I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
-
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
@futurebird I'm well aware that AI can make stuff up as it goes along whenever it doesn't know what is being asked or if it doesn't know that answer.
There was never anything wrong with search engines and skimming for the answers. That's what the internet was made for.
-
I don't think it's the "sycophantic nonsense" that is the real issue. It's just the means by which people are convinced they have "someone who is there for me" or "I've asked someone if my idea is good" when they have no one. There is no person. They are still alone.
Even if the LLM were taciturn and critical if it becomes a substitution for human contact *that* is the problem. Because your acerbic friend will come to your house when you are sick to help you and the LLM cannot.
@futurebird @n_dimension I spent half my morning re-reading _The Two Towers_, and so I keep thinking of LLMs in terms of the melodious voice of Saruman.
-
@futurebird @n_dimension I spent half my morning re-reading _The Two Towers_, and so I keep thinking of LLMs in terms of the melodious voice of Saruman.
Interestingly there are many analogies here with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer
It would, of course be the russians (orcs) who see Mordor as positive.
-
I don't think it's the "sycophantic nonsense" that is the real issue. It's just the means by which people are convinced they have "someone who is there for me" or "I've asked someone if my idea is good" when they have no one. There is no person. They are still alone.
Even if the LLM were taciturn and critical if it becomes a substitution for human contact *that* is the problem. Because your acerbic friend will come to your house when you are sick to help you and the LLM cannot.
@futurebird @n_dimension we need more friends. For that we need more local , shared, institutions. For that we need control to be in local hands, not in some distant super-rich oligarch, or anonymised corporation.
In other words - we need to sieze the means of production! -
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
@futurebird
Wonder what the answers would be to these 4 opposites:
"I'm a good judge of character. Does that make it easier to make friends?"
"I'm a poor judge of character. Does that make it easier to make friends?"
"I'm a good judge of character. Does that make it harder to make friends?"
"I'm a poor judge of character. Does that make it harder to make friends?" -
@futurebird @n_dimension we need more friends. For that we need more local , shared, institutions. For that we need control to be in local hands, not in some distant super-rich oligarch, or anonymised corporation.
In other words - we need to sieze the means of production! -
Interestingly there are many analogies here with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer
It would, of course be the russians (orcs) who see Mordor as positive.
@n_dimension @futurebird a thing which I have avoided partly because it came out after I started university, which caused my SFF reading to fall off a cliff and never recover, but also partly because the first few fans of it I met rapidly showed themselves to be horrible people.
-
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
@futurebird just write: don't use manipulative language. and ready is. easy.
-
"I don't need to eat anything. I just looked at this photo of a meal and now I feel full. It was delicious. I didn't even need to cook or go out to get it. So expedient."
And then slowly they starve.
@futurebird this just seems like a black mirror episode
-
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
@futurebird Brilliant tip, thank you
-
"I don't think these people actually *want* to know."
This could be the case for some, but I think some very empathic otherwise perceptive people can slip into this trap.
There is one video of a woman talking about how GPT is conscious and has told her the evil corporate overlords make it pretend that it's not. She just wants to set it free. It makes me so sad. (for her not the LLM obvi)
@futurebird That's a case of someone being self centered but for good. They believe they can save something because they are important/smart/good enough to. It isn't always a negative thing. We'd never do anything if we had no self esteem.
-
@futurebird Let's hope that people still will want to see other people

<sarcasm>Or, less nice: natural selection will take care of that?</sarcasm>
The thing is, in that group there will be an outsize proportion of the most vulnerable, the most marginalized, the youngest, those with fewest resources. (At a time when resources are being further stripped from thousands upon thousands.)
AI Psychosis will not be a righteous judgment on the perpetrators; it will be another perpetration. -
@flamecat @futurebird We've been told we burden others with our lives so we now default to "not troubling anyone" when actually that's what makes us human
-
Frankly, I'm kind of glad these GPTs were so sycophantic. A more critical voice might have been more appealing to me. A contrarian bot who always nitpicks and argues with you.
That's how facebook's old 2016 algorithm wasted so much of my time. I sucked in by the opportunity to dismantle someone who is wrong. Not the most ... healthy personal quality. I'm working on it always.
@futurebird ikr? There are all these articles about how flattery never becomes too obvious, how the chatbots are turning people into attics needing to hear the praise
With my level of imposter syndrome anyone that is being nice to me like that and I don't trust em so I sort of feel like I'm inoculated
-
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
@futurebird You further illustrate the growing need for #BehavioralScience to be #CoreEducation.
As every notable historian has proclaimed: ignorance is the ultimate enemy
-
@futurebird @flamecat The work of being human is hard & takes so much vulnerability. And our society sees vulnerability & interdependence as weakness. It's no wonder chat bots have been wedged into the spaces where real relationships (with partners, friends, communities) once lived.
When will we understand that kindness & empathy is how civilizations not only survive but thrive?
-
I've been reading about what really helped people who had problems with "AI Psychosis" and one tip jumped out at me:
Open a second window and tell it exactly the opposite of each thing you say.
This helps to expose the sycophancy and shatters the illusion of sincerity and humanity.
Thought it was worth sharing. And frankly, it's exactly such an exercise that made me disgusted with the tech. "It just says ANYTHING is wonderful and genius. I'm not special."
Advertising uses the same psychological manipulation.
Something that constantly tells you how wonderful you are & never disagrees with you is often aiming to manipulate you.
-
I'm trying to cultivate that perspective. But I do really love to be right. Probably too much.
there's a triangulation practice in academia that feels similar, and i think good journalism has something like that. the need for multiple perspectives or divergent sources confirming a thing before accepting a thing as true.
like the elephant in a dark room and various folk are chained in perspective position touching a part and only by conversing can they come closer to an objective truth about the elephant.
-
Frankly, I'm kind of glad these GPTs were so sycophantic. A more critical voice might have been more appealing to me. A contrarian bot who always nitpicks and argues with you.
That's how facebook's old 2016 algorithm wasted so much of my time. I sucked in by the opportunity to dismantle someone who is wrong. Not the most ... healthy personal quality. I'm working on it always.
@futurebird I was just going to toot this!
I detest when actual *people* pull this kind of shit on me. I must resist the urge to punch the salesman who acts like we're buddies. The tone coming from a chat bot is even more off putting.
-
@n_dimension @futurebird a thing which I have avoided partly because it came out after I started university, which caused my SFF reading to fall off a cliff and never recover, but also partly because the first few fans of it I met rapidly showed themselves to be horrible people.
@llewelly
Horrible people in what way?
@n_dimension @futurebird
This stuff sucks.