Low Level reports, “something is REALLY wrong with bug bounty“. What’s going on, is that people are using AI to find bugs in software and submitting them to “bug bounty” websites operated by computer security researchers. The problem is that the AI is hallucinating code and calls to subroutines, and the bugs don’t actually exist. This is becoming a huge problem as more false reports are now being submitted than real reports, and human beings have to go and check just to make sure the bugs are real in the first place.
- Narrative: 1. a description of events
As it turns out, I’ve noticed this problem since late 2024 has started to affect online communities that I frequent, such as martial arts discussion boards on the internet.
- Narrative: 2. the part of a novel that tells the story, rather than the dialogue
The thing is, just like with fake bug bounties trying to get money for nothing, a lot of people (people who should know better) are using AI to talk about martial arts in order to gain social standing by appearing more knowledgeable than they really are. They are trying to tell a story but the dialogue is strangely wrong.
The reason I am able to tell is because I have what is called authenticity. The reason I have authenticity is because I have been actually involved in Tai Chi and Chinese martial arts for a very long time. So it strikes me as very odd when someone suddenly starts speaking in a different “voice” online, or when they suddenly start using terms that have recently entered the popular language (for example, a topic flares up and specialized terms come up, then a few days or weeks later someone starts a thread explaining one of those terms, but the explanations are strange or wrong).
- Narrative: 3. a way of explaining events to illustrate a set of aims or values
What really bothers me is that this is a kind of propaganda or lie. And people, most people, do not have the information or experience to recognize the lie. In some cases the people who are spreading this kind of misinformation are well-known within some parts of the community to have specific stances or experiences. When these people come out later on and things are different, or just a little too self-serving, and their platform is supported by logical and concise writing, my ears perk up. Inevitably, somewhere in what they are saying, are one or more severe flaws. Things that only someone with real, authentic training would notice. The confidence with which these people present false ideas and false narratives is astounding. Often when confronted, they will simply disappear, only to reappear in a week or two on another thread, with another strange comment.
I have realized there is only one way to deal with these people.
Well, now, therein lies the problem.
How do YOU know whether or not what I am saying is true versus what anyone else out there says is true? If you are new to the world of martial arts (or whatever subject is under discussion) you could easily be fooled by a liar trying to misrepresent himself using ChatGPT.
After quite some thought on this matter and a great deal of meditation I realized that the only way to fight this problem is to not fight it at all. Two things must be done.
One, the stage has to be changed. The idea that I am going to be able to “fix” or “correct” misinformation online isn’t going to happen, because the people doing this have a vested interest in spamming the internet with as many self-serving lies as possible. Even with a team of people this cannot be combated. No, what must exist is a trivial way that these people can be instantly dismissed. The answer is to have a well-established way of showing or checking someone’s credibility. Then, all someone would need to do is point out that someone has or does not have the credibility necessary to make whatever statements they’re making in the name of some long-dead master.
There are a few ways to do this but they all revolve around a form of certification and/or community response. I have a few ideas on how to accomplish this, but I think the best one is going to be something like increasing community participation in tournaments.
Tournament Promotion
The question then is how to get people to participate. Why don’t people participate in tournaments today? Well first, a lot of people, especially Tai Chi people, simply don’t consider themelves martial artists and the thought of competition never crosses their mind. That is okay. This is just drawing a demarcation line, and people can choose to stand on whichever side of it that they want. Critical mass will be the moment when that choice matters in terms of narrative and authenticity. When selling a book on Tai Chi depends less on production value and narrative and more on authenticity — that is the moment when this idea will be a success.
However, among those who do care about Tai Chi as a martial art, why don’t they compete?
A) No real incentive in terms of credibility, except maybe a “medal”. I.E. “who is credible to judge me?”
B) Time issues of some kind. Onerous procedures. Out-of-the way of daily life.
C) Money issues of some kind (travel expenses, time off work, etc.)
A for example. How many Gold Medal Tai Chi champions do you think there are in China? The IWUF reported that in 2023, in the Zhejiang (provincial) International TCMA competition, the Beilun Martial Arts Association (one association, alone) won 48 gold medals. It also reports that at the 4th world taijiquan championships in 2024, eight gold medals were awarded. It is easy to see how hundreds if not thousands of gold medals are awarded in China every year. How many moreso in America? And even if less, the assumption is if you win a Chinese tournament it’s better, since Kungfu comes from China and the standards are higher (that’s not an assumption, it’s a justification for the initial assumption). Point being, a gold medal is worthless for establishing credibility.
To solve time issues and issues of onerosity, make comparison (tournamenting) as easy as possible. Barebones, at least at the first level, allow consensus reporting between two people. This is how the Igo insei system works in Japan, and essentially how online chess ratings work (essentially, since there is a report system, so consensus is the default). Nothing wrong with adopting it here.
