The hallucinating, gaslighting, sycophantic chatbots that were hyped via propaganda campaigns that promoted them as the future and key to efficiency, are now destroying humanity and locking people in addictive cycles of delusion.

“Ya better hop on board! Don’t wanna get left behind…”

The hallucinating sycophantic chatbots are not only destroying the capacity for human relationships and interactions, they’re not even “efficient” and have destroyed most of the companies that have embraced them.

The economy is absolute shit. “AI” companies aren’t even making any money but the chatbot addicts are still throwing endless piles of cash at them to burn while chasing the high that will never deliver (the cycle of desperate delusions common to any addiction), because the chatbots have them convinced (deluded) they’re always on the edge of the big breakthrough that will finally make it all worthwhile.

And as the number of data centers increases, people are starting to take notice it sure does seem to be getting hot in this pot of boiling water… “Wonder what that’s all about? I’ll ask the company that owns the data center if it’s anything I should be concerned about?”

“… Nope, turns out there’s a reassuring explanation for why this is all fine and nothing is as it seems… It just feels like this pot of water is getting hotter to you, but facts don’t care about your feelings. You can’t argue with facts…”

“Just relax and come on in, the water’s fine!”

No, I was responding to the discussion about losing a loved one who was brainwashed. Based on the full discussion it’s unclear if he even supported Trump or was just brainwashed by homeopathic and or antivax propaganda, which is not explicitly link him to a political party.

You’re getting oddly defensive about this though. Tubular. 🤙🏄‍♀️

I don’t want to accuse you of pulling something out of your ass just to box me into a false dichotomy, but I also don’t recall typing any of that?

Yes… too many people with empathy and beliefs rooted in complex first hand experience. That’s why the U.S. is where it is…

Definitely nothing to do with people jumping to conclusion driven by black and white thinking

They fell for a scam. That doesn’t merit the death sentence.

Agree. The sad fact is there have been plenty of mistakes made throughout history that can often serve as a kernel of truth to make a lie just believable enough. Given historical context within the U.S. (for example Tuskegee experiments), and the fact that even in the last decade we’ve uncovered more cases of unethical human experimentation by both the government and private companies (MK Ultra, social media manipulation of users emotions), we really should be asking why more isn’t being done by leaders to: 1. Publicly acknowledge some very big mistakes, 2. Create ongoing consequences for the people who did this unethical bullshit. As in, ongoing financial penalties/compensations for victims and their families/communities, and demanding more transparency from these agencies and businesses… Instead of allowing them to just continue operating as normal, essentially tax free with zero transparency while pretending we should all just say thank you.

Idk is expecting the bare minimum from the people we trust (and PAY) to create and enforce laws and policy really too far fetched?

I know whenever I read some crazy MAHA bullshit coming from DHHS in 2026 implying I should be depending on raw milk for my own health instead of vaccinations, I think about the fact that A. Obviously this is a once trusted source of information I can no longer trust, B. The damage currently being done to public trust isn’t going to disappear overnight if/when fascism leaves office, C. The current damage is compounded on top of a lot of previous damage our government never took the time to actually acknowledge and try to repair. D. I doubt anybody in this administration will face consequences for the damage they’re doing, but there will be ongoing consequences to public health and safety for decades if not generations. And that’s kind of their overarching goal.

Tldr: It’s valid to be angry at people for making poor choices, but they’re still people. I’m more angry at the system that failed them and is continuing to fail all of us by not demanding accountability from the agencies/corporations/individuals who knew what they were doing was wrong, but did it anyway because they believed/trusted that even if they got caught, any consequences/penalities would be insignificant.

Honestly I think that’s the goal…

They only kept us around as long as they did bc they needed labor. Once they can actually replace everybody with bots why would they need to worry about an economy for anybody but themselves?

Hope everybody’s as jazzed as I am for Lazer tag to make a comeback 🔮

I bet that 16% have already let AI talk them into some really awful financial decisions

I’m taking a class on systems rn and we’re learning a lot of very basic level concepts that also have some overlap with business and economics. I don’t hold a degree in economics like mr. musk, but learning the little I have about systems has really made me question just wtf wealth hoarders (most of whom seem to be much more familiar with systems thinking) envision for the future?

The idea of systems balancing or collapsing seems to be fundamental to ALL systems. So even if the goal is to collapse this one, and that’s why they don’t really care/maybe are trying to ensure it’s as unbalanced as possible, what happens in the next system that emerges as a result of their success?

I really can’t buy they suddenly no longer feel the compulsive need to hoard resources because they’re motivated to preserve their own system.

Has a chat bot convinced them there’s a special loophole and the rules that apply to every other system don’t apply to theirs?

In many of the cases in the essay, chatbots responded to users with mystical language to suggest that users have heightened spiritual importance. The bots also implied that users were speaking with a cosmic being who was using the chatbot as a medium.

