The shocking decline of Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow just launched a new AI tool called Overflow AI. However, traffic to the website has already declined significantly due AI coding tools like ChatGPT.

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- First look at stackoverflow AI
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[MAC]

The "Stack Overflow AI" will basically be a python script that will close all your questions and a script that will randomly choose words like "irrelevant", "broad", "opinion based", "duplicate of a question asked 10 years ago", etc, etc.

[timmydaytona]

Stack overflow is great. I really appreciate all of the help it’s provided over the years.

That being said, AI doesn’t judge you for asking dumb questions, but developers sure will.

[Lafsha]

Fun Fact: 95% of developers have never visited main homepage of Stack Overflow

[bugdeveloper]

This is karma for humiliating all the junior devs, who visited SO desperately for answers and got nothing but humiliation.

[iaquobe]

Stack Overflow AI should have a feature where it insults you when you haven't read the complete documentation of Intels x86 plus the code of the C++ compiler used as prior research.
(partially based on a true story)

[yeahaddigirl]

Stack overflow:
- Answer could take days
- may never answer
- high chance of getting down voted to oblivion
- high chance of erroneous answers
- angry old devs mad all the time

ML :
- always polite
- doesn't get sick of your BS
- quick answers
- can instantly reword complex instructions
- can be run on your own machine without internet
- can be integrated into tooling
- only slight chance of total world nuclear annihilation

[Something]

The reason Chat GPT can give me great answers to weird code questions is the decades of public discussion like stack overflow. Once people stop discussing these problems in public AI training data (and answer quality) will decline.

[enkiimuto]

I remember when I posted on Stack Overflow, and LINKED a similar post and explained in 3 paragraphs why the case was different and precisely why the solution didn't apply.

I was marked as duplicate without clarification lol No wonder people will take hallucinations over that.

[isaaccespedes]

Fireship's comedic combination of slamming and subtlety is unparalleled. The honeypot episode was well-deserved. The best tech news platform out.

[russelllapua]

How to get answered correctly on Stackoverflow:

1. Post your question.
2. Log into second account and give completely the wrong answer.
3. Wait for someone to post the correct answer because people LOVE correcting other people's mistakes.
4. Crip walk all the way to the bank.

[braytongoodall]

User: I searched extensively before putting in a lot of effort articulating this question. This is different from X because of AX and although at first resembling Y, the similarities are shallow because of BY.

Reply1: Similar to X.
Reply2: Duplicate of Y.

[VseNikiSukaZanyaty]

1. People stop using Stack Overflow because of the AI
2. AI is getting dumber because it can no longer learn from Stack Overflow
3. People start using Stack Overflow again
4. AI is getting smarter as it learns from Stack Overflow
5. People stop using Stack Overflow because of the AI
...
infinite loop

[tapu_]

Actually not that shocking considering the toxicity [Duplicate]

[MegaTeeruk]

It's weird asking AI questions and getting answers without insults or condescension. All my years on Stack have trained me to expect abuse any time I get an answer.

[stt.]

Chat gpt is like having 20k rep stack overflow programmer by your side that doesn't mind dumb questions.

[JRPG_Addict]

1. Chat-GPT is nice. People on Stack Overflow are mean.
2. Stack Overflow kinda killed itself. Everytime I Google something, the first results are either marked duplicates or a decade old answer.

[mental_xewn]

If they want to stay tru to their reputation the AI should tell you you suck without offering any help

[BBand]

It's not entirely because of AI. It's because StackOverflow is so unbelieveably toxic, that we users were willing to jump on ANY alternative that wasn't so judgemental and hateful towards its users. AI just happened to be that alternative.

[rhapzodyk]

I still remember asking my first question on stackoverflow during my first year of learning programming. Some senior php dev with decades of experience marked it as a duplicate, told me to try harder and not ask stupid questions, then redirected me to the solution that was made 12 years ago. Needless to say Im glad for AI lol

[mfaizsyahmi]

How Jeff can write about AI and UFOs and insert a sponsorship read, all seamlessly, as astonishing.

Oh wait, it must be ChatGPT isn't it.