Finally, keeping things online when possible will remove some money issues such as needing to take time off work or to travel. Also, incentive can be created by paying people to participate (at least at the upper levels). My experience with tournaments in martial arts, chess and Go across Asia and America is that this is really the only way to establish credibility for a sports body unless you are representing a long-established regional club or sports organization.
Where is the money going to come from? Well this is the thing. Back to the beginning. Narrative and Authenticity.
The Golden Rule
He who has the gold makes the rules.
This is not a bad thing. It means that the people who make the rules are the people with skin in the game. That’s why paying people works so well to establish credibility; because on the flipside people assume that the money will be used to attract the most credible people possible. It wouldn’t make sense to hire people who don’t know Chess to participate in a Chess tournament. The money, at least to a degree, kicks-off the attraction of skilled people. Otherwise? “Oh! It’s so nice of online persona x or poster y to make a confident statement that is actually bullshit. Or for people to post fake videos on the internet. Or to use AI to lie about what they know.” Because doing so is cheap, and confidence does not equal credibility. Playing a game of chicken being as confident as possible about your bullshit and doubling down on it at every possible opportunity just makes the eventual collapse even more spectacular.
Put a cost on it, or demonstrate you have paid a cost, and it is already on it’s own a mark of credibility. Establish such a thing on an ongoing basis and suddenly you become the authenticity. Suddenly you control the narrative. This is how you chop off someone’s head in zen, ask them how much they would pay to get enlightened. The moment you have to put a cost on it, the fakers all start complaining. Those who are real rush at the opportunity to give you everything they have for the real gold. The real success.
The inside joke is that none of this is forced behavior. This is just the picture of a properly run and healthy community. The problem is our community today is not like this, it is run by people who have not suffered to achieve what they have, but have abused social media to gain followers, often for the purposes of making money, not to promote the art.
Confucius writes,「富與貴，是人之所欲也；不以其道得之，不處也。貧與賤，是人之所惡也；不以其道得之，不去也。」
“Wealth and honor are what people desire. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, do not dwell in them. Poverty and low status are what people dislike. If they cannot be avoided by proper means, do not escape them.”
Mencius comments, “The great man is he who does not lose his childlike heart and puts righteousness above material gain” (Mencius 6A:10)
Confucius also writes,「志士仁人，無求生以害仁，有殺身以成仁。」“The determined person and the man of virtue do not seek to live at the expense of ren (benevolence). They may even sacrifice their lives to preserve ren;” and 「賢哉，回也！一簞食，一瓢飲，在陋巷，人不堪其憂，回也不改其樂。」“How admirable was Yan Hui! Living on a basket of rice and a gourd of water in a shabby alley — others could not endure such hardship, but Hui never let go of his joy.”
Mencius comments,「富貴不能淫，貧賤不能移，威武不能屈，此之謂大丈夫。」“Wealth and honor cannot corrupt him, poverty and lowliness cannot make him waver, power and force cannot bend him — this is what it means to be a great man.”
What is the meaning here?
Emperor Wen wore simple clothing, reduced palace expenses, and refused the construction of an expensive tomb. He dealt with matters of state in person and was deeply involved in governing using the principles of Ren and Li. Regarding Ren and Yi (Kindness and Justice), he reduced taxes, lightened punishments, and released prisoners. He also avoided un-necessary wars, choosing instead diplomacy and restraint. He expanded Han control through trade and business. This was a time known as the Rule of Wen and Jing (Jing was his son), a golden age of peace and prosperity in the early Western Han, directly attributed to his moral leadership.
Zhu Xi writes in commentary,
“To use the art of war properly, one must first have virtuous leadership, for the soldiers will follow the general’s character.”
— Zhu Xi, Commentary on the “Art of War”
“To be a leader, one must first cultivate one’s virtue. If one does not cultivate one’s virtue, how can one lead others? A leader who has virtue will guide others with ease, for virtue leads to harmony.”
— Zhu Xi, Commentary on The Doctrine of the Mean
The Next Generation
TO create a new society, to teach the next generation, one must be of the previous generation. Outsiders cannot come in and make changes. How could they? They are from a different system, a different style. If you are not a part of the lineage, how can you continue the lineage?
Even those with the best of intentions must first accept the truth. Only by accepting the truth can one understand what must be done next. Or else it is like swimming in the dark.
I leave you with a parable.
Lord Ye and the Dragon
葉公好龍，為之雕牆，畫龍、繪龍於屋；堂前柱上，刻龍也。真龍知而下之，葉公見之，棄而走。
“Lord Ye loved dragons. He had dragons carved on his walls, painted on his screens, and embroidered in his curtains. When the real dragon in Heaven heard of this, it was moved and came down to visit. But when Lord Ye saw the real dragon, he panicked and ran away.” (From: New Anecdotes of the Talk of the World by Liu Xiang (劉向) during the Han dynasty.)