Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:45:56 GMT

Yes David , you expressed it far better than I did. I am sure it will be useful but as a tool to assist rather than as an oracle to replace people.

Also we all remember cases where a new grad would say “ it can’t be a Pyometra because it’s not drinking a lot “ . I think AI could present the same dangers of failing to register the nuance and variation in history given by the owner and the presentation. Sometimes clients say what they think you want to hear in some misguided delusion that their animal will get better treatment .

online weight loss drugs and their potential abuse are going to be a good illustration of how humans are needed to act in the patients best interests.

Exciting times though

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

David Mills — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:15:59 GMT

The current issues with AI are that whilst it is generative it does not generate new knowledge. So whilst it can breakdown lots of info into usable segments / write teachers' school reports / sift and filter job applicants etc it is using pre-existing knowledge not problem-solving per se. So it will give an answer but there is somewhat a regression to the mean. That makes it bland and there is a lack of nuance.

It also relies somewhat on the (flawed) concept that there is a correct answer to every question. We don't know if this is true. In vet med specifically there is almost always more than one way to skin a cat.

It will be interesting to see if the predictions that AI will start to think for itself will come to pass - so far there is a lack of knowledge about how this is actually possible. Ss-called super-AI may have the potential to surpass human intelligence but it remains to be seen whether this is possible (or indeed desirable).

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:09:19 GMT

[quote userid="2490" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247580#247580"]I wish more people participated[/quote]

I'm slightly at a loss as to why more don't! I used to think it was because VS had a reputation for being quite a scary place to ask for an opinion. So only a particularly robust group of people took part, and everyone else came to watch the fight!

But that's changed, and things have been much more relaxed and more friendly for some time now, and yet it's still quite rare for a new face to come and chip in to a discussion, despite lots reading them. I would love to hear either here or via PM from anyone who would like to share why they read forum posts but don't chip in!

[quote userid="2490" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247580#247580"]there is so much choice of platform nowadays[/quote]

Not just that, but a zillion different groups on each platform! But again, I would have thought the lack of algorithmic meddling here, the space to have a proper discussion, the accountability etc would be a bigger draw for more people to join discussions here.

Maybe it is just the very basic problem of the lack of notifications, which is why I have been mulling over moving the forum section of VS to an app-based platform with notifications.

If anyone else has any ideas about how I/we can encourage more people to chip in, I am all ears!

[quote userid="2490" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247580#247580"]AI would definitely not be a substitute for VS.ORG in my opinion. I want to hear all views , not just the ones chosen by the algorithms. [/quote]

I see AI as doing something subtly but importantly different to algorithms in the facebook sense.

That is, algorithms are tuned to produce content you will engage with, regardless of its accuracy.

AI is tuned to give you the correct answer to your question, regardless of whether you like it or not!

So when you are given a choice of:

a) Discussing a clinical issue with a group of people on FB that you dont know, and you don't know if they know what they are talking about

b) Asking AI which gives you an accurate answer, and points you to references to support the answer.

Which is better?

I guess it depends on the nature of the question / discussion, and groups discussing more 'human' questions benefit more from human answers, where groups discussing clinical questions may be better off asking AI.

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:46:54 GMT

Hi Arlo

How could AI possibly be a substitute for Michael , Evelyn , Jill , Francisco et al ? where else could I read such diverse opinions on the veterinary world other than on here? I am on various other pages such as vet voices , vet mums , vet mums with SEN children but if there is a thorny issue and I want to hear different opinions well expressed then I go on here . It is not an echo chamber for popular opinion, it questions the status quo , it draws on experience and life skills and knowledge and elicits strong opinion not just populist middle of the road wishy washy stuff.
I wish more people participated but there is so much choice of platform nowadays , plus I think some people are far too quick to take offence if people disagree with them.

AI would definitely not be a substitute for VS.ORG in my opinion. I want to hear all views , not just the ones chosen by the algorithms. Yes AI is a very useful tool but it’s not human and I want the human interaction.

