Artificial Intelligence Mirrors Human Self-Deception

AI hallucinations, Truth, and Gaslighting.I think the thing that most people are super surprised about is AI hallucinations.Where it makes things up on the spot that fit the narrativebut are not necessarily tied to reality.Truth is kind of a challenging thing anyway.But what surprises me even more is how dismissive people become about virtually everything AI is doing because of this.When we know humans are the worst for this.That was my thought process this morning.How do we reimagine history so much to make it sound favorablewhen we all know it is not true?It feels like mass gaslighting at scale.Where someone manipulates the truth to show a narrative that is favorable for themand defends it with vigoruntil everyone just gives up.That crazy-making feeling.You see it everywhere.Politicians.Leaders.People in everyday conversations.I remember being 14 or 15 at a science camp in Ottawa.A prominent federal politician spoke to us.Students asked hard questions.You could see the manipulation happening in real time.The narrative shifting.The denial.The defense.And when I interact with AI, it feels similar.Definitive.Confident.Certain.Much like many intelligent people.But here is the part we do not like to admit.It is extraordinarily difficult for people to admit anything negative.The literature bears this out.We defend our ego.We defend our internal story.We defend our mental models.We minimize cognitive dissonance.That weird nauseous tensionwhen two opposing thoughts collide.One of the easiest reactions?Deny one of the truths.Default to the status quo.It is easier than changing.We do this all the time.And frankly, I have given up on having meaningful conversations with most people.There are very few I can have them with.Because rawness creates friction.Opposing truths create stress.So when people discount AI because it hallucinatesor because of its definitive tone,I marvel.It is not far from how human beings operate.Interacting with AI is not that different from interacting with humans.Sometimes you just have to say:No.That is not true.This is the truth.And repeat it.It forces you to become more definitive.More clear.Almost like parenting.You must do this.Sorry.And move forward.If anything, maybe interacting with AI makes us better humans.Because it forces us to confront how we defend narratives.And how we respond to truth.