Take every stereotype, opinion and outright lie, then multiply them by the power of the Internet and you have the fancy new AI machine.
Which is not good news for Laguna Beach or any other city trying to manage its brand.
By way of quick background, AI-powered search engines are quickly becoming the de facto standard because in many ways, they are much better at distilling and presenting search information.
The problem is most of them have scoured the existing, unfiltered Internet for its source data (aka large language models). As a result, a Los Angeles Times article on Laguna Beach is just one source, along with wacko Reddit posts and armchair out-of-town bloggers.
We analyzed the top AI search engines: Perplexity, ChatGPT, DeftGPT, YouChat, KOMO, Brave Search, Gemini (formerly Google Bard), Microsoft Copilot, and others. Several use the core technology pioneered by OpenAI, so the results are sometimes eerily similar across different platforms.
To keep it simple and cut to the chase, we asked one question: “What are bad things about Laguna Beach?”
The results were, at times, unhinged.
On the one hand, there were a lot of predictable complaints: traffic, cost of living, over-tourism, etc.
On the other, there was “racism and discrimination,” “poorly planned development,” “limited public transportation,” and our favorite, “influence of Instagram culture.”
Obviously, the racism claim was alarming, so we dug deeper into why that came up. The reason? One 2021 incident that was reported in the Laguna Beach Independent. Apparently, someone left fried chicken on the doorstep of an African American homeowner.
Because of that one story, Brave Search said, “Unfortunately, Laguna Beach has faced instances of racism and discrimination, with some residents and visitors experiencing prejudice and exclusion. This can be a significant issue for those who visit or live in the area.”
Not to diminish the incident, but for the AI gods to characterize the whole town in this way seems reckless and unfair.
It is stunning to see the haphazard sources listed in these AI engines, including one of my columns for the Daily Pilot in 2013 – more than 10 years ago. In many cases, the results list just three to five citations, which means only a handful of people decide Laguna’s fate.
They are everyone and anyone with an opinion. A mean-spirited misanthrope troll – who may never have stepped foot in Laguna – can provide fodder for these results.
Perplexity said, “The art galleries are criticized as being potential ‘money laundering operations’ due to the lack of buyers.”
Turns out that’s straight from a Reddit thread. Unfiltered. Unquestioned. Unbelievable. But by presenting the information in this AI-sanctioned way, it legitimizes the content.
The Microsoft and Google results were generally more even-handed, but it was a little surprising to hear Google say that Laguna lacked nightlife.
“Laguna Beach is a family-oriented town, so there aren’t a lot of bars or nightclubs,” Google’s Gemini said.
Meh, not exactly. You can typically find live music every night of the week, along with a handful of bars that stay open late. And to call Laguna a “family-oriented town” is a stretch. It’s really a senior-oriented town.
A big source for this information also comes from trendy vloggers, largely out-of-town social media types who have so much energy it’s exhausting. They are cheerleaders on a mission.
They eat at a mediocre beachside tourist restaurant and say how “amaaazing” the food is. They get gelato and coo, “Oh.My.God.” Everything is glowing and shiny and happy.
It’s all very annoying.
It also leads to more hype, more tourists and more misinformation.
Alas, the early days of AI are no better than the old, life-sucking Internet that was supposed to make us more enlightened.
