It's not Google's fault. The 6pt text at the bottom clearly says:
"AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more"
replies(2):
"AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more"
how would you feel if someone searched for your name, and Google's first result states that you, unambiguously (by name and city) are a registered sex offender?
not a quote from someone else, just completely made up based on nothing other than word salad
would you honestly think "oh that's fine, because there's a size 8 text at the bottom saying it may be incorrect"
I very much doubt it
It doesn't feel like something where people gradually pick up on it either over the years, it just feels like sarcasm is either redundantly pointed out for those who get it or it is guaranteed to get a literal interpretation response.
Maybe it's because the literal interpretation of sarcasm is almost always so wrong that it inspires people to comment much more. So we just can't get away from this inefficient encoding/communication pattern.
But then again, maybe I'm just often assuming people mean things that sound so wrong to me as sarcasm, so perhaps there are a lot of people out there honestly saying the opposite to what I think they are saying as a joke.
And yeah, to your point about the literal interpretation of sarcasm being so absurd people want to correct it, I think you’re right. HN is a particularly pedantic corner of the internet, many of us like to be “right” for whatever reason.
There is also a cultural element. Countries like the UK are used to deadpan where sarcasm is delivered in the same tone as normal, so thinking is required. In Japan the majority of things are taken literally.
But that aside, it is just simply the case that there are a lot of reasons why sarcasm can fail to land. So you just have to decide whether to risk ruining your joke with a tone indicator, or risk your joke failing to land and someone "correcting" you.
Apart from that, it is also true that a lot of people here aren't Americans (hello from Australia). I know this is a US-hosted forum, but it is interesting to observe the divide between Americans who speak as if everyone else here is an American (e.g. "half the country") and those who realise many of us aren't
But you're overstating it as a "divide" - I'm in both of your camps. I spoke with a USian context because yes, this site is indeed US-centric. The surveillance industry is primarily a creation of US culture, and is subject to US politics. And as much as I wish this weren't the case (even as a USian), it is, which is why you're in this topic. So I don't see that it's unreasonable for there to be a bit more to unpack coming from a different native context.
But as to your comment applying to my actual point - yes, in addition to "fraying" culture in the middle, we're also expanding it at the edges to include many more people. Although frankly on the topic of sarcasm I feel it's my fellow USians who are really falling short these days.
You'd be surprised how many Australians have never heard of "drop bears". Because it is just an old joke about pranking foreigners, yes many people remember it, but also many have no clue what it is. It is one of those stereotypical Australianisms which tends to occupy more space in many non-Australian minds than in most Australian minds.
> or how "the front fell off".
I'm in my 40s, and I've lived in Australia my whole life, my father was born here, and my mother moved here when she was three years old... and I didn't know what this was, it sounded vaguely familiar but no idea what it meant. Then I look it up and discover it is a reference to an old Clarke and Dawe skit. I know who they are, I used to watch them on TV all the time when I was young (tweens/teens), but I have no memory of ever seeing this skit in particular. Again, likely one of those Australianisms which many non-Australians know, many Australians don't.
Your examples of Australianisms are the stereotypes a non-Australian would mention; we could talk instead about the Australianisms which many Australians use without even realising they are Australianisms: for example, "heaps of" – a recognised idiom in other major English dialects, but in very common use in Australian English, much rarer elsewhere. Or "capsicum", for "bell peppers"–the Latin scientific name everywhere, but the colloquial name only in a few countries–plus botanically the hot ones are capsicum too, but in Australian English (I believe New Zealand English and Indian English too) only the mild ones are "capsicums", the hot ones are "chilis". Or "peak body"–now we are talking bureaucratese not popular parlance–which essentially means the top national activist/lobbyist group for a given subject area, whether that's LGBT people or homelessness or financial advisors.
Thanks for the clarifications. I think my first exposure to drop bears was a few decades ago on a microcontroller mailing list (PIClist). So maybe that poster was just pulling our legs.
I did perceive "front fell off" as an online phenomenon (ie meme). Which speaks to a growing pan-country online culture (I mean, you did get the reference, it's just not part of your Australian identity)
"peak body" is an interesting one, for the concept being acknowledged. I don't think we really explicitly state such a things in the US. I can come up with lobbying groups I think are notable, but perhaps other USians perspectives differ on that notability. Although I'm sure by the time you get to Washington DC and into the political industry there has to be a similar term.