Do you use product reviews to help you determine if a product is worth purchasing?
They might be worthless.
A recent study suggests that many product reviews are AI-generated fake reviews. It’s gotten so bad, that it’s difficult to determine the authentic reviews. The star rating system is becoming more and more useless, due to Artificial Intelligence.
Makes me wonder: Are these reviews intelligent or are they artificial?
The only way to really evaluate a product or app, might be to test it out myself.
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In the parsha of Re’eh that we read this week, the Torah warns us not to fall prey to the imagination and trickery of a false prophet – even if s/he performs miracles.
You shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream; for the L-rd, your G-d, is testing you, to know whether you really love the L-rd, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul.
Last I checked, Jewish tradition considers G-d to be all-knowing. He knows the past as well as the future. So, why does G-d need to test us to determine whether we love Him? Doesn’t He know whether we will pass or fail the challenge? Can’t G-d distinguish between authentic belief and fake reviews?
A similar discussion focuses on the tenth and final of G-d’s tests of His beloved servant Avraham. At the conclusion of the Binding of Isaac, the Torah states, “For now I know that you are a G-d fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me.” Again, we wonder what ‘revelation’ G-d achieved by this discovery. Wasn’t He privy to the stats before they were printed? Does He not know the votes before they are tallied? And even before they are cast?
Rashi explains that G-d’s ‘discovery’ is not what’s new to Him. Rather it’s the factual ammunition that He is now armed with. He can now counter the claims that Avraham isn’t His true servant or that Avraham is not prepared to sacrifice on behalf of His G-d. The knowledge is not new to G-d. But it is newly available information to others.
The innovators of a certain product may be certain of their product’s qualities. But if it has not withstood the test of public scrutiny, it remains unknown. As such, its utility and purpose remain unfulfilled.
For that, we need authentic public input.
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We all have our own share of challenges and tests from G-d. G-d knows the results before we begin the journey. By succeeding, we aren’t proving anything to G-d. Nor are we merely substantiating our own self-worth. But we are teaching the world the purpose of our existence. We are serving as a testing ground for results that stand to change the world.
And, withstanding the test of time, our purpose and existence can never be faked. There’s nothing artificial about our purpose and existence.
The next time you feel tested – remember that standing up to the test doesn’t only prove yourself to G-d. It proves your value and purpose to all of humanity! It’s living proof that you are authentic and not a product of Artificial Intelligence. Tests, it turns out, are rather liberating – for ourselves and others.