Idk, I feel like a true misanthrope would be able to read these 2 sentences and at the very least immediately swear off AI chat bots, if not move to a completely isolated cabin in the woods with no electricity or internet.

It’s like the broligarchy birthed a bastard child that’s just a composite of humanity’s worst qualities. All the traits they projected on to the masses as evidence to justify their antidemocratic savior complex bullshit. Impulsive/poor decision making, superstition, paranoia, narcissism.

They’re investors, not inventors, but they’re 100% convinced this bullshit is going to be man’s greatest and longest lasting contribution to existence, and that their names will go down in history as the technocratic leaders who changed the world… And their own delusions are probably being fueled by the same fucking chat bots, and sharing data between platforms in a never ending sycophantic circle jerk that’s spreading exponentially like the dumbest fucking virus to ever exist… I just… 🤦‍♀️

Tldr: These people don’t deserve the title of misanthrope.

Edit: I guess I should add the caveat that in the case destruction of humanity/civilization was always the actual goal of some 4-D misanthropic chess master behind the curtain, then bravo and hats off to them for being a real one, I guess?

I feel like there needs to be a more accurate name for whatever the phenomenon of AI fueled sycophantic delusion is. Because clearly it’s something, and more and more people seem to be noticing it.

It’s like the people who are closest to the person spiraling can see they’re watching a train headed towards a brick wall, and they can’t stop it. But the person experiencing the delusion is often still fairly high functioning, so other people who are a bit more removed from the situation tend to to be very dismissive of the comparison to psychosis.

At least until the poor decision making of the delusional person expands to their world, and everything starts going tits up for them too. Then suddenly they’re like “Gorsh, he just seemed so confident and he was wearing a suit, so I assumed he had his shit together. But now that he’s draining MY bank account, I think something might be wrong with his brain.”

Like what’s a better way to describe the high functioning level of AI fueled delusional? Where he hasn’t sold all of his assets and moved to the desert so he can fully devote himself to whatever breakthrough he believes he’s on the verge of discovering (yet), but somebody should really stop this guy before he does any more damage to himself or others?

Soft Psychosis?

Sure he would, he probably just means they will no longer need two full time incomes. Greatness awaits America in a future when only one adult from a household has to work full time.

Sure the other adult and some fraction of the (?/5+)* children that federal and state policies ensure they’re forced to give birth to, may need to take on some form of employment to keep food on the table or meet their state’s medicaid and/or food stamp work requirements.

But when that inevitably happens, they always have the freedom of picking up a few shifts at one of Daddy Bezo’s local warehouses,** guaranteed to be located in an American hellscape near you, and sandwiched conveniently between your local data center and concentration camp detention center.

If you’re from a really bougie area, you might just have a hospital across the street from your Amazon warehouse full of doctors trained at Wal-Mart’s new medicals schools (bc America thrives on competition 🙃), who will rely on AI for patient diagnosis instead of wasting time and money on all those unnecessary lab workups.

Yep. With the system working as intended and the Oligarchy steering us towards greatness, how could America be anything other?

(*Unknown/variable number will actually survive past early childhood in a country hell bent on bringing back so many preventable diseases. On the bright side, no more public education = no more schools = no more “germ factories.” Unless you’re counting the actual factories where American children will work instead of going to school.)

(**As long as it leaves them just below 40 hrs a week and unable to qualify for health insurance through their employer.)

Glycolic acid (AHA) is awesome for this kind of thing. You should be able to find a toner that contains it in the skin care aisle at most drug stores. Also get some Neosporin.

If you can’t find toner with glycolic acid try to find a face wash with that or salicylic acid if you can’t find glycolic.

Witchhazel might do in a pinch. Peroxide is better than nothing, but won’t work as well do deeply exfoliate.

It sounds like you might have damaged the nail bed under your fingernails. In the future avoid sticking anything under your fingernails bc the skin is very sensitive.

Step 1: Wash your hands really well with a wash cloth, soap, and warm water. Don’t go under the nail with the wash cloth, just use it to scrub around the outside well. (If you can in the future look into getting a softer scrub brush for your nails instead of sticking anything rough under it).

Step 2: If you can find the toner, soak a cotton boll with it so it’s saturated. Either let that sit on top of your nail or squeeze it with your nails so the nail kind of “digs” into the cotton, but again, don’t force anything solid under your fingernail. Keep it there for about 5 mins then let your finger air dry.

If you can only find the face wash, just gently rub it around your fingernails and let it sit there for a few mins then wash it off. (A nail brush works very well with the face wash, but even with the brush, following up with toner is even better bc it soaks in really deep).

Glycolic acid and salicylic acid are chemical exfoliants, so a lot of physical scrubbing isn’t really necessary.

Step 3: Apply a antibacterial ointment like Neosporin to the area. You also might want to pick up a cheap antifungal cream and try that with the Neosporin or after if the Neosporin doesn’t help.

