AI learns from Reddit, Stack Overflow, Facebook posts. Is that OK?

Post a comment online, share a baby photo, or answer coding questions, and you're likely contributing to the training of artificial intelligence systems. However, many users are uncomfortable with this, especially as online forums become inundated with AI-generated content that mimics human interaction. Some long-time contributors have tried deleting or altering their past inputs, but such efforts have yielded little success. Governments, including Brazil’s privacy regulator, have made attempts to intervene.

User Concerns

"A significant portion of the population just feels helpless," says Sarah Gilbert, a Reddit moderator and online community researcher. Many users see no option but to go offline or stop contributing altogether. Social media platforms are responding with varying degrees of effectiveness. For instance, Stack Overflow initially banned ChatGPT-written responses due to frequent errors but later partnered with AI chatbot developers. The platform also penalized users who deleted past contributions in protest.

Platform Responses

Long-time Stack Overflow user Andy Rotering expressed concerns that the company might inadvertently harm its community by not properly incentivizing contributors. Stack Overflow's CEO, Prashanth Chandrasekar, acknowledged the challenge of balancing the demand for instant AI-generated answers with the need to maintain a genuine community knowledge base. He noted, "There’s going to be very few places where there’s truly authentic, original human thought. And we’re one of those places."

Strategic Shifts

To adapt, Stack Overflow launched its own AI chatbot, Overflow AI, and made partnerships with Google and OpenAI to enhance their AI models using the platform’s data. Despite these efforts, Maria Roche of Harvard Business School suggested that the company might have been slow to react. The AI revolution has profoundly impacted how users interact with online platforms and the value derived from human contributions.

Regulatory Interventions

Brazil’s data protection authority recently banned Meta from using Brazilians' Facebook and Instagram posts for AI training, with fines for non-compliance. Meta argued this stifles innovation and claimed compliance with Brazilian laws. In Europe, Meta paused a similar initiative. In contrast, the U.S. currently lacks national online privacy laws, likely allowing such practices to continue unchecked. Gilbert emphasized that many users remain unaware that their data is being utilized for AI training.

Different Approaches

Reddit has opted for partnerships with AI developers while setting clear boundaries on content usage. This strategy has attracted necessary investment, propelling its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Unlike Stack Overflow, Reddit has not punished dissenting users, partly due to the influential role of voluntary moderators. Yet, Gilbert, who moderates "AskHistorians," voiced concerns over the rising influx of AI-generated posts, which challenge the moderation of authentic human interactions. "People come to Reddit because they want to talk to people, they don’t want to talk to bots," she noted, highlighting the irony that AI-generated content threatening Reddit originates from human participants' comments.