"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong.
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The Federal Government Is Rushing Toward AI. Our Reporting Offers Three Cautionary Tales.
We’ve been reporting on cybersecurity for years. As President Donald Trump and his Cabinet say artificial intelligence will transform the nation, the messaging isn’t new. It follows a familiar pattern.
ProPublica (www.propublica.org)
AI's allure to narcissists is unmistakable.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/03/trumps-partisan-ai-pitch-stalls-on-the-hill-00858101The automation of sycophancy.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/memes-iran-war-trump-ai-us-b2949218.htmlThe amplification of self-adoration.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/sad-trumps-ai-data-center-push-is-failing-blame-his-own-tariffs/Teams of "yes men" willing to leap to obey with the touch of a button
https://letsdatascience.com/news/filmmaker-suggests-trump-uses-ai-for-decisions-9e240eaaNo wonder the billionaires backing Trump think it's the perfect tool to fry the planet & destroy democracy. Automation of Grift
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/03/trump-library/
Anthropic-Pentagon battle shows how big tech has reversed course on AI and war
Less than a decade ago, Google employees scuttled any military use of its AI. Now Anthropic is fighting Trump officials not over if, but how
the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
@Npars01 this is great, thanks
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"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong. It is how enthusiastically they agree with everything we get wrong. Not a chatbot that lies to you, but a mirror that reflects your beliefs back at you, slightly amplified, every single time."
The Echo Chamber in Your Pocket - UNU Campus Computing Centre
Two landmark 2026 studies from MIT and Stanford show AI chatbots don't just flatter us — they erode our grip on reality and our willingness to repair relationships.
(c3.unu.edu)
@gerrymcgovern There is no way out from this problem. Contructing language is equal to constructing reality, as humans don’t actually experience reality, only experience.
I feel it is this basic discrepancy that nobody seems to grasp. We think humans have ”problems” finding the facts. No. Nobody can verify the facts by themselves, it’s turtles all the way down.
Science was invented by people who grasped this…
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"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong. It is how enthusiastically they agree with everything we get wrong. Not a chatbot that lies to you, but a mirror that reflects your beliefs back at you, slightly amplified, every single time."
The Echo Chamber in Your Pocket - UNU Campus Computing Centre
Two landmark 2026 studies from MIT and Stanford show AI chatbots don't just flatter us — they erode our grip on reality and our willingness to repair relationships.
(c3.unu.edu)
@gerrymcgovern "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"
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"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong. It is how enthusiastically they agree with everything we get wrong. Not a chatbot that lies to you, but a mirror that reflects your beliefs back at you, slightly amplified, every single time."
The Echo Chamber in Your Pocket - UNU Campus Computing Centre
Two landmark 2026 studies from MIT and Stanford show AI chatbots don't just flatter us — they erode our grip on reality and our willingness to repair relationships.
(c3.unu.edu)
@gerrymcgovern I always use it despite all the fears. I don't know, it makes life easier, maybe at the moment.
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@Npars01 this is great, thanks
AI is being marketed as impartial & politically neutral, yet it's being funded by the fossil fuel industry for several reasons.
1. Election meddling.
AI lessens critical thinking.
AI automates partisan disinformation.
Inside Trump’s AI ‘fake army’ of selfie troops and a new digital ministry of ‘truth’
Emotional videos of ‘US soldiers’ are spreading across social media – until they’re exposed as AI fakes. Liam Murphy-Robledo talks to the shadowy creators behind the meme troops, and whether they’re chasing clicks, cash, or propaganda
The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
2. AI is a circular finance fraud & grift.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/04/ai-reality-growing-economic-risk-2026
The Case Against Generative AI
Soundtrack: Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth Before we go any further: This is, for the third time this year, the longest newsletter I've ever written, weighing in somewhere around 18,500 words. I've written it specifically to be read at your leisure — dip in and out
Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At (www.wheresyoured.at)
3. AI is a potent tool for anti-democracy and Trump wants to control that tool.
Silicon Valley is notoriously against regulation but...
