Is AI an ultimate threat to EEVBlog and similar sites? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 10:21:09 pm
content: Warning: LengthyI am intrigued by some recent posts on EEVBlog and Grok 3's responses.Query: Why every 80s home computer used BASIC?QuoteQuery: When wrapping something in bubble wrap should the bubbles be on the object side or away from it?QuoteQuery: Are Orange Man's tariffs bad for the US economy?QuoteThose responses seem to mirror responses on EEVBlog for content. What will EEVBlog and similar blogs do to distinguish themselves? Certainly, the response time for Grok is seconds rather than days.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 10:32:13 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 28, 2025, 10:21:09 pmWait. So you are suggesting that EEVBLOG is a world leader in training AI. Doesn't that alone distinguish themselves? No EEVBLOG = no AI... Pull the plug on it Dave.

author: PascalNE
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 10:45:58 pm
content: I don't support AI generally but I find it to be particularly terrible at electronics. If you have ever asked it to design a circuit you'd know it hallucinates components and gets things wrong constantlyI assume because Electronics is not text based. It's also terrible at explaining a lot of general Electronics concepts.So certainlyNota threat to EEVblog in my opinion.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 10:56:28 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 28, 2025, 10:21:09 pmHumans are always going to like interacting with other humans, and forum nerds are gonna be forum nerds, so there is no risk of AI making the EEVblog redundant.Ironically, the EEVblog has been used as training data for all the AI's, it even knows who you are, here is Grok, but you can do this on any AI.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 10:59:06 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on April 28, 2025, 10:32:13 pmI can't. Not only have all the AI's used the EEVblog as training data already, one of the best parts of the EEVblog has been that it's easily searchable text, which is why it has always shown up on top in search results over other forum that are locked down for users only and aren't public searchable.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 11:21:34 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 28, 2025, 10:56:28 pm1) I realized that Grok and probably others gained from various forums. That's LLM.2) Your use of my name in that instant was without my knowledge or consent.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 28, 2025, 11:29:47 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 28, 2025, 11:21:34 pmAnyone is free to use any AI in this regard I'm afraid, it's a nature of what the beast has become.I see you are also on the Electrotech online forum, same thing, here it writing code supposedly in your "style":

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 12:06:56 am
content: Who would have guessed:

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 12:37:36 am
content: I think many of you, including Dave, misinterpreted my intent. It was not meant that blogs were out of date. nor did i suspect that such blogs were not a source for AI.. It was meant to initiate a thoughtful review to stay relevant and hopefully unique. Any implication that I was suggesting EEVBlog "pull the plug" completely missed the point. It is competitive.I answered my question today on Grok. That made me think of when I faced competition for trainees in a limited market. We almost never matched any down to #20 or so for just 4 positions. I was new to that job, found something we could offer that others didn't, and matched our top 5 in order the next year (we had an opening due to not even filling during the scramble). Alternatively, I could have pulled the plug.What can EEVBlog do to stay ahead of Grok and others? What strengths do you have? Two have already been mentioned, electronic design and coding. (First glance at the Grok code attributed to me is nothing like I would write.) BTW, ETO has implemented grading responses, not unlike StackExchange. I don't know when that started, but it seems to be a step in the wrong direction.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 12:56:21 am
content: You have completely missed the important one that Dave identified. As a source of answers to specific questions the AIs will compete very well. As a chance to contact other people with similar interests and discuss many things the AIs don't even reach the starting line.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 01:07:41 am
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 29, 2025, 12:37:36 amI already said the biggest benefit of this forum is that's it's nerd discussing stuff with other nerds. People will still come here precisely because it's NOT AI.There is no competition here.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 01:09:24 am
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 29, 2025, 12:06:56 amEmbarrassingly lame attempt at being me.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 02:05:11 am
content: jpanhalt:Current LLMs? When it comes to supplying information:absolutely not a risk to EEVblog or any other forum.The reason is trivial. LLMs are random text generators. Fora on the other hand act as actual knowledge and opinions retrieval systems. Both opinions and apparent-knowledge passed may be wrong, even if multiple opposing actors mutually review each other. This is however conceptually different from never being right or wrong, where the architecture makes it impossible to use those notions.And I want to underline that: that opinion is rooted in LLMs’ design and conceptual differences it entails. Not in my subjective feeling about interacting with one or another smortnet-based toy.Current LLMs, when it comes to satisfying other needs:to some degree yes. In the same way Facebook or X greatly reduced participation in fora, killing the majority of them.People use fora not only for seeking actual knowledge. They also use it for social interactions. That part has been taken over by large platforms. And, equally, many people seek pretense of knowledge, and LLMs will satisfy that need. In a manner that seems convenient: instant satisfaction, no negative feedback, no conflicting information, no need to evaluate anything, no need to think. This is appealing to majority of the human population (thanks evolution) and I believe this will reduce fora participation.Future smortnets: predicting future is hard and generally fails. Current algorithms are absolutely not replacing humans. But there is no obvious obstacle for that changing in the future and I believe at some point humanity will(1)design machines that offer human-like mental capabilities, perhaps even surpass them.(2)It may even be not far from now, maybe before 2100.That kind of a machine may make fora obsolete. But if it will, depends on factors we would have trouble predicting. This is the ultimate problem of trying to understand how future humans think and society operates, from the perspective of contemporary humans. Such attempts are universally going poor. Our current speculations about the need for human interaction may be not applicable in 100 years, and in 100 years there will be perspectives not even imaginable to us.(1)Assuming no ideological shifts, which could stop that. This option can never be ignored.(2)The uncertainity about surpassing comes not from a technical limitation, but from not knowing whether there is any room for “going beyond.”

