I don't particularily like AI - I find far to many people use it to pretend they are knowlegable in areas where they aren't.

But... I don't really mind it in this case (as long as it's accurate)

And.. I don't think in necessary - All I really want/need to see is an exact type/model number .. if I'm looking for something, I already know exactly what I'm looking for - and given a model, professor Google can fill me in on exactly what an item that "looks like it might do" is.

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What I really want to see is datails of the exact item being offered.

It's condition and operational state.
Anything that has been added/changed/removed (this includes things where a given model might have different OEM parts)

Law212 wrote on 2026-05-22, 20:03:

keenmaster486 wrote on 2026-05-22, 19:59:

Okay this is literally the first auction I found. I searched "ibm vga card" because it was the first thing that came to mind (I' […]
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Okay this is literally the first auction I found. I searched "ibm vga card" because it was the first thing that came to mind (I've been looking for one).

Notice how it tells me what it is (I already know what it is, that's presumably why I'm looking for it!) and does not describe the specific item at all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397941165920

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1The Tseng Labs Vintage ISA VGA Graphics Card is a rare find for vintage computing enthusiasts. Specifically designed for IBM systems, this GPU/Graphics Card is perfect for revitalizing or restoring antique computers. With a vintage design and compatibility with IBM products, this graphics card offers a piece of computing history for those seeking to experience the nostalgia and charm of retro technology. Ideal for collectors or those wanting to enhance their vintage computing setup, this Tseng Labs graphics card is a unique and sought-after component.

Yup everything sounds the same now. Also if you dont use the Ai slop then the algorithms wont promote your listings

How do the algorithms know which is AI slop, and which isn't?

MattRocks wrote on Yesterday, 12:33:

Law212 wrote on 2026-05-22, 20:03:

keenmaster486 wrote on 2026-05-22, 19:59:

Okay this is literally the first auction I found. I searched "ibm vga card" because it was the first thing that came to mind (I' […]
Show full quote

Okay this is literally the first auction I found. I searched "ibm vga card" because it was the first thing that came to mind (I've been looking for one).

Notice how it tells me what it is (I already know what it is, that's presumably why I'm looking for it!) and does not describe the specific item at all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397941165920

Copy code to clipboard

1The Tseng Labs Vintage ISA VGA Graphics Card is a rare find for vintage computing enthusiasts. Specifically designed for IBM systems, this GPU/Graphics Card is perfect for revitalizing or restoring antique computers. With a vintage design and compatibility with IBM products, this graphics card offers a piece of computing history for those seeking to experience the nostalgia and charm of retro technology. Ideal for collectors or those wanting to enhance their vintage computing setup, this Tseng Labs graphics card is a unique and sought-after component.

Yup everything sounds the same now. Also if you dont use the Ai slop then the algorithms wont promote your listings

How do the algorithms know which is AI slop, and which isn't?

Mostly keywords and phrases. Each platform has their own criteria

Law212 wrote on Yesterday, 14:38:

MattRocks wrote on Yesterday, 12:33:

Law212 wrote on 2026-05-22, 20:03:

Yup everything sounds the same now. Also if you dont use the Ai slop then the algorithms wont promote your listings

How do the algorithms know which is AI slop, and which isn't?

Mostly keywords and phrases. Each platform has their own criteria

That's not how AI works - AI simply produces averages of whatever originally-human material the AI ingested.

If you filter out AI, you actually filter out the human voices that come closest to the averages that AI found in its source material. That's not the average human voice. It's the average human voice in the selected source material.

So, if you train AI on academic journals then the AI will sound like the average among published professors. If you filter out the resulting AI slop, then you filter out published professors who are just being themselves. I'm not saying the professors write slop. I'm saying that the professors will be phrase and use vocabulary that resembles the AI slop.

The same applies to AI trained on different material, such as music creation AI sounding like the average of published singers in a certain genre (e.g. not like the average published professor trying to sing 😉 )

You can do things with ChatGPT like ask it to emulate a specific known author, and it then produces slop that resembles the averages of that particular author's material. You can also provide it with samples of your own written works and ask it to emulate that for future slop - that way you can filter yourself out 😉

So back to eBay, I've no clue what they are doing but whatever it is it doesn't feel right.

MattRocks wrote on Today, 08:47:

That's not how AI works - AI simply produces averages of whatever originally-human material the AI ingested. […]
Show full quote

Law212 wrote on Yesterday, 14:38:

MattRocks wrote on Yesterday, 12:33:

How do the algorithms know which is AI slop, and which isn't?

Mostly keywords and phrases. Each platform has their own criteria

That's not how AI works - AI simply produces averages of whatever originally-human material the AI ingested.

If you filter out AI, you actually filter out the human voices that come closest to the averages that AI found in its source material. That's not the average human voice. It's the average human voice in the selected source material.

So, if you train AI on academic journals then the AI will sound like the average among published professors. If you filter out the resulting AI slop, then you filter out published professors who are just being themselves. I'm not saying the professors write slop. I'm saying that the professors will be phrase and use vocabulary that resembles the AI slop.

The same applies to AI trained on different material, such as music creation AI sounding like the average of published singers in a certain genre (e.g. not like the average published professor trying to sing 😉 )

You can do things with ChatGPT like ask it to emulate a specific known author, and it then produces slop that resembles the averages of that particular author's material. You can also provide it with samples of your own written works and ask it to emulate that for future slop - that way you can filter yourself out 😉

So back to eBay, I've no clue what they are doing but whatever it is it doesn't feel right.

The Ai will write descriptions based on what keywords the ebay algorithm looks for. Based on which ads do better and get more views that the rest. You can see that if you set up your own ad and write it on your own and dont hit key words then you get minimal views, but let AI write it and it will add the keywords and then your views go up. Ive seen it many times.

Law212 wrote on 2026-05-22, 20:03:

Yup everything sounds the same now. Also if you dont use the Ai slop then the algorithms wont promote your listings

It's almost as if someone with a vested interest in the "success" of AI is deliberately forcing the use of AI to guarantee its adoption.