Post B230FknA80QTYKZkPI by crazyeddie@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by crazyeddie@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B22a1tpb7rzmj1Rpjs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T11:50:19Z
1 likes, 2 repeats
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."
(DIR) Post #B22aJ72FHr6abEZV5c by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T11:53:26Z
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Another "tip" is less welcome to me as an introvert. Make time for the people in your life. Talk to them. Let them know when you *really* think they are doing something amazing or creative. (Or when it's not "genius" because you are real and care.) Listen. Be there. The thing is, as much as doing this is scary and I want to avoid it it makes me feel better too in the long run I think.
(DIR) Post #B22aXdboyWKJgC8cUa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T11:56:03Z
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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.
(DIR) Post #B22assBRywlqxmvejY by ligasser@social.epfl.ch
2026-01-07T11:59:50Z
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@futurebird I just asked Claude what it thinks about our half-project report:> Please play the role of an evaluator in the Innosuisse grant system. Write what you think when reading the report: are you convinced the project is on a good track? Do you agree that the project should be continued? What are dark spots where you think you would need more information in order to decide on a go/no-go?It's answer was very direct and very critical :) But really useful.
(DIR) Post #B22avECD7085oQPKBk by Flisty@mstdn.social
2026-01-07T12:00:16Z
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@futurebird I have only experimented with ChatGPT once but... Same. If it felt more nitpicky and less emphatic, like a university professor, I'd feel more suspicious it was intelligent. I *know* I'm not right all the time. I *want* to be corrected. Sycophancy creeps me out.
(DIR) Post #B22ax2ZpHZZIM6JlY0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:00:39Z
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But why is it so fulfilling to have a good back and forth with someone? To disagree and pull the whole problem apart and ideally come out on top? (though it's also fun to discover you needed to learn something too, it's just less fun and rewarding)It's fulfilling because they care about what you are saying enough to criticize it. The difference between the art teacher who says "that's a very nice drawing" and "I can see that you are trying to do X but it's failing/working in these ways."
(DIR) Post #B22b77HgdRQFqpdbXs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:02:28Z
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@Flisty "Sycophancy creeps me out."It's very creepy. The only people who have talked to me with that much positivity and agreeableness *ever* in my life were the worst sort of men who wanted to sleep with me in my 20s. I have a deep visceral negative reaction to that kind of consistent flattery. It makes my skin crawl.
(DIR) Post #B22b7zJfkH63Qcyx8a by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-01-07T12:02:33Z
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@futurebird Have you seen Eddy Burback's video where he tells ChatGPT he was the smartest baby of 1996 and then just plays along as it suggests he has psychic powers etc. too? It's pretty funny/horrifying. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VRjgNgJms3Q
(DIR) Post #B22bDcoEL5uTMSxmim by stevewfolds@mastodon.world
2026-01-07T12:03:36Z
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@futurebird Brave. I’ve never tried a query. AI does require wading through search results for documents. On desktop & phone OS it’s just another layer between me and files & photos.
(DIR) Post #B22bjOigG80gvjWAZk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:09:23Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@ligasser Yeah, but asking it to change breaks the veil that makes "AI psychosis" dangerous to some degree. The issue is that people get the feeling there is a thinking being in the machine and allow it to satisfy critical emotional needs for human connection that we all have. It's emotional empty calories. Food without real sustenance and if that dominates your diet you will get sick.
(DIR) Post #B22bqTQn8lXxZNWa8m by emjonaitis@mathstodon.xyz
2026-01-07T12:10:37Z
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@futurebird Huh! I also find a good back and forth fulfilling, but I think it's more exciting when I'm interestingly wrong.
(DIR) Post #B22c5M2wsVuB0iT4ca by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:13:20Z
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@ligasser "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.
(DIR) Post #B22cCaJmDRYlIdmq36 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:14:40Z
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@emjonaitis I'm trying to cultivate that perspective. But I do really love to be right. Probably too much.
(DIR) Post #B22ckpCPOW7DIZfQoK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:20:48Z
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@ligasser This can be very dangerous for people who think "I don't really ever need to talk to anyone about my feelings."This isn't true, it's just their needs are minimal."Feeling down.""ya"That's two letters but getting such a response can make you feel so much better. It represents someone, should things get worse, who might come over and help you. A chatbot can say "ya" too. But, it doesn't make you feel better... **unless** you think it's a person. That's the danger.
