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Since ChatGPT arrived on the net in 2022, AI-generated content has soared more than 8,000%, according to a study released Tuesday by Copyleaks. The study, which covers a period from 2013 to March 2024, found a surge of 8,362% in AI content on the internet from November 2022, when ChatGPT-3.5 was released, to March 2024.
When OpenAI released ChatGPT-3 in June 2020, there was only a modest increase in web pages containing AI content. That changed with the release of version 3.5. Since then, 1.57% of some one million web pages analyzed for the study contain AI-generated content, noted Copyleaks, which offers AI-based text analysis and plagiarism services.
“That 1.57% is massive, considering the amount of time AI technology has been available,” Chris Rodgers, founder and CEO of CSP, a specialized SEO agency in Golden, Colo., told TechNewsWorld.
The surge in AI content is primarily fueled by significant advancements in natural language processing and deep learning technologies, explained Copyleaks CEO and co-founder Alon Yamin.
“These advancements have made it easier and faster to generate high-quality text, enabling AI models like ChatGPT to produce human-like content efficiently,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“Additionally,” Yamin continued, “the demand for scalable and cost-effective content creation across various industries, such as e-commerce, marketing, and media, has further propelled the adoption of AI-generated content, driving its exponential growth on the web.”
AI Content Surge No Surprise to Industry Experts
Technology watchers aren’t surprised by Copyleaks’ findings.
“AI is getting a ton of hype pushing more and more people to try these AI tools,” noted Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.
“The tools mostly work reasonably well and are relatively easy to learn and use,” he told TechNewsWorld. “They allow you to create decent content far more quickly, resulting in greater proliferation than pre-AI tools.”
One group that immediately saw the value of AI content was one in a position to flood web pages with it. “This might not be a popular thing to say, but give marketers any chance to take a shortcut to success, and it will be used,” declared Joe Karasin, CMO and founder of Karasin PPC, a marketing agency in Lapeer, Mich., that specializes in Google ads.
“This is why automated bidding in Google Ads is so popular,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Instead of having to do the math and the legwork to be competitive, it operates on a principle of ‘set it and forget it.’”
Brian Prince, founder and CEO of Top AI Tools, an AI tool, resource, and educational platform in Boca Raton, Fla., agreed. “When people and businesses can find a shortcut, making tasks faster and easier, they will use it,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“Keeping that in mind,” he continued, “I’m not surprised that brands started using AI to create content as soon as generative AI reached the stage where it was possible.”
Google Gooses AI Content
Google may have opened the gates to AI marketing content by changing its stance. “Once Google said it didn’t care how content is generated, as long as it meets certain criteria, marketers took that as a green light to start churning out AI content,” CSP’s Rodgers said.
“People saw that they could scale out content very, very quickly and that they could replace human writers and offset costs,” he continued. “So, I’m not surprised how much it’s exploded because of those things.”
Prince, however, maintained that AI-generated content has a minor place in marketing materials and social media content. “It’s not about using AI to generate content,” he said. “AI can assist human writers by helping them organize their ideas and spark creativity. It can also help edit, resulting in cleaner, easier-to-read content.”
“For tasks like social media, AI can help you take a single concept and slant it in endless ways,” he continued. “Then, human writers can modify and personalize it.”
“AI also plays a unique role in video development,” he added, “democratizing the production of videos and graphics by simplifying it through programs like Synesthesia, Dall-E, and Canva.”
AI Benefits for Digital Platforms
Copyleaks’ Yamin also noted that AI-generated content could make a positive contribution to the internet and other digital platforms. “AI-generated content offers several potential benefits to the web,” he said. “It enhances user experiences by providing personalized recommendations, improving search engine results, and automating routine tasks like customer support and data analysis.
“This efficiency saves time and resources and opens up new content creation and dissemination possibilities,” he continued. “Moreover, AI content can facilitate accessibility by automatically translating and adapting information to diverse audiences, thereby broadening the reach and impact of online content.”
While AI content has its benefits, it also has harmful potential. “The rapid growth of AI-generated content, fueled by the increased accessibility of this technology, has led to AI-powered fraud becoming a top concern in the verification industry,” said Pavel Godman-Kalaydin, head of AI/ML at Sumsub, a global deepfake detection and identity verification company.
“Deepfake technology continues to pose a significant threat,” he continued. “Advancements in AI have made it easier and cheaper for criminals to create incredibly realistic audio, photo, and video manipulations to deceive individuals,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“In North America alone, a 1740% increase in deepfakes was detected between 2022 and 2023 with a 10-times increase globally. Criminals now have access to easy-to-use AI systems that can easily generate a fake persona or impersonate an existing person, leading to media manipulation, misinformation, and disinformation,” Godman-Kalaydin added.
Fostering Trust and Accountability
As AI technology evolves, Yamin noted, solutions that provide visibility around AI use and sensible AI regulations are a continued need for the public to have a sense of trust and safety.
“Clear labeling and disclosure standards should be implemented to improve transparency and accountability in AI-generated content,” he added. “Users should be aware of AI’s involvement in content creation through standardized indicators or disclaimers.”
“Enhancing transparency in the use of AI-generated content is crucial for fostering trust and accountability,” agreed Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst of SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif.
“Promoting industry standards and best practices for transparency in AI content creation can encourage companies to adopt transparent practices voluntarily,” he told TechNewsWorld. “By implementing these measures, stakeholders can work towards building a more transparent and trustworthy environment for AI-generated content on the web.”
Yamin added: “The swift integration of AI-generated content into web platforms reflects AI technologies’ transformative potential and the pressing need for effective governance and ethical guidelines. While the speed of adoption underscores AI’s efficiency and utility, managing its implications for accuracy, transparency, and user trust remains a critical challenge for stakeholders.”
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