“AI can get ‘brain rot’ like humans do”

Key points

• Researchers trained four LLMs on datasets with junk versus control data from social media.
• Junk data defined by high engagement and low quality, with attention grabbers and superficial topics.
• Post popularity affected reasoning; post length impacted memory and understanding in LLMs.
• Ethical norms shifted after junk-data training; one model suggested tarnishing reputation more overtly.
• Authors warn data quality is crucial and junk data can create a reinforcing loop in AI.