly crash and burn.
The very existence of LLMs hinges on an uncomfortable paradox: they exist to replace humans, yet they can’t evolve without us. Strip away the originality, the nuance, the lived experiences—and what remains is a hollow echo chamber of recycled ideas.”
As they say, vive la revolution!
If you want to read our other published material, please visit https://marcellus.in/blog/
Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.
