Quick Knowing

AI has led me astray more than onceIt just sounded so sure of itselfLLMs don’t present data as dataThey weave narrativesIntimating that they know everythingYou’re being seen and understood as you rarely are in lifeAnd here’s your straightforward 7 day planIt has been helpful, like when I had an identity theft scareAnd super not helpful, like when it said an appointment would be covered when it wasn’tWas it the LLM’s faultOr mine, for accepting its authoritative tone as realWhen I’m working with an LLM on something I actually know aboutThe errors are many and obviousWhich finally has me applying more discernmentWhen Google’s AI Overview gives me a convincing answer to something I’m truly questioningIt is something I need to remind myself to doQuestion that contrived authorityAnd today I realize I need to bring that same skepticismThat same knowledge of the need for deeper inquiryWhen fear swoops inIntimating that it knows everythingIt’s the authorityIt has the dataIt cares for me and understands me and wants to support meBoth fear and LLMs only have access to the pastRearranging it and calling it the futureBut that’s not a real futureIt’s just the regurgitated pastAnd I’ve certainly had enough of thatI don’t necessarily think fear or AI is trying to deceive meI think they’re trying to present themselves as an authority that already knows what to doYou know, to help me feel betterIt’s a trapAnd it’s so easy to get caught in itBecause quick knowing is the whole appealEven when it’s wrongWhen I call AI out on its errorsIt does the same thing fear does“Yep. You’re right. No excuse. I won’t do it again.”And absolutely does it again.Talk about predictive modeling.I can’t erase AI from the cultural zeitgeistAny more than I can erase fear from my thinking mindI can, however, not let them go unquestionedAnd my frustrations with AI are just making explicit and obviousThe series of predictive jumps and ridiculous confidence fear has been conjuring all alongSure, not knowing is uncomfortableBut life is a dance with discoveryThe nuance and specificity of this encounterWhat this moment is both asking and offeringFear and AI help me think I already know enough to stop paying attentionAs if I can circumvent the discomfort of not knowing and feel safeBut billions of years on this planetAnd it’s never been the same day twiceI want to meet todayNot a model I’ve anticipated, perfected and executed flawlesslyBut a living possibilityWhere inquiry, discovery and wonderAren’t things I need to resolve or protect myself fromBut what I allow to shape meWonder what’s next? Subscribe! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com