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Paper · 2404.10496 · ACL · 2024

Spiral of Silence: How is Large Language Model Killing Information Retrieval?-A Case Study on Open Domain Question Answering

Hongyu Lin, Ben He, Xianpei Han, Yingfei Sun, Le Sun, Xiaoyang Chen, Boxi Cao, Tianshu Wang

arXiv · PDF · Open in the Atlas

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Abstract

The practice of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) with retrieval systems, has become increasingly prevalent. However, the repercussions of LLM-derived content infiltrating the web and influencing the retrievalgeneration feedback loop are largely uncharted territories. In this study, we construct and iteratively run a simulation pipeline to deeply investigate the short-term and long-term effects of LLM text on RAG systems. Taking the trending Open Domain Question Answering (ODQA) task as a point of entry, our findings reveal a potential digital "Spiral of Silence" effect, with LLM-generated text consistently outperforming human-authored content in search rankings, thereby diminishing the presence and impact of human contributions online. This trend risks creating an imbalanced information ecosystem, where the unchecked proliferation of erroneous LLM-generated content may result in the marginalization of accurate information. We urge the academic community to take heed of this potential issue, ensuring a diverse and authentic digital information landscape. 1

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