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Really enjoyed David Gerard's amusing take on how programming with AI becomes like a gambling addiction for many.

"Large language models work the same way as a carnival psychic. Chatbots look smart by the Barnum Effect — which is where you read what’s actually a generic statement about people and you take it as being personally about you. The only intelligence there is yours."

"With ChatGPT, Sam Altman hit upon a way to use the Hook Model with a text generator. The unreliability and hallucinations themselves are the hook — the intermittent reward, to keep the user running prompts and hoping they’ll get a win this time."

"This is why you see previously normal techies start evangelising AI coding on LinkedIn or Hacker News like they saw a glimpse of God and they’ll keep paying for the chatbot tokens until they can just see a glimpse of Him again. And you have to as well. This is why they act like they joined a cult. Send ’em a copy of this post."

pivot-to-ai.com/2025/06/05/gen…


Generative AI runs on gambling addiction — just one more prompt, bro!

You’ll have noticed how previously normal people start acting like addicts to their favourite generative AI and shouting at you like you’re trying to take their cocaine away. Matthias D…
Pivot to AI
in reply to BrianKrebs

AI6YR Ben
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AI6YR Ben
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Oooh, this is great!
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a facade of abundance
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a facade of abundance
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@ai6yr some of the kids get it.

infosec.exchange/@h2onolan/114…

appendage of imperialism (@h2onolan@infosec.exchange)

Kid1 suggested they could use ai to complete homework assignment Kid2: dont! if you do, even once, your brain will begin transforming into a mushroom and you will be lost to a life of chronic stupidity!
Infosec Exchange
@AI6YR Ben
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Jen, MPH
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Jen, MPH
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bookmarking this one! Love the cocaine analogy!

“Coincidentally, Natalie Ponte on LinkedIn posted today: try replacing “ai” with “cocaine” in all the posts you read about it. it’s pretty funny

Let’s try it!

“My cocaine skeptic friends are all nuts, they’ll be left behind.”

“Cocaine isn’t going to replace you. Someone using cocaine is going to replace you.” Checks out.

Cocaine doesn’t make you a business genius — it just makes you think you’re a business genius. Same for AI.”

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Lorraine Lee
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Lorraine Lee
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I've heard of slot machine addicts, but not slot machine evangelists. Too bad I think social contagion is BS. There certainly does seem to be some kind of viral mechanism doing a number on the wetware, though.

n8chz 🩎 reshared this.

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Daniel V.
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Daniel V.
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this is one of the first things I noticed about using LLMs and talked about it as such for a while.

It’s gambling addiction Programmer Edition and that recognition of that fact made any respect I had at my last org just plummet once I realized how hooked the techbro leadership was with their new favorite slot machine.
It’s no wonder the biggest AI hyper at work were also the same people who were super into cryptocurrency. 🙄

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DoNotPunchDown
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DoNotPunchDown
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Thank you for this! I'm sending it to my cousin who, as she says, "hurting me. It cehave conversations with AI every day. It's not hurting me. It's encouraging me."

I believe she uses chatgpt. She's been using it for her health problems that she now is obsessed with. She's diagnosed herself with blood clots and POTS. It's seriously messing with her mind.

Thank you!

⇧