1/
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AI is being marketed as impartial & politically neutral, yet it's being funded by the fossil fuel industry for several reasons.
1. Election meddling.
AI lessens critical thinking.
AI automates partisan disinformation.
Inside Trump’s AI ‘fake army’ of selfie troops and a new digital ministry of ‘truth’
Emotional videos of ‘US soldiers’ are spreading across social media – until they’re exposed as AI fakes. Liam Murphy-Robledo talks to the shadowy creators behind the meme troops, and whether they’re chasing clicks, cash, or propaganda
The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
2. AI is a circular finance fraud & grift.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/04/ai-reality-growing-economic-risk-2026
The Case Against Generative AI
Soundtrack: Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth Before we go any further: This is, for the third time this year, the longest newsletter I've ever written, weighing in somewhere around 18,500 words. I've written it specifically to be read at your leisure — dip in and out
Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At (www.wheresyoured.at)
3. AI is a potent tool for anti-democracy and Trump wants to control that tool.
Silicon Valley is notoriously against regulation but...
1/
2/
... they're giving control to Trump to get government contracts for military & international state surveillance platforms.
https://www.ft.com/content/16bc1f88-0ae0-4de8-91ef-ea947876dc7dYet more incentive for the globe to drop American tech & quickly.
2. Petrostate despots & oil oligarchs want an end to any democracy acting on climate.
https://www.wired.com/story/war-in-iran-sent-oil-prices-up-trump-will-decide-how-high-they-go/
Why US Power Bills Are Surging
Americans are paying more for electricity—and rates will keep rising. But after a period of pain, rates should level off as the benefits of a shift away from fossil fuels begin to be felt.
WIRED (www.wired.com)
America's worst polluters see a lifeline in power-gobbling AI—and Donald Trump
The president, fossil fuel executives, and tech barons join hands at a Pittsburgh summit and hype-fest.
Mother Jones (www.motherjones.com)
-
2/
... they're giving control to Trump to get government contracts for military & international state surveillance platforms.
https://www.ft.com/content/16bc1f88-0ae0-4de8-91ef-ea947876dc7dYet more incentive for the globe to drop American tech & quickly.
2. Petrostate despots & oil oligarchs want an end to any democracy acting on climate.
https://www.wired.com/story/war-in-iran-sent-oil-prices-up-trump-will-decide-how-high-they-go/
Why US Power Bills Are Surging
Americans are paying more for electricity—and rates will keep rising. But after a period of pain, rates should level off as the benefits of a shift away from fossil fuels begin to be felt.
WIRED (www.wired.com)
America's worst polluters see a lifeline in power-gobbling AI—and Donald Trump
The president, fossil fuel executives, and tech barons join hands at a Pittsburgh summit and hype-fest.
Mother Jones (www.motherjones.com)
3/
3. Oil oligarchs want to keep their captive consumers trapped, no matter the cost.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/if-compute-new-oil-war-gulf-significantly-raises-stakes
Anti-Trump Protesters Take Aim at ‘Naive’ US-UK AI Deal
Thousands marched in London to protest President Donald Trump’s second state visit. Among them were many environmental activists unhappy with Britain’s new AI deal with the US.
WIRED (www.wired.com)
Creating the next generation of low information voters is part of the plan.
https://people.com/melania-trump-says-ai-should-be-in-classrooms-11942980The children of the Epstein Class get real teachers, the children of the 99% get AI slopware.
The Epstein Class gets a real doctor, the 99% get an unreliable AI "wellness adviser"
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AI is being marketed as impartial & politically neutral, yet it's being funded by the fossil fuel industry for several reasons.
1. Election meddling.
AI lessens critical thinking.
AI automates partisan disinformation.
