in my more optimistic moods, i wonder if the advent of gen ai and the corresponding ability to print crap en masse will overwhelm all of our worst information ecosystems — citation farming academic journals; point-to-point social media platforms — and herald the return of the trusted information institutions; at other times i remain convinced most people are not really motivated by epistemic quality and instead are happy to swallow whatever guff the grifters are hawking at this present moment as long as it tickles the right parts of the limbic system as it slides down the gullet