[atomicnumber3]

People always point this out like it's some kind of gotcha. "But things were wrong before, too!"

But it wasn't ON PURPOSE. The INTENT, by the people serving the search, was for the information to be correct. Algorithms tried to reward correctness, people would curate information, etc. Sure, bad actors tried to game it. But since the intent was for it to be correct, search providers fought back.

With AI, you're literally intending for there to be this chance - and it's very hard to gauge what percent it is because it depends tremendously on your query - that the result is just straight up fucking wrong. Google search results didn't used to have a "btw this might just be totally madeup" disclaimer on them, or even on the quick-answer box.

The intent matters so much.

(I think this honestly extends to code too, though I won't belabor that point in this text box.)

[jason_oster]

Between the elimination of the fairness doctrine, the rampant sensationalism (a phenomenon so common it has its own derogatory name: clickbait), the corporate ownership of media outlets, and the pervasiveness of advertising, I can't imagine how you got the idea that information sources were ever a public good. Let alone conflated the purpose of the intent. The intent has been to make money by any means necessary.

[happytoexplain]

This is fatalism via cherry-picking. It can't help anybody.