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:21:15 GMT

[quote userid="3169" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247576#247576"]In my frustration used AI to search "poor starting, especially when warm, vauxhall combo D" [/quote]

Michael Woodhouse Do you ever use it to help with diagnoses? Poor starting Labrador, especially when warm? Might there be times when you prefer to do that than 'ask the audience' here or on Facebook?

[quote userid="11493" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247577#247577"]

I use Facebook heavily for several reasons of convenience but equally hate the platform.

Their algorithms are dangerous.

[/quote]

I agree - not just in terms the way the algorithm works to show you content it thinks you will react to, but also because that means it effectively censors content which it thinks you wont react to. That's shit for scientific discourse, but unfortunately there aren't many people who seem to recognise that or care!

[quote userid="11493" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31222/online-communities-and-ai---where-do-you-think-the-future-lies/247577#247577"]allucinations are definitely a thing, and many AI tools can be a little too.. Optimistic in what they advise you. [/quote]

I increasingly use chatgpt in place of a search engine, but often find it is just wrong.

Example, if I try to ask how to do something on a piece of film editing software, it will give me a generic answer which might work on some types of software, just not the one I am using!

Conversely, I find it is amazing for research, as long as I ask it to provide links to the information sources.

And I was staggered how lifelike the chatgpt voice / conversation is on the app.

Francisco Gomez and Michael Woodhouse what I am really interested to know is ...

You both say AI is the future - but do you see it replacing online communities? Do you think it makes any difference that you know I am a real person, Francisco, because we have met? Or do you think a human-like interaction with a computer that will give you reliably good answers is far more important, and you can imagine giving up community interaction with real people online and instead query AI.

I suppose the direction I am headed in is thinking that things which help people forge real, face-to-face, human connections will become more useful and valuable in an increasingly digital world.

For example, perhaps text only forum or social media discussions by professionals will be replaced by people querying AI, but perhaps we'll see an increase in the use of video-based communities (by which I mean ones which use video, rather than the written word, for sharing uniquely human experiences.

It's all evolving so fast!

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Francisco Gomez — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:53:30 GMT

I use Facebook heavily for several reasons of convenience but equally hate the platform.

Their algorithms are dangerous. Especially while being ill and bed ridden a couple of years ago, I had to uninstall it.

If there was something on the screen about health that could relate, I would spend a few extra milliseconds there rather than scrolling. As a result, I'd get bombarded by illness posts, which led to dark thoughts in the next few hours.

I'm guessing this happens to other people in disease, politics, etc to the point of creating extremists in each field.

Recently it asked asked me about becoming even more intrusive. I chose 'no', and as a result I'm obliged to wait a few seconds to watch an advert.

Arlo, this platform does none of that stuff and that's why I'm here. You use advertising, of course. You need to live, but is much less intrusive than Facebook. I think, more than the quality of the conversation, I like this platform because I feel more in control of what I'm doing here.

AI is definitely the future, but a word of caution. Hallucinations are definitely a thing, and many AI tools can be a little too.. Optimistic in what they advise you.

RE: Online communities and AI - where do you think the future lies?

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 22:50:32 GMT

I bought a little practice van, fairly cheaply. Put some signwriting on. Since we bought her she was bad to start but drove nicely once going. I changed the fuel filter and gave her a service - still bad at starting. Took her to a mechanic - he said glow plugs. Changed them, still bad. Sent for MOT and got him to have another look - said EGR - swapped that. Still bad at starting. Tolerated it (as I dont drive the van much). Had a nurse meet me on a farm call. Took 10 mins to get it started - embarrassing. In my frustration used AI to search "poor starting, especially when warm, vauxhall combo D" - it suggested doing a leak off test and likely an injector problem. One injector pissing out diesel. Changed that (£100 off ebay, myself). Van fixed.

AI is the future.