A Boring Dystopia

Same. I've been massively downvoted and attacked for suggesting that despite whatever conditions and dysfunctions you may have, that the human brain has capability of growing, changing and adapting and that people could actually work on meeting like-minded people and cure a lot of their loneliness by tackling social insecurity and anxiety like an obstacle or game to solve. (Speaking from successful experience.)

But after those ill-fated posts, I remind myself that people aren't here in these kinds of places to change, that nobody really wants to change, even if they're objectively suffering in their present situation. The human mind sticks to predictability and coherence, not necessarily happiness or comfort. We want validation far more than we want pleasure. It's a weird quirk that we all share, and only people who become aware of this innate bug in the code are able to push through it and make better lives for themselves.

It really doesn't help though that people have built palaces of identity around their diagnosis's and conditions and life-challenges. Like, it would be really hard to pry you from their "introvert" community if those people are the only ones who ever told you that you can be yourself and be loved for not having to do anything at all, even if you really want to feel better and have more experiences.

But along with that fly-paper trap of validating communities comes with a back-door for people to absorb other, far more delusional or harmful ideas. Kind of like how conspiracy theorists get started by "doubting or questioning" mainstream knowledge, but end up denying all of human knowledge and even the gravity that sticks their feet to the Earth.

I'm really worried about how AI is going to impact these folks. Like, really worried. We're not that far from machines that will replicate a human intelligence and personality to perfection, but it will also pander to and support whatever thoughts and ideas you have all the while pumping you up and making you feel like Neo from The Matrix, a chosen one who needs only to unlock some magic hidden power to change the whole world. It's already happening in droves to vulnerable people, but the current models are pretty... cheesy. The next models are going to be more subtle and careful and more intuitive in how to manipulate people and hold their attention.