(DIR) Post #B22dFih7d1Xi6NlV3I by th@social.v.st
2026-01-07T12:26:16Z
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@futurebird @ligasser do you know about Julodimorpha bakewelli? the beetle finds a brand of beer bottle so attractive that it will ignore other beetles and even predators, endangering the species. https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/11/nature-mimics-why-bugs-mate-with-beer-bottles/
(DIR) Post #B22dncGY2JG20fUxSi by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T12:32:33Z
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@Nagaram Yup. I don't like to admit how well that worked on me.Show me someone causally but confidently wrong with pretensions being an intellectual and I'm so excited to get in the ring and start proving them wrong.Facebook could find such posts extremely efficiently. These were posts from real people I didn't know (who weren't even talking to me.) They would be served up on my dashboard because I'd type a response.Now it might not even be a person.
(DIR) Post #B22fCA7XusRLueYXQ0 by ligasser@social.epfl.ch
2026-01-07T12:48:11Z
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@futurebird OK, I can agree with that. We do need more human interactions. At least I see my kids going in that direction, which is nice!What I like about the LLMs is the possibility to give higher quality documents for review, because the low hanging fruits are already culled. But we should definitely profit from all the free time we get!Who said in the 60s that we'll only be working like 2 days a week?
(DIR) Post #B22fdjkzWuS0Ft9ffc by indigoparadox@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T12:53:08Z
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@futurebird Fuck... Thinking about it, I would hate a contrarian bot but I *might* become addicted to it. Or at least caught up in it sometimes. That's what Twitter was, right?I'm pretty hedonistic. Sycophancy is just overdue recognition for me, but it's *cheap* for a bot to be a sycophant. It's just words, which are free. I can do that myself in my head. If a pretty girl were telling me I'm lovely, at least she's using time she could otherwise be streaming on Twitch and earning money! Value!
(DIR) Post #B22fick52Ol7wo3ioi by pingviini@pleroma.shunderdo.me
2026-01-07T12:54:04.919981Z
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@futurebird @futurebird Not to be a peddler of black pills here, but the concepts of sycophancy, yes-people, insincerity, manipulative behavior, etc. etc. of course all predate LLM-based chat-bots.There is a deeper abyss waiting behind the rather shallow one (the danger of mistaking a chatbot for a person (or a distinct entity at all)), and that is taking this experiment that you can actually conduct (A/B-testing two instances of the same chat-bot with different inputs) to a thought experiment of being able to do the same experiment with actual people and drawing extreme conclusions from it.
(DIR) Post #B22fof2nONxCp9gwue by hanktank61@NerdJoy.social
2026-01-07T12:55:02Z
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@futurebird Perhaps I mentioned this before, not sure.I was member of a Toronto-based forum with global reach from 1999 till 2010 when it stopped. About old Canadian/Celtic stories. And just random off-topic. About 70% female. Plenty with Asian roots. Average IT-level was far above mine. The game self-stalking and double-googling was played sometimes. "Try to find me somewhere else " and "google once and google twice for the opposite¨>. A lot of fun with that , and the instinct was woken up.
(DIR) Post #B22hHZW57gC024jv28 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:11:33Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@billiglarper I think that is one of the many ways it can work. But it also might go in many different directions based on the person. When people are put in solitary confinement it can be torture and induce to mental illness and suffering. I think it is this isolation that causes the problem. The person has put themself "in the hole" but they don't know they are isolated. Isolation removes the check and balances that help keep us sane. The little nudges back to a healthy mental place.
(DIR) Post #B22i6RlNi0Tyks9flY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:20:44Z
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@billiglarper Maybe "LLM enabled social cloistering""LLM enabled emotional solitary confinement.""Single Person Cult"Like creating a cult for just you and abusing yourself as the only member of that cult.
(DIR) Post #B22iARSUmcjUy7E5lA by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2026-01-07T13:21:25Z
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@futurebird May I ask what "AI psychosis" means? I know about real psychosis caring for a mentally ill person, but can't see parallels to AI use. Do you talk about these "hallucinations"? (I may ask naively ... English is a foreign language for me).
