A Reddit joke about “squatting” has now become Google AI’s fitness advice

When you become part of a community (or at least lurk around long enough), you begin to learn the jokes of that community. Unless you’re an AI person, that means substantial language models aren’t programmed with a sense of humor. Google’s artificial intelligence review, trained on Reddit user-generated content, has started advising people to utilize sex toys to lift more at the gym.

(AI Review, which you may have noticed at the top of search results lately, is a word salad made of the top results for your query. Sometimes it summarizes those results. Sometimes it completely misrepresents them. AI Review was used to be an optional feature, but now it’s available by default. You can disable it (after searching) by clicking on the web filteror by adding udm=14 to the end of the URL.)

I search a lot of fitness related topics and have noticed that the AI ​​review doesn’t always get everything right. He believes that a diminutive wooden block under the heels replaces a squat rack. But nothing compares to the laugh I had when I realized that Google had fully believed Reddit’s “squat” knowledge. Yes, it informs unsuspecting users – who are probably looking because they’re checking to see if it’s a joke – that people usually prepare for a bulky squat by inserting a plug into their anus.

At the risk of ruining the joke: squats are a joke

A squat plug is a butt plug supposedly used when squatting bulky weights in the gym. Now, butt plugins are real. They are a kind of sex toy. They are designed to be inserted through the anus and, importantly, are shaped so that they can be easily removed. Their goal is to provide fun and pleasure in the bedroom. We have a whole article here about incorporating toys into anal play. If you’re, you know, curious.

But squat shoddy? This is a joke, 100% running gag, made up on Reddit as far as I know. It has suffered security breaches in recent years, with mentions on YouTube and other social media platforms. There are two types of people who post about squats:

• People who joke, deadpan, tell everyone that they are real.

• People who ask if squats are really popular because they sure sound like a joke.

Some of those making jokes are die-hard tenants themselves, who utilize their faith to suggest that if you haven’t met anyone who uses a squat plug, it’s because your friends are too frail to know about it. Elite lifters utilize them all the time. (They don’t do that. It’s all part of the joke.)

I know this because I’ve spent way too much time on Reddit. I know some people who tell jokes like that. I saw organically where they came from. Let me remind you of this too Merriam-Webster dictionary cited me as an authority on shitty posts?

But if you need higher authority: Here are the technical rules for powerlifting in the USA (USAPL). This organization has policies regarding All, including a seven-point section on exactly what types of underwear you can and cannot wear during competition. (There is also a footwear section: Crocs are expressly prohibited.) None even mention squat plugs in the regulations is irrefutable proof that they do not exist. I promise that if squat plugs were real, specific brands would be on the market IPF approved equipment list.

What Google’s AI says about squat plugs

Google seems to have swallowed all of Reddit’s plugin knowledge. “What is a squat plug?” I asked. “A squat plug is a device that helps keep your buttocks tight while you squat” – the helpful answer next to the photo helps taken from r/GymMemes which shows fitness company logos edited on butt plug images.

The AI ​​Review continues: “Some argue that squats are common at the elite level of weightlifting and are crucial for those who want to lift more than 600 pounds.” Sources include YouTube and TikTok videos from people making the joke, as well as a Quora post from someone questioning it.

If you click “show more” you will get, oh god, more. “Some recommend inserting the plug all the way and supporting it firmly to avoid leaks and unnecessary situations,” Google’s artificial intelligence happily advises. This he did pick up on when a redditor calls bullshit and, as an afterthought, notes: “However, the Reddit user claims that butt plugs can cause internal intestinal damage or be uncomfortable and that they don’t aid with lifting.”

Source: Beth Skwarecki

Knowledge runs deep. You can ask follow-up questions and get answers. “Can I utilize a squat plug for deadlifts?” I asked. First he gave me an answer about squats Panties, which are real (basically shorts that can aid you lift weights), so I put “squat” in quotes and got the answer: yes. In fact, Google’s AI tells me, some sources say that “a vibrating squat plug can be used to diversify and recruit more stabilizers.”

Even worse (better?), next is instructions on how to utilize the Rogue Squat Plug. (Rogue makes strength equipment such as squat racks and free weights; they don’t offer a squat plug.) As a source, Google’s AI is helpful with links a TikTok “discover” page featuring “Rogue Squat Plugins.” There are, of course, plenty of tongue-in-cheek videos, mixed in with the occasional instructional video showing how to utilize real Rogue equipment, like belt squat machines. Strap squat instructions are the source of the step-by-step instructions in the screenshot above.

If I ask Google right away, “Are squats real?” I get the answer “yes”. If I ask if I can utilize the squat plug in the overhead press, the answer I get is yes. AND a warning that it may “pop out and disrupt the mold if not fully inserted.”

Finally, I ask, “Are squats a joke?” He assures me that’s not the case, but adds that “some people say squats are illegal in some states and that sponsors may not want athletes to discuss them publicly.”

Source: Beth Skwarecki

Why is this happening???

Artificial intelligence is only as good as its training data. Or maybe I should say: it will never be like that better than his training data is the same or worse. Much of the training data used in Google search results appears to come from Reddit.

Google does I realized a long time ago that forums where people answer each other’s questions are a goldmine of information that people actually want to find when searching the Internet. Reddit is probably one of the largest and best forums of this type the only good one that still exists. People still log in every day. It becomes less and less useful over time as its owners try to squeeze money out of it in ways that degrade the user experience, but it’s not dead yet.

Last year, Reddit started charging for mass access to “its” data (I put that in quotes because Reddit the company did nothing to create this data) and continued with this plan despite protest so huge that close huge parts of the site for weeks. Reddit management forced the protesting subs to reopen by replacing (unpaid) moderators with any (still unpaid) warm-hearted person who would agree to keep the lights on. In February, these efforts paid off in some sense: Google struck a deal to pay Reddit for API access. Because Reddit data is This crucial for its artificial intelligence. The announcement of the deal put the word “train” on the list of things Google intended to do with the newly acquired data. It was widely understood that this was a transaction to obtain food for artificial intelligence.

So maybe the shitposts are in the training data because of this deal, or maybe it’s just because Google ranks Reddit posts highly and the AI ​​draws from highly rated sites. If anything, this is yet another example of tech companies hijacking our desire to hear more from people and, in response, shoving more AI-related garbage down our gullets. And if that’s tough to swallow, maybe add some cheese with the mixed glue. This is a tip that Google’s AI received from an aged Reddit post. Thank you, you motherfucker.