On the other hand, the system for finding non-garbage content is the same: read publications and writers that you (and other real people you know) already like. If there are 10 good websites and 100 garbage ones, you probably find out about 2 or 3 of the good ones by word of mouth. If there are 10 good websites and 10^32 garbage ones, you will still be able to read those 2-3 good ones.
The system for finding a needle in a sprinkling of hay is the same as finding a needle in a mountain-sized haystack but I would sure as hell prefer to be given the former task over the latter.
This analogy does not work because we search a hay stack with our eyes, but we search for information with far more selective tools. You are comparing apples and oranges.
The smart way to find a needle in a haystack is to burn the haystack and pass the ashes in front of a magnet. I'm not sure what this analogy means for AI-generated SEO spam though.