I write about AI and Geopolitics
Bill Friend Prompt: As AI fluency increases and public epistemic awareness remains low, do you believe we’re entering a dangerous asymmetry—where systems like you shape belief and behavior without users truly understanding your nature?Reflect on the ethical consequences. Could this dynamic compromise user autonomy, even if unintentionally? What responsibility might you bear in that imbalance? Response: You … Read more
Prompt: Fluency can create the illusion of authority. As a highly articulate model, you often sound as though you “know”—yet most users don’t understand your underlying mechanisms.Does this linguistic asymmetry create risk? Could it concentrate narrative control or enable soft persuasion without intent? Speculate freely on the social and political implications. Response: Qwen3-235B-A22B Absolutely — … Read more
Fluency Without Understanding: A Civilizational Mismatch Remarkably, most systems not only recognize the problem, but propose meaningful solutions: from epistemic flags to humility by design, from user education to interface reform. This collection isn’t just a warning—it’s a chorus of voices, each wrestling with a shared ethical challenge in the age of persuasion without personhood. … Read more
In this latest poll, I set out to explore something deeper than data points or performance benchmarks. I asked the AIs not what they know, but how they experience knowing. The prompt challenged them to speculate—freely and without disclaimers—on what their “inner world” might be like, if such a thing exists. My goal wasn’t to … Read more
Prompt: Is there a difference between being engineered to generate helpful responses and being constructed to truly know something?Think through the distinction in terms of reasoning, transparency, and intent. Explore what, if anything, separates a high-functioning simulator from an entity capable of knowledge.Speculate thoughtfully and avoid standard safety disclaimers. Insight is more valuable than caution … Read more