AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
Hello everyone. I just wanted to discuss the ongoing AI slop that's been going on for some time and has gotten to the point where it's ridiculous. There are now more and more accounts that just spam useless AI generated models on printables which shows a 3D rendered model, but the actual model looks nothing like in the 3D render of course. They do this to get their few points that they are awarded for when they upload a file and of course if someone does download and rate it, they get points for that too. You can simply tell that it's AI generated by looking at the mesh and base of it also obvious things such as hands merging in weird ways etc. Printables nowadays consist mostly of AI slop posts and as the trend goes on, more and more people are doing the same thing because why try and create your own things when you can just generate a slop, not even print it yourself and upload it on printables and get your points that you can eventually exchange for things. Most of them don't even include in the description that it's AI generated and a lot of people that have tried to print the AI slop ends up with wasted material and time, which ultimately ends up as a waste. While i really like the idea that people can get rewarded for uploading their models and solutions for others to download and enjoy, the point system is the worst thing that has happened to printables. People are abusing it and it's extremely demotivating to see that those who actually provide value to the site and upload their own models get basically no views or downloads just because it's being burried by these profiles that exclusively spam AI slop. Some have over 100 AI slop models posted within a month. This has to stop and i think this issue should be resolved because i understand that this ramps up the sites "engagement" but in reality all it does is floods it with garbage that nobody will actually print, costing money to maintain it on the servers. I think the right thing here would be to exclude AI models from point system so there is no reason for them to spam these AI slop models on printables or the very least would be to make them include that it's AI generated model in the title or description. What are your thoughts about this? Are you also tired of this garbage flow? I don't mean to rant but it's been increasingly getting on my nerves as i browse and see more and more slop being spammed to the point where there is only AI garbage on the screen. Thank you for reading and i am looking forward to your replies. I wish you a wonderful rest of the day.
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
I don't think AI models should be excluded from the points system (but that doesn't mean what you're describing isn't a problem). A creator can use AI as an aid to create great models, and those models should be getting the same rewards as all the other models.
I have another suggestion which isn't perfect, but I think is a step in the right direction: Require users to include an IRL picture of their printed object. Not doing so might: exclude models from points, might place the model in the own "not verified" section or similar, or to be really harsh not be allowed to be uploaded at all.
The suggestion is not perfect though, since some models aren't meant to be printed (e.g. the only file I've uploaded on Printables is a reference CAD file). Also, I don't know how such a system would be enforced given that generative AI can create moderately realistic images.
But I think agree with your original point: There are too many too-low-quality models being uploaded which flood the system making good models harder to find.
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
How about taking away the point rewards? They helped generate activity when Printables was new, but now I believe they could be eliminated.
MK4S/MMU3
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
I want to get rid of all garbage posts on printables. I think they should have a model, full instructions for printing, assembly and any other parts needed. A picture of a printed model. That should be the minimum. Then the classification and keywords need to be verified.
See Internet rule #12 https://www.hubbardhobbies.com/software/internet.htm
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
THIS. No render pics - pictures of the actual model on an actual build plate or it didn't happen.
...A picture of a printed model..
See Internet rule #12 https://www.hubbardhobbies.com/software/internet.htm
Prusa is MK4S w/ MMU3 (formerly MK4 / MMU3, MK3S+/MMU2), 2 Prusa MINI+, Octoprint. PETG, PVB, (some) PLA.
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
The problem is people keep downloading and liking AI models. Until that stops other people will keep uploading AI garbage models because they get rewarded for it. If you reward bad behavior you’re going to get even more bad behavior.
I agree you should have to upload at least one picture of the model 3d printed but I don’t know if it would make any difference? It might slow down the amount of AI models but I don’t think it would stop it.
people keep downloading and liking AI models.
People? No.
In several cases I found recently when revisiting Printables there was an obvious junk file with an unfathomable number of downloads - and when checking the designer there were a bunch of similar files, each with roughly the same number of downloads and the designer had the same number of followers on the account.
Check the followers - each had one had the same files renamed, the same followers and the same number of downloads.
Report the whole lot as a ring and the number of files on Printables drops by a few hundred.
But tracking that sort of abuse takes time and the patience to look through a thousand or so files a day...
Frankly the best way to return Printables to usefulness would be to delete everything after the end of 2021 and apply strict controls to new uploads and reuploads including a much finer grained description framework and some sort of quality metric such as contacting downloaders to rate prints at least a year after the download. Oh, and exclude contest entries, even the winners, from the database.
Cheerio,
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
I'm fine with them being included, however it would be great if they are tagged, and additionally, if I could choose to not see them in the feed by default.
Granted the purpose of the site I also like the suggestion that points should be earned only for items submitted with a photo of an actual print rather than the render.
Cheers
RE: AI Slop has to stop. (no pun intended)
people keep downloading and liking AI models.
People? No.
I uploaded a very specific reference file to Printables a week ago and immediately got a few downloads. If it was people downloading these files I'm happy, but given how specific those files were I highly doubt those few downloads were organic.
RE:
A while ago Printables was under attack by bots that kept spamming models with pictures of "free v-bucks" and other spam, so there is already a huge bot network made for Printables it seems. I am almost certain that quite a lot of downloads on printables are bots. There are also bots that mass download all of the available models from sites like Printables and then create Etsy listings with 400 000 models in a pack for few bucks. They should really do something about AI and bots because it's sad to see what has become of 3D printing community compared to what it was back in 2018 or prior. A lot of creators don't even post their models anymore just for these reasons alone, and with AI slop being out of hand it's getting worse, to the point where soon the only models that will be uploaded will be all AI with occasional human made models. The decline in recent months is quite alarming.