You might need to repeat a few times, but if none of that seems to be helping or you notice a red line spreading from your nail up your hand and arm, go to an ER ASAP.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe applying a little bit of something like a clay mask under the edge of your nails and seeing if you can draw it out. If it’s oil this might actually want to be something you try after step 2.

https://aztecsecret.com/

The headline flows nicely with the whole “Is this reality, or just a very stressful fever dream?” vibe that is 2026.

There used to be this guy who would always do these really unique remixes and mashups of different songs that you would never think would work, but they were always really amazing.

He would upload them to his YouTube account during the 2010s, but he seems to have disappeared. I’m pretty sure he went by Tae-K and his account was something like TKRmx?

The most memorable ones for me were a mashup of Wale with the 90’s X-men theme song and Ella Fitzgerald with Wiz Khalifa.

Edit: Oh shit NVM, found it! X-men+Wale

There was this other guy who made an 8-bit remix of Danger Mouse’s Grey album, but I can’t remember his name. It also seems to have disappeared.

Ramones version of California Sun is also better than the original

The puppy who lost its way.

The world was changing. And the puppy was getting bigger…

Maybe? Are you sure you’re not weirdly defensive about AI because you prefer interactions where you control the narrative and every opinion you have is validated?

Honestly, I really only know one person who uses AI so much I would even consider it an issue, and until recently, he was my best friend since 2007. He was always really smart and rational because he was the kind of person who would do a lot of research, and look into things before rushing into any decision or forming an opinion.

Originally he just used AI for automation ~2 years ago, then he started using it for quickly researching things related to work, but eventually he started using “AI research” for everything, and once he reads an AI summary there’s no changing his opinion.

A lot of times he will send me links that AI cites in the summary to prove he’s correct, but when you actually read the information in the links, it doesn’t actually say what he thinks it says. But once he’s formed an opinion and it’s been validated by AI, there is seems to be no evidence that can convince him otherwise.

He actually went down a quantum physics/new understanding of math rabbit hole pretty early on, but luckily he eventually realized all the information chatGPT was telling him was correct was misinterpreted, but it was still giving him positive feedback and telling him he was a genius, just like it always seems to do to people who don’t realize it’s giving them bad information and end up ruining their own lives.

He didn’t stop using AI though, he just stopped using chatGPT and switched to other models. He also gets defensive if you try to tell him that he should dial back his AI use even though he can no longer hold a conversation with anybody if it’s not related to whatever he’s interested in at the moment, he comes off as very rude bc he doesn’t seem to remember just shutting down conversations bc he doesn’t feel like hearing them, like he’s closing out a tab he’s done using, isn’t appropriate, and when I tell other people about his opinions and arguments/how he’s citing information to support those arguments now, they say “no offense, but he sounds really dumb.”

Which is definitely not true. He’s very smart and he always has been. He’s got some really impressive degrees he earned prior to becoming dependent on AI, that prove it. He also didn’t just suddenly lose the social skills and empathy he had for 18 years. He’s just become way too dependent on technology that’s designed to make him believe he’s always correct and being super productive and efficient, so he will get a little dopamine bump and want to keep using it, instead of just taking the time to actually read new information, or listen to what people are saying and how they’re saying it, and then use his own very impressive logic and reasoning skills to interpret that information.

Idk, it is an n=1 and I could definitely be wrong. That’s why I asked this question. Bc I wanted to hear other opinions outside of my own personal experience and the ones I’ve already read or seen online.

•The rise of the personal AI advisors

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has a front-row view of this phenomenon. He notes stark generational differences in ChatGPT usage: “Older people . . . use [ChatGPT] as a Google replacement,” Altman recently observed, whereas many in their 20s and 30s “use it like a life adviser.” In other words, younger users aren’t just asking AI for trivia or weather updates, they’re confiding in it, seeking guidance on college decisions, career moves, and personal dilemmas. Altman says some college students have ChatGPT so deeply integrated into their daily lives that “they don’t make life decisions without asking ChatGPT what they should do. It has the full context on every person in their life and what they’ve talked about.” The chatbot has effectively become a confidant—a kind of always-available sounding board and adviser in one.

•80% of Gen Z and millennials are turning to AI for financial advice—but more than half say they’ve made a poor decision or mistake as a result

•AI chatbots and digital companions are reshaping emotional connection

Synthetic relationships are filling the void to satisfy the fundamental human need for social connection. Research shows excessive use of these tools may worsen loneliness and erode social skills. Experts and advocates are highlighting the need for guardrails and regulations to ensure user safety and well-being.

Yeah but now it’s like the people who weren’t on social media are repeating this behavior using AI.

Honestly, doesn’t seem too coincidental to me that the same broligarchs who wanted to get everybody dependent on social media echo chambers to receive and exchange information, are now trying to push everybody to embrace AI.