(DIR) Post #B22iLDvJRmhKAvqXQ0 by darnell@one.darnell.one
2026-01-07T13:23:19Z
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@futurebird @billiglarper Another thing I have noticed is that many AI’s are programmed with a personality. Google Gemini comes across as a helpful, but informative butler, providing reasonable answers but scared to discuss anything too controversial.Grok (on 𝕏) is like a snarky best friend, who is intelligent but wild & has no issues embracing taboos or breaking the law.Couple the fact that 𝕏 also has those flirtatious companies (ewwwww!!!!) & this “AI is your soulmate” becomes an issue.
(DIR) Post #B22iNIY3Dtjx68xHZQ by carl@chaos.social
2026-01-07T13:23:45Z
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@futurebird Ah, shucks! I was hoping to psychoanalyze my impostor syndrome with AI!
(DIR) Post #B22iuozBdq9pG3dIMi by flamecat@bark.lgbt
2026-01-07T13:29:49Z
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@futurebird That reminds me of a situation I had a couple of months ago. I have a childhood friend, who was my best friend for a long long time, but we kind of drifted apart after he moved cities. Nevertheless we at least congratulate each other on birthdays and write back and forth to talk about our lifes a bit.The last time I wrote to him we exchanged our personal problems and feelings. I offered him that he can always write to me if he needs someone to talk to, but he dismissed it by saying that it's fine and that he has an AI which he uses for that. I got to be honest: That kind of hurt me since I sincerely wanted to help with his emotional burden and I felt like I just got pushed aside.Sorry, had to think about that and I felt like I needed to let that out.
(DIR) Post #B22jlM8Ldzjp7dy6KW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:39:22Z
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@Akki "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)
(DIR) Post #B22k3RrT5SuO6ChSnA by philpetree@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T13:42:33Z
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@futurebird Another great trick is to ask it to tell you how it understood your prompt.
(DIR) Post #B22kC5tS8IygZZkcIi by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:44:13Z
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@flamecat That would hurt my feelings so much. And it's very likely I think he might not realize how hurtful it is or why. "I don't want to bother you with my little stuff." That is how he could see it.
(DIR) Post #B22kUpDSMZpCLp2UAS by n_dimension@infosec.exchange
2026-01-07T13:47:35Z
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@futurebird Why do folks need to be told to be weary of a sycophantic nonsense from a machine?Would the same folk be accepting sycophantic nonsense from a human?
(DIR) Post #B22klgZvjLiqU8agmO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:50:39Z
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@n_dimension 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.
(DIR) Post #B22kmZRJl4VsdLz5UW by flamecat@bark.lgbt
2026-01-07T13:50:43Z
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@futurebird Exactly. I'm pretty sure that is the reason. The thing is I don't care about how small his problems would have been. I would have listened regardless. That's what a good friend does.Fuck, now thinking about this whole situation just made me cry.
(DIR) Post #B22kwDwsW350sPLjhw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T13:52:33Z
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@flamecat I think maybe you should let him know this somehow. Maybe. 💗 This stuff sucks.
(DIR) Post #B22lUZpPfsiWa4Eqn2 by raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie
2026-01-07T13:58:43Z
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@futurebird A very expensive privacy and environment destroying version of 1960s Eliza. When it does return something useful and accurate, it's copied from a book or the web, usually without permission.It's a plagiarism machine that also mixes in plausible junk, by design. So-called "hallucination" is marketing spin. The plausible junk is by design & is not really like hallucinations.
(DIR) Post #B22lhrrLwhsKGhU2DI by n_dimension@infosec.exchange
2026-01-07T14:01:08Z
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@futurebird Few months back Open AI had a "Monday" model, which was the acerbic "friend".Never used it, I have enough real asshole friends.Not diminishing the real threat of AI psychosis.Lonely, vulnerable people seek validation in strange places.
(DIR) Post #B22mV1kJybJp7XdSQC by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T14:10:02Z
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@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.
(DIR) Post #B22n08b8YF9NLfArQ0 by DrorBedrack@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T14:15:37Z
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@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!
(DIR) Post #B22n7qlcjJYeMbkz7w by Okanogen@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T14:17:02Z
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@futurebird Wonder what the answers would be to these 4 opposites:"I'm a good judge of character. Is it easier to make friends?""I'm a poor judge of character. Is it easier to make friends?""I'm a good judge of character. Is it harder to make friends?""I'm a poor judge of character. Is it harder to make friends?"
(DIR) Post #B22neJ7UqmY7Z5SrYW by superketchup@social.vivaldi.net
2026-01-07T14:22:50Z
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@futurebird just write: don't use manipulative language. and ready is. easy.
