The issue with having the amazing open internet that we have is the spread of false information and disinformation. AI has also come so far that it has started to contribute to the spread of false information. With all this and people’s short attention spans, it has become easier and easier to convince people of anything and everything with rage bait, clip bait, and doomscrolling. The open internet has made it easier than ever to access and share information, but it comes with serious problems.
Pew Research Centers key findings and facts about AI and social media platforms
False and inaccurate information
With false and inaccurate information, what most people see is an inaccurate photo or video. Lots of photographers will take pictures intentionally or edit them in a way that grabs someone’s attention, whether true or not. This is primary source media. Though it may not be a lie, a lot of social media is exaggerated. Think of the news: a lot of what is told is true but exaggerated to get people to watch or talk about what’s happening in the world, and this spills over into social media, which creates a game of telephone where eventually the story isn’t even what happened and has become something completely different. This is how false and inaccurate information is spread through the web.
AI and the internet
AI works by recognizing patterns and styles of already existing data, then gives a remixed version of what was found. They don’t actually come up with responses themselves; rather use the tools given. But how does AI connect to the internet and users themselves? AI is generated by tokens, which create words, pixels, and sounds. Most companies will charge users for the tokens used. So when you go onto the internet to ask AI sources like ONEchat, you are using tokens to process your answer. While I think AI can be useful for a person, I don’t know if it really belongs as a part of the internet. I think with the deepfakes and misleading information already caused by AI, it does more harm than good for the public, but from a single person’s standpoint, I think it can be a helpful tool, it is too often abused to be lazy.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In another bowl, mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
- Slowly combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Mix just until smooth.
- Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, then beat until fluffy.
- Place one cake layer on a plate, spread with frosting, add the second layer, and frost the top and sides.
- Chill for about 30 minutes before slicing.
- Source:
- [1]https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-layer-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/
I find the source ONEchat very reliable because I use “Sally’s Baking Addiction” all the time for recipes, and she’s also my aunt’s friend 😂.
Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake: 1
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1⅔ cups granulated sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2-3 tablespoons red food coloring gel
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¼ teaspoons vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting: 1
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Cake: 1
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8 or 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl.
- Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add oil, then eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Add vanilla and vinegar, then beat in red food coloring until desired color is reached.
- On low speed, alternate adding half the dry ingredients, then buttermilk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Don’t overmix.
- Divide batter evenly between pans and bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Make the Frosting: 1
- Beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth (1-2 minutes).
- Add powdered sugar in two additions, beating well each time.
- Add vanilla and salt, then beat until smooth and fluffy.
Assemble: 1
- Place one cake layer on a plate with the flat side up. Spread with frosting.
- Top with the second layer and frost the top and sides.
- Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
Source: Pretty. Simple. Sweet. Red Velvet Cake Recipe 1
I find her reliable because her recipe includes cocoa and vinegar (which is how you make a real red velvet cake, not vanilla cake dyed red).
Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Source: King Arthur Baking – Red Velvet Cake 1
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups (360ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp red food coloring (liquid or gel)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Frosting (Buttercream):
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (96g) vegetable shortening
- 4 cups (450g) powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp meringue powder (optional, for stability)
- 2–4 tbsp milk or cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Prepare the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Stir in the red food coloring, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and vinegar.
- Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
2. Prepare the Frosting:
- Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, meringue powder (if using), and vanilla.
- Gradually add milk until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
3. Assemble the Cake:
- Slice each cooled cake layer horizontally to create four thin layers.
- Spread frosting between each layer, then frost the top and sides.
- For a classic look, leave the sides unfrosted to show the cake’s color.
I find Arthur’s to be a reliable source because I have used their ingredients and recipes before and have never failed (I recommend you try their brownie recipe).
Reflection
I think the models that were produced by AI did well and actually provided real recipes for a red velvet cake. All the recipes included cocoa and white vinegar, which are needed to make a true red velvet cake. OpenAI was a good model (Sally’s Baking Addiction), but I felt it could have been a little more descriptive compared to the others. Mistral (King Arthur’s) had a high token count but was similar to Anthropic (Pretty Little Sweet) in its detail. I think the best model when using an AI search engine is Anthropic because it used the least number of tokens, but I feel it gave better instructions than the other recipes.
