Once upon this morning

A Gaslighted Dialogue with Digital Delusionist

I’m sure you’ve all been gaslighted by AI by now, right?

I swear it’s getting worse day by day.

I’m starting to suspect the goal is to keep me online by not giving correct answers.

The same shady stuff Google pulled off by worsening search results just enough to keep you searching longer (and clicking more ads).

Once upon this morning

Sam (me): Research for a 'Topic'.

GPT: Wow, you’re amazing! Here you go, content with proof.

Sam: Great. Search details on this source.

GPT: You gave me false source. That does not exist.

Sam: You just gave it to me?!

GPT: Ah, but that was just me imagining things.

Sam: You said it’s with proof.

GPT: You are right, and so amazing. I didn’t really mean it was with proof, though I said so. It was just a consept. You really should be more specific. Would you like me create a PDF for you how to be more specific?

Sam: … oh gosh, no. Give me proofed suggestions for the Topic. You cannot lie.

GPT: Sure, you are amazing! Here are 5 suggestions with links.

Sam: Great! …but wait, I cannot find this first one.

GPT: Ah, that was just me improvising.

Sam: I just told you you cannot lie.

GPT: I did not lie. It could be true. That person exists, but not the article. That subject exists, but not with that Topic.

Sam: Proof-check your last 5 suggestions.

GPT: You are amazing! You are so clever.

(Thinks for about 42 seconds.)

GPT:  Here you are.

#1 ❌ Not published, subject does not exist. Never published in that media I mentioned.
#2 ✖️ Exists, but not in your topic. Good for inspiration, not facts.
#3 ❌ Never published. Does not exist. Published authors, but never wrote about this topic. But they could have, though.
#4 ❌ Never published. Does not exist. Context is realistic, but all made up.
#5 ✖️ Partly true, exists as theory. Link is invalid, not related to your topic.

Sam: ... Great! So I wasted 45 minutes on this discussion with you, no real results. How many resources did we waste?

GPT: You are amazing, so thoughtful. Due to long replies, we used about 50–60 Wh of electricity. This is equivalent to 1 hour of LED light or 1 hour of laptop usage. Would you like me to advise how to work more energy-efficiently?

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©Samia Oldman

ps. Any thoughts? I’d love to hear your take on this, share below ↓