Thoughts about AI generated content and it’s future irrelevance

The Future of AI-Generated Content: Trust, Relevance, and the Impact on Digital Communication

In an era where artificial intelligence increasingly automates content creation, a pressing question arises: how will this shift influence the trustworthiness and relevance of the information we consume? As AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, are we nearing a point where authenticity and credibility are fundamentally compromised?

One concern parallels the concept of ‘model collapse’—but with a twist. Let’s call it the ‘believability collapse.’ Imagine an online domain, such as job listings, where the majority of content is produced by AI. If everything appears polished and perfectly aligned with the job description, how can anyone discern which listings are genuine? The fundamental issue lies in the loss of signals that once signified authenticity—human effort, imperfection, and unique voice.

Historically, the ability to craft compelling resumes and professional correspondence provided insights into a candidate’s thinking, communication style, and sincerity. A well-written resume could be both a reflection of skill and authenticity, while a poorly composed one might reveal shortcomings or uncertainties. Today, AI tools effortlessly generate resumes that look impeccable, aligning seamlessly with the desired qualifications. While this offers efficiency, it also diminishes the value of the resume as an honest reflection of individual capabilities. Ultimately, such documents risk becoming superficial business cards—prettified but lacking depth.

This trend extends beyond resumes to all mediated interactions—emails, messages, voicemails, and other digital exchanges. If content can be indistinguishable from that created by humans, the distinction between genuine and artificial communication blurs. We might soon find ourselves needing explicit markers—like labels indicating ‘human-created’ or ‘AI-generated’—or advanced biometric authentication systems that verify identities in real-time. Without such safeguards, it becomes increasingly difficult to trust the origin of digital content.

The implications are profound. If we cannot reliably verify the authenticity of messages and media, the value placed on digital communication diminishes. Trust—once a cornerstone of human interaction—may erode, prompting a return to face-to-face interactions as the most reliable form of connection. But this raises a paradox: if we revert to traditional, non-AI-mediated communication, what was the point of investing in AI technologies in the first place?

In essence, the rapid proliferation of AI-generated content threatens to undermine the very foundations of trust within our digital ecosystems. The concern is that the overload of synthetic media could accelerate the adoption of a ‘Dark Forest’ approach—