this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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Pollsters are now asking AIs to answer surveys as if they were humans and passing the results off as poll statistics (futurism.com)
submitted 1 day ago by StopTech@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

but giving up on stats because bad stats exist, is like refusing to ever eat food again because someone got you to try a sardine and spinach chocolate cupcake one time.

I won't die if I give up on stats.

Let me fix your analogy:

but giving up on stats because bad stats exist, is like refusing to ever read newspapers again because you once read a tabloid rag that was full of falsehoods and lies.

And that's a more reasonable approximation.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I won’t die if I give up on stats.

Society, especially any remaining vestiges of democracy would...

It would mean a population of voters informed solely by propaganda or not at all.

Like, I get what you're saying.

But youre thinking about a personal level, which the cupcake example was.

Polling/democracy is a societal level, and starving there is the full on death of democracy. And all the assorted damage that comes with that.

I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer, I thought the personal/societal jump was implied

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You really think democracy can't possibly work without opinion polling?

It would mean a population of voters informed solely by propaganda or not at all.

99% of opinion polling is propaganda. It's relatively easy to make the outcome of a poll whatever you want it to be, especially when most of your viewers/readers don't (or can't) dig into it to find the raw polling data. And even when a poll doesn't go the way you'd like, you can just bury it or refuse to publish it and run another poll until you get the result you wanted.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

99% of opinion polling is propaganda.

I mean, if you invent ones that frequently, yeah, but who cares when people who don't know about stats make up stats?

That's literally the point I'm trying to make here,you're so close to getting it