How Are Reddit and Stack Planning to Monetize LLM Training?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the monetization strategies of Reddit and Stack Exchange (SE) regarding their content used in training large language models (LLMs). Participants explore the implications of these strategies, the value of user-generated content, and the potential impact of LLMs on platforms like SE.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express skepticism about the monetization of publicly available information for LLM training, suggesting that public posts are intended for broad readership.
  • There are claims that Stack Exchange has been sold for $1.8 billion, raising questions about its future in the context of LLMs potentially disrupting its business model.
  • Participants note that while SE may have more sections, they believe the quality of discussions on Physics Forums (PF) is superior, citing differences in user treatment and question moderation.
  • Some participants speculate that LLMs could threaten the viability of SE, while others argue that certain academic-focused platforms may remain unaffected.
  • There is interest in the capabilities of future integrations, such as Wolfram Alpha's plugin with ChatGPT, though some express disappointment with current LLM performance in analyzing specific content.
  • Concerns are raised about the limitations of current LLMs, including their inability to browse the internet and the need for improvement in their analytical capabilities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the monetization of content or the future of platforms like Stack Exchange in light of LLM advancements. Multiple competing views are presented regarding the implications of LLMs on these platforms.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss the evolving nature of LLM technology and its potential impact on user-generated content platforms, highlighting uncertainties about the future and the effectiveness of current models.

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If a social network can monetize my posts, I want my cut.
 
Grelbr42 said:
If a social network can monetize my posts, I want my cut.
That's not how it works now. You are the product and the social media company makes its money by selling your eyes to advertisers, using your posts (including non public ones) to target the ads. Your "payment" is the free use of the website.

I'm skeptical though that publicly available information can be monetized for LLM training. These posts are public because we want as many people to read them as possible.
 
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In case others didn't see this:

Greg Bernhardt said:
We're the #1 most represented physics domain in Google C4 dataset!

View attachment 325203
 
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jedishrfu said:
What do you think @Greg Bernhardt ?
PF will have a search chatbot trained on our posts at some point, yes. I don't know about monetizing though. Also, Reddit and Stack and many times larger than PF, so they have much more data to work with.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
I don't know about monetizing though.
You should inform yourself quickly!
I have read somewhere that SE went over the counter for billions! Ok, let's be honest. It was only 1.8 billion.

6/3/21 said:
StackExchange, known as StackOverflow, has been sold to Prosus for $1.8 billion. This includes the TeX StackExchange Q&A site (TeX.SE). Prosus is a technology investor and holding company that already owns companies like Udemy, Codecadamy and Brainly (“Your 24/7 homework helper”). After $153 million in investor funds, hiring a former investment banker as head, several rounds of layoffs, moderators leaving, becoming more efficient by standardizing sites, exit speculation, it wasn't really surprising. Official communications and Joel Spolsky's announcement say "business as usual" and that everything will continue as is. So, nothing to see here.
 
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fresh_42 said:
I have read somewhere that SE went over the counter for billions! Ok, let's be honest. It was only 1.8 billion.
Pretty aggressive considering LLMs are likely going to put SE out of business.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
Pretty aggressive considering LLMs are likely going to put SE out of business.
Maybe SE but certainly not MO (and possibly other Overflows I don't know of). The discussions there are really on an academic level.

And with regards to SE: yes, they might have more sections than we have, but we are far better than they are.
We do not downgrade users for correct answers, and we do not delete seemingly silly questions as long as the user shows his efforts to come to a conclusion, just to mention two aspects we are better at, despite all users who think we would be unfair. At least we try. SE punishes.
 
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fresh_42 said:
Maybe SE but certainly not MO (and possibly other Overflows I don't know of). The discussions there are really on an academic level.
You just wait a couple of years. I'm interested to see what Wolfram Alpha's plugin can do with ChatGPT.
 
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Greg Bernhardt said:
You just wait a couple of years. I'm interested to see what Wolfram Alpha's plugin can do with ChatGPT.
I would have expected that ChatGPT would analyze at least Wikipedia in general and WA on my specific question
1682736311918-png.png


Both are obviously not the case. It failed to check Wikipedia on bismuth, and WA on primes. There is a long way ahead once the general hype has settled down.
 
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  • #11
fresh_42 said:
I would have expected that ChatGPT would analyze at least Wikipedia in general and WA on my specific question
View attachment 325759

Both are obviously not the case. It failed to check Wikipedia on bismuth, and WA on primes. There is a long way ahead once the general hype has settled down.
It can't browse the internet yet (there is an alpha model) but it is trained on a lot of wiki pages. I don't disagree there are issues, but the tech is moving quickly. We'll get there before too long.
 
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