2025-08-12 –, Andromeda
Language: English
Wikipedia tells us that low-background steel is steel produced before the detonation of the first nuclear bombs. Yep, you guessed it, this is a talk about Large Language Models. LLM outputs have quickly spread like radionuclides, threatening everything from the scientific record to the existence of the Internet as we know it. In this talk I'll discuss practical small web approaches that we can use to build a new Internet that doesn't suck quite so badly. There will also be memes ;-)
Have you noticed how the good stuff on the Internet is increasingly hidden behind bot checks, subscriptions and paywalls? And that it's getting harder and harder to find things online due to LLM pollution? Welcome to the club! You are in the right place.
In this talk I'll highlight some of the most egregious examples, consider how we can best preserve low background information for future generations, and how we can use small web techniques like self-hosted blogs and static site generators to bootstrap a new infosphere that doesn't rely on a handful of hyperscale operators.
I'm particularly interested in how we can federate and syndicate search, learning from protocols and standards like RSS and ActivityPub. As part of the talk I'll give you some practical tools and approaches to try. If you find this interesting, consider joining us in the SearchClub. Let's have fun building the new Internet together!
I'm a freelance computer and Internet consultant, greybeard variety. My claim to fame is that I'm accidentally responsible for RFC2219/BCP17 which formalised the use of the "www." convention for website domain names. I'm very sorry, and I promise it won't happen again.
At WHY I'm interested in speaking with people about decentralization of key Internet capabilities like search, so that we aren't beholden to billionaires and our privacy isn't sold to the highest bidder. I'm particularly interested in workable approaches to search in the AI slop era. If this interests you too, consider joining SearchClub, where a few of us are thinking big thoughts about this.
I'll probably have my LED hat and my CYBER bag with me at WHY, so if you see someone who glows in the dark it could well be me - do say hello! You can also find me on teh Interwebs at https://martinh.net and my fedi handle is @m@martinh.net.