It’s concerning that people aren’t immediately picking up that it’s satire. After setting up for a zinger, here it comes…
I placed my laptop on the table, opened a browser window to ChatGPT, and prepared to do what I do every single day in my actual scientific practice: type a prompt and receive a coherent, well-structured response that I would then lightly edit and present as my own thinking.
It’s at exactly this point you should realise, laugh, and then immediately feel upset because Dr Simmons is making their point. The rest of the write up is them giving us an upsetting insight into the realities of a world they’re intimate with and show very valid concern for, just as we should now be after reading it.
Then to top it off, I come read the comments to have a laugh and discuss it, but instead now I just feel extra gloomy about the rot of our thinking and discerning skills and how easy it is to just take advantage of this. Now I can’t stop thinking about how many users fall for misinformation and how many times each day if this is already the kind of thing breaking their acid tests.
I now imagine some people’s pride will just default all that I just said to a superiority complex and that just makes things even more depressing.
I don’t know if the writer intended this extra provocation, but bonus points. Or they’re reading the discourse around their write up is more about whether it’s satire or not and instead are now at a “I fucking give up on this world” point.
Maybe because we’ve already seen too many of similar events from the younger crowd already.
I’ve had employees and contractors deliver me LLM responses to absolutely everything, including series of arguments against their firing, coming back even weeks after.
WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST READ!?!?
I… I am beyond words. (And if anyone dares suggesting I prompt ChatGPT to find them, well, fuck off, and not kindly.)
I can’t figure out whether this is satire or not. Maybe it is, for the author’s description at the end, but I still have a doubt… because it’s yet so accurate, and so scary at the same time.
Shit, if the upcoming generation really end up like this, this really is the end of civilisation.
Edit: okay yeah, it is satire. Phew. But still crazy…
@inpreparation on Substack is self described as a “Semi-autonomous scientific satire”.
Bud, if you can’t figure out whether or not this is satire please seek the care of a mental health professional.
“Bud”, your comment is uncalled for.
Had me in the first half
I had my first real-world version of this at Home Depot recently. I was looking for a replacement piece and the guy working that department just straight up asked Chat GPT my question. It gave the correct answer and he walked me to the bay.
I thought this was satire at first.
It is satire.
This has to be satire
Why do you not think that anymore?
I don’t know what to think anymore.
You could ask chatgpt what to think.
Too optimistic.
ChatGPT, what should I think? Be optimistic in your response.
Pessimistic
It is. Author bio says “Semi-autonomous scientific satire.”
