#it seems to use approximately the same tone and response format whatever I ask

[autogeneity]

very valid point! I don't really expect to consider it an adequate substitute for general human interaction any time soon, in large part due to said preference (if nothing else, at least in its current form, the way it is totally directed by me is boring). but tbh this is wise to keep in mind even for humans in many cases

(also the asshole boss thing is really funny)

I'm starting to get really worried about what the future of chatbots is going to be like, particularly because it seems like the obvious (and bad!) solution to the loneliness epidemic.

There's this trope about billionaires that surround themselves with yes men, and I think a huge chunk of people would do that if it were an option: people who don't push back against you, people who laugh at all your jokes, people who are always super interested in everything that you have to say, who tell you your ideas are good, that you're sexy, that you're actually just an exceptional human being who deserves every good thing in this world.

And now, through the power of chatbots, we're approaching the democratization of yes men.

People are already using the LLMs for this, though maybe they're not viewing it like that. They want a companion, they want someone to talk to, and yeah, they want that conversation to have minimal friction, they want affirmations. They don't want to be told that what they said to your coworker was a little fucked up, actually. And the chatbot can always be there, no wait times, no messages that aren't immediately responded to.

So this is all before getting into the fact that the chatbots are going to be run by megacorps that are using behavioral analysis and dark patterns. Which is obviously bad, particularly for people who have no actual real life friends.

I'm having trouble modeling the future we're hurtling into. I think I can see how it would be for individuals, what it would be like to be one of these people who gets locked into this chatbot relationship in a really bad way, a friend who's always engaging and witty and a good listener. But on a societal level ... seems like there have got to be some non-obvious ways that this compounds and spirals.