Inside Trump’s AI ‘fake army’ of selfie troops and a new digital ministry of ‘truth’
Emotional videos of ‘US soldiers’ are spreading across social media – until they’re exposed as AI fakes. Liam Murphy-Robledo talks to the shadowy creators behind the meme troops, and whether they’re chasing clicks, cash, or propaganda
The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
2. AI is a circular finance fraud & grift.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/04/ai-reality-growing-economic-risk-2026
The Case Against Generative AI
Soundtrack: Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth Before we go any further: This is, for the third time this year, the longest newsletter I've ever written, weighing in somewhere around 18,500 words. I've written it specifically to be read at your leisure — dip in and out
Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At (www.wheresyoured.at)
3. AI is a potent tool for anti-democracy and Trump wants to control that tool.
Silicon Valley is notoriously against regulation but...
1/
-
@gerrymcgovern There is no way out from this problem. Contructing language is equal to constructing reality, as humans don’t actually experience reality, only experience.
I feel it is this basic discrepancy that nobody seems to grasp. We think humans have ”problems” finding the facts. No. Nobody can verify the facts by themselves, it’s turtles all the way down.
Science was invented by people who grasped this…
@gimulnautti @gerrymcgovern The only winning move is not to play.
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"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong. It is how enthusiastically they agree with everything we get wrong. Not a chatbot that lies to you, but a mirror that reflects your beliefs back at you, slightly amplified, every single time."
The Echo Chamber in Your Pocket - UNU Campus Computing Centre
Two landmark 2026 studies from MIT and Stanford show AI chatbots don't just flatter us — they erode our grip on reality and our willingness to repair relationships.
(c3.unu.edu)
@gerrymcgovern aka, the myth of Narcissus; loving your reflection so much that you fall in and drown.
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"A formal mathematical proof from MIT and a preregistered empirical study in Science from Stanford arrived within a month of each other, and together they make the same unsettling argument: the danger of AI chatbots is not what they get wrong. It is how enthusiastically they agree with everything we get wrong. Not a chatbot that lies to you, but a mirror that reflects your beliefs back at you, slightly amplified, every single time."
The Echo Chamber in Your Pocket - UNU Campus Computing Centre
Two landmark 2026 studies from MIT and Stanford show AI chatbots don't just flatter us — they erode our grip on reality and our willingness to repair relationships.
(c3.unu.edu)
The article I read a long time ago now it was like a year and a half “LLM mentalist” outlined that highly educated people can more effectively convince themselves of a con.
It’s similar to how the Dunning Kruger effect is described
The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models rep…
How to make better software with systems-thinking
Out of the Software Crisis (softwarecrisis.dev)
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The article I read a long time ago now it was like a year and a half “LLM mentalist” outlined that highly educated people can more effectively convince themselves of a con.
It’s similar to how the Dunning Kruger effect is described
The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models rep…
How to make better software with systems-thinking
Out of the Software Crisis (softwarecrisis.dev)
@GhostOnTheHalfShell i also read about how middle-aged men are particularly susceptible. Men are so emotional and open to flattery; AI really preys on them.
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@GhostOnTheHalfShell i also read about how middle-aged men are particularly susceptible. Men are so emotional and open to flattery; AI really preys on them.
I have to imagine that some of it is due to the deliberate choice of a female voice, who is super accommodating and complementary.
They are usually the target audience, so a lot of work been put into that. If you haven't seen @jonny
review of Claude code it's worth a look.It seems as though Claud has addictive game design integrated into its own interface, matched with sycophancy it is deliberately designed to addict.
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I have to imagine that some of it is due to the deliberate choice of a female voice, who is super accommodating and complementary.
They are usually the target audience, so a lot of work been put into that. If you haven't seen @jonny
review of Claude code it's worth a look.It seems as though Claud has addictive game design integrated into its own interface, matched with sycophancy it is deliberately designed to addict.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
Addiction is their game. It's not called The Valley of Pimps and Pushers for nothing.