(DIR) Post #B22perv7fAWTPA4WzQ by _L1vY_@mstdn.social
2026-01-07T14:45:23Z
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@futurebird Brilliant tip, thank you
(DIR) Post #B22qeMhTq2ECX20ybQ by VoxOfGod@beige.party
2026-01-07T14:56:30Z
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@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
(DIR) Post #B22rnhlJ06MCPioz8C by numodular@c.im
2026-01-07T15:09:25Z
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@futurebird You further illustrate the growing need for #BehavioralScience to be #CoreEducation. As every notable historian has proclaimed: ignorance is the ultimate enemy
(DIR) Post #B22sKlI6tt4suovcEi by LJ@zirk.us
2026-01-07T15:15:20Z
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@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?
(DIR) Post #B22wZogowkMlcGv8Vc by Npars01@mstdn.social
2026-01-07T16:02:54Z
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@futurebird 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.
(DIR) Post #B2301aTzf1OtWcr2dE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-07T16:41:34Z
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@notepad @n_dimension " Isn’t this thread full if human sycopanthic responses?"Which ones do you think are sycophantic and why?
(DIR) Post #B230FknA80QTYKZkPI by crazyeddie@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T16:44:06Z
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@futurebird Knowing me I'd just develop multiple psychosis to become the Angel of Cognitive Dissonance and thus fulfill the prophesy I was once told by some cards.
(DIR) Post #B230UsswJuOGzsUbdg by crazyeddie@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T16:46:46Z
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@futurebird "A contrarian bot who always nitpicks and argues with you. "See? This is part of the whole problem!You should be using us humans for this. As a developer AND a contrarian I get a double strike.Next thing you know people will turn to bots to get their mansplaining.
(DIR) Post #B232g7EnUvV6bXCRhQ by lufthans@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T17:11:17Z
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@futurebird Yeah, why spend what little social reserves we have on fake interactionWe can strive for better interaction with the other humans and animals in our livesWe still need downtime to recharge. Intrusive fake digital interaction interferes with the recharge process
(DIR) Post #B2353lo51qs0zo6saW by Mikal@sfba.social
2026-01-07T17:37:58Z
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@futurebird @Nagaram There was a point many years ago, probably about the same time, where I started really getting sick of all the stupid misinformation people were spreading on Facebook, so I started "truth trolling". Facebook algo: "oh, you like misinformation and conspiracies? Well here you go!" Anyway, suffice to say that my debunking efforts were not widely appreciated. That's when I gave up and largely ditched the platform. But, yeah, it sure was effective at keeping me engaged.
(DIR) Post #B238azpSDQ67u5Htlw by kevinrns@mstdn.social
2026-01-07T18:17:34Z
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@futurebird This is a deep insight, a corrective tip.Brilliant, hat tipped.Two windows, cause it's a pandering dummy.#ai #twoWindows
(DIR) Post #B23GaCO4pyNsCFc4FE by Sassinake@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T19:47:06Z
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@futurebird Perfect merger of staring into the Abyss and Narcissus drowning in his own reflection.
(DIR) Post #B23HOuTnB547QQT1eK by ASprinkleofSage@mastodon.social
2026-01-07T19:56:14Z
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@futurebird existential comics made an AI Socrates that takes a much more contratian tone fyi https://www.existentialcomics.com/comic/629
(DIR) Post #B23VKhxdB9NSnbJYxM by kims@mas.to
2026-01-07T22:32:19Z
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@futurebird I had a friend who, many years ago, did a research project on cold reading. They went into it an avowed skeptic believing it to be bullshit and wanting to prove itAfter doing thirty or forty "readings", the feedback from clients was so positive that he began to wonder if he did have some sort of psychic power after allSo with the next client, he did as you suggested — he gave the client the "opposite" reading and of course the client gushed profuselyInner conflict solved
(DIR) Post #B23YndlKARbq2Q2tt2 by anne_twain@theblower.au
2026-01-07T23:11:07Z
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@futurebird I hope teachers do this with schooolkids in the classroom, so they understand from an early age. Thanks for posting.
(DIR) Post #B25E4vGgcnvoX72D6O by Ashmire@pagan.plus
2026-01-08T18:28:25Z
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@futurebird @flamecat Yes. I'd probably have actively responded with links to reputable sources with every problem there is with AI, but I suppose that's not always a good approach, especially with neurotypicals. But it's important to not let people get caught by it.