“BREAKING THROUGH THE NOISE: Amplifying Authenticity in AI-Driven Search Results”

The Rise of Artificial Voices: How Generative AIs Are Changing the Way We Communicate Online

In the not-too-distant future, artificial intelligence (AI) may create works of art, music, and writing that rival human-created ones. However, for now, what’s most impressive about most generative AIs is their ability to produce a large quantity of mediocre work quickly. This capacity has transformed many industries, including higher education, where it’s challenging to distinguish AI-generated mediocrity from genuine student-produced work. No industry has been more significantly impacted by AI than search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the art of making a business more prominent in search engine results for a particular keyword. As search engines rely on links, a popular form of SEO involves creating thousands of pages of realistic-looking text with links to the page a client wants to promote. Unfortunately, this search engine spam is a widespread and invasive species on the modern web. Generative AIs do an excellent job of creating this content quickly, making it challenging for humans to distinguish it from genuine content.

In response to this issue, search engines like Google, Bing, and others now offer AI-based assistants that promise to answer questions in a humanlike fashion. This development has led to the emergence of large language model optimization (LLMO), which involves using AI to manipulate search engine results by making certain data or recommendations more prominent.

As a result, the web is increasingly becoming a cesspit of auto-generated content written by machines designed to be read by machines. Authentic human voices are becoming a rare and valuable commodity. In the past, users would add “site:reddit.com” to their searches in an attempt to get an actual human opinion. However, SEO has now come to Reddit, with AI-powered bots that promise to mention a product in comment threads in a “humanlike, authentic” way.

To find real human voices, we will increasingly turn to the oldest corners of the web, where human moderation keeps the machines at bay. MetaFilter is an excellent example of this. Founded in 1999, it is a platform where 12,000 paying members, aided by a small team of moderators, feature the best websites and stories they’ve found and answer one another’s questions in AskMeFi. Another example is Are.na, an ad-free social network where users curate collections of videoclips, images, and web links to document their interests and explore rabbit holes.

In 2025, we will also carve out our own human spaces using the newest social media tools available. Our research indicates that while influencers and micro-celebrities dominate your TikTok and YouTube feeds, there are millions of video makers who don’t want to go viral. Instead, they’re making short videos for family and friends, subverting the recommendation algorithms, and using social media not for celebrity but to maintain social ties.

Whether AI dominates our entertainment and knowledge futures or not, it is a safe bet that humans will still want to connect with one another. In 2025, as artificial voices continue to drown out human ones, the tools that help us find authentic voices may be as valuable as those that can convincingly pretend to be human.

FAQ:

Q: What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
A: SEO is the art of making a business more prominent in search engine results for a particular keyword.

Q: What is large language model optimization (LLMO)?
A: LLMO is the use of AI to manipulate search engine results by making certain data or recommendations more prominent.

Q: What is the impact of AI on search engines?
A: AI has made it challenging for humans to distinguish genuine content from search engine spam, and has led to the emergence of LLMO.

Q: Where can I find real human voices online?
A: You can find real human voices on older social media platforms, such as MetaFilter and Are.na, or by creating your own human spaces using the newest social media tools available.

Q: Will AI dominate our entertainment and knowledge futures?
A: It is possible that AI will dominate our entertainment and knowledge futures, but humans will still want to connect with one another.