author: wilfred
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 03:35:09 am
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on April 29, 2025, 12:06:56 amIf there was "demonstrably true" in there I might have been fooled. But I don't think Dave drinks coffee (and/or tea?) so he would not say "grab a cuppa". It's "G'day mate" never "G'day Mates". And the spelling, punctuation and grammar are too good on a cursory read for it to be most human forum posters.

author: pdenisowski
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 01:58:08 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 28, 2025, 10:56:28 pmThis is very true and was very true even before AI. People generally hate IVR (interactive voice response - "Press or say 1 for ...") systems, even when they provide the same information in the same amount of time as talking to a human.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 04:01:20 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on April 28, 2025, 10:32:13 pmThat was my first thought when I read the first post. AI's train on information found on the internet, and EEVBlog provides a lot of information on electronics.Me thanking your post is because it made me laugh. Especially the "Pull the plug on it Dave" part.

author: iMo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 04:34:17 pm
content: Quote from: iMo on January 29, 2025, 08:27:47 amQuote from: iMo on January 29, 2025, 10:20:17 amTalking the "AI" is BS or the AI is misusing the web content is irresponsible, imho.AI is a tool as X other tools, and let it learn from eevblog and any other blog too, I have no problem with it.It is finally your "IQ" which interprets AI's results..

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2025, 05:20:29 pm
content: Quote from: iMo on April 29, 2025, 04:34:17 pmAnd that is where the problem lies.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 30, 2025, 01:51:54 am
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on April 29, 2025, 04:01:20 pmThis forum is absolutely perfect for AI training, because not only is it public with no account required, it's in easy to digest text form, and it's conversational with questions and answer responses and debates and opinions etc all in mostly logical sequence on a vast array of topics and human nuances.Infinitely better than just blog posts and other info articles.This is why every AI bot on the planet has consumed it.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2025, 12:58:35 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on April 29, 2025, 03:35:09 amIt reads more like someone trying to do Crocodile Dundee trying to do Dave.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2025, 01:02:54 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 30, 2025, 01:51:54 amYeah but if you've got a hundred posts all vaguely contradicting each other in the advice they're giving then there's no way a stochastic parrot can sort out a single correct answer, especially if multiple ones are more-or-less correct but different ways to do it. There was a thread a few weeks ago showing that the parrots aren't even close, including the idea that putting a large "555" onto anything, for example a QFN48, makes it a 555, and some ingenious circuits for voltage-to-fire converters.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2025, 03:39:24 pm
content: I have one from github. Someone asked me about a problem on the FNIRSI 1014D and they tried Gemini AI.QuoteMy response to that:QuoteThe only useful part is the recommendation to cover it's own arse.Quote

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2025, 01:19:55 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 28, 2025, 10:56:28 pmYes, and not just that, but people will actually look for humans, not just for the interaction, but for help on AI-spitted stuff that doesn't work / is incorrect.That's already happening.That's going to be a bit frustrating for those who will help, but we better get used to it.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 01, 2025, 11:31:11 pm
content: Quote from: 5U4GB on April 30, 2025, 01:02:54 pm

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2025, 06:36:02 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 29, 2025, 01:09:24 amI was curious, so I tried that exercise for myself...I came to the same conclusion as Dave. It has picked up some Aussie phrasing (that I don't think is at all typical of me) and discussing a technical assessment - which I don't remember doing much of, if at all.It may have picked up on some elements from the EEVblog, but it doesn't show much evidence for characterising me - unless I'm greatly mistaken.If anything, I'd have to adopt this assessment....Quote from: 5U4GB on April 30, 2025, 12:58:35 pm

author: Simmed
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2025, 06:47:50 am
content: great grok answers electronics questionit even draw schematic in ASCII wow

author: photon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 12:56:11 am
content: AI calculates it will be much more efficient to just let humanity destroy itself.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2025, 03:21:47 am
content: Certainly, AI shows some competence in certain areas, but it is by no means highly capable across the board - at the moment.The exercise of determining the posting style of a member here (regarding both Dave and myself) has delivered nicely formatted responses, but are hardly accurate. The answers do sound really convincing - but you would be foolish to accept them at face value.AI has a way to go yet, IMHO.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 11:03:31 am
content: Quote from: Simmed on May 02, 2025, 06:47:50 amAI is amazing actually, it can solve complex number circuits hand drawn on the whiteboard in this video, just upload a screen shot and it will solve it.So not only does it understand my hand writing, it understands the circuit, the different complex numbers forms and how and when to convert them etc. Amazing.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 11:43:59 am
content: .. it is good with tautologies - I guessI have though yet to get it to give me the right answer (with examples from hindsight)

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 08:18:40 pm
content: I had an interesting experience this afternoon and opportunity to compare Google to Grok. I asked both how welding shade correlated to O.D. (optical density). Both started out saying the higher the OD the higher the shade number (duh), but nothing quantitative. Grok did give some quantitative examples, and of course, qualified its assessment with an accurate comment about wavelength.I then asked Grok what OD corresponded to shades 11 & 12. It answered 21.x and 23.3 for shades 11 & 12, respectively. I responded that those results seemed to be an order of magnitude off. What surprised me is Grok responded with the correct calculations, apologized, and pointed out its own error. I am beginning to like (maybe not trust) Grok a lot more.