What Is AI Model Collapse—And How Can We Avoid It?

​Like it or not, AI bots are now part of our society. Much like humans, they have evolved from learning on their own to learning from us—and from each other. As online spaces become a mix of human and AI-generated content, who are the experts, and where are they? Without access to real expertise, AI will spread misinformation. When AI models train on low-quality content produced by other AIs, the self-reinforcing loop of nonsense is known as ‘AI model collapse.’ In this talk, I will explain how insights from human cultural evolution can help us avoid it.

​Alex Bentley is Professor of Anthropology at University of Tennessee, and previously Head of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol University. Author of over 150 peer-reviewed articles, his forthcoming book (with Michael O’Brien) is Collaborators through Time: How Humans Partnered with Nature, Technology and Each Other (Bloomsbury).