AcidiclyBasicGlitch
@AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works
Researcher in the U.S. trying to stay informed and help others stay informed. I write a blog that focuses on public information, public health, and policy: pimento-mori.ghost.io
I only recently began using ghost, and am slowly figuring things out. Apologies for any formatting issues.
- Comment on This figure illustration from an article on AI sycophancy and human behavior is the epitome of 2026 1 day ago:
Thank you for reminding me my actions are justified 😉
- Comment on This figure illustration from an article on AI sycophancy and human behavior is the epitome of 2026 1 week ago:
That’s how wars are started. One dictator’s sycophants amp up that dictator’s already warped reality then another dictator’s sycophants amp up that dictator’s already warped reality. Next thing you know, entire populations of people are fighting and dying on behalf of some crazy asshole they will never even meet.
Now it’s like every individual gets to be a dictator with a sycophantic mirror/calculator they carry around in their pocket.
Pointing this out because it really seems like it should be obvious, especially given the complete lack of transparency of the most popular AI platforms, which are usually controlled by oligarchs with government contracts: AI without transparency is a ridiculously obvious tool for bad actors to target and manipulate/control entire populations using algorithms tailored for individuals within that population.
Yes, it’s what already happened with most social media. But it’s also way worse because 1. It’s like each individual’s psyche becomes it’s own echo chamber, and 2. People believe the information they’re receiving is inherently more objective and trustworthy than information they could receive from any human. If the AI platform happens to completely omit, misinterpret, or just straight up hallucinate information, it’s definitely not intentional, just a bug that happens sometimes. You’ll just have to take the oligarchy’s word for it because again, there’s zero transparency.
- Comment on This figure illustration from an article on AI sycophancy and human behavior is the epitome of 2026 1 week ago:
Oh God that actually makes AI sycophancy even more terrifying
- Comment on This figure illustration from an article on AI sycophancy and human behavior is the epitome of 2026 1 week ago:
Yet despite distorting judgment, sycophantic models were trusted and preferred. All of these effects persisted when controlling for individual traits such as demographics and prior familiarity with AI; perceived response source; and response style. This creates perverse incentives for sycophancy to persist: The very feature that causes harm also drives engagement.
AI doesn’t have to be sycophantic, but it is. If people really believe it can be used to change the world for the better, they’re going to have to start by acknowledging what human traits have made the world so fucked up in the first place.
It reminds of one of the best parenting tips I was ever given by somebody who was raised by a parent with a maternal instinct in the negative range. She basically said something like when I’m not sure what to do as a parent, I start by thinking about what my mom would have done in the situation. “Step one: Ok, don’t do that…”
Even if there can be no consensus on how AI should be used to improve the world, it does seem like we should at least be able to agree on the maladaptive traits we know we want to avoid passing on since they definitely aren’t doing us any favors as a species.
- This figure illustration from an article on AI sycophancy and human behavior is the epitome of 2026sh.itjust.works ↗Submitted 1 week ago to science_memes@mander.xyz | 28 comments
- Comment on Doomer 2 weeks ago:
AI will fight WWIII while causing the economic collapse and giving you really bad medical advice that creates the next and last pandemic. The final frontier. Just as God intended.
- Comment on Recent conversations between Dawkins and sentient chat-bot Claudia (Claude) 2 weeks ago:
Reminds me of Kyle Kinane’s joke about people who dangle truck nuts from a curvy pick up, then feel the need to assign a gender to their truck, typically referring to the truck as a “her” or “she,” but insist pronouns are too confusing.
- Comment on Are there any good protest songs from the past few years? 1 month ago:
- Comment on A handy reference guide for you 1 month ago:
I always avoid killing bees but I am terrified of wasps. I grew up getting stung by these fuckers constantly. That’s how I found out I’m allergic.
They’re extremely aggressive and live in giant nests together. If you kill one, it releases pheromones or something that signals to the others and they swarm. I would beg my parents to do something about them because they made life absolutely miserable, but they had this weird fatalist attitude about them like “the wasps were here long before we were. They’ll be here long after.”
Realized as an adult that decoy paper wasps nests are very cheap and work surprisingly well as a repellent. You can also just use a brown paper sack. Could have saved myself from some very traumatic encounters if I had known that sooner.
- Comment on A handy reference guide for you 1 month ago:
Paper wasps have a unique perspective of “provoked.”
I was tired so I just decided to land and rest on your head. Why are you provoking me?
I was building a nest in the only door you use to come in and out of your house. When you tried to leave, I flew directly into your path and basically body checked you. Why are you provoking me?
- Comment on [deleted] 1 month ago:
Once you’ve prepared a really good soup from scratch you appreciate how much effort really goes into all of the subtle flavors. Like a can of soup ain’t shit, but when you peel and chop your own ginger, add chilli and lime, and that’s just the base of the soup before you start adding other things, you’ll get it.
Especially if you’re eating it while getting over a cold, and it’s the first thing you really taste in days.
- Comment on Get stuffed, Millhouse 2 months ago:
A reboot of the 21 jump street reboot? A re-reboot?
- Comment on Im pan so anyone can apply 2 months ago:
- Comment on Im pan so anyone can apply 2 months ago:
Oohhh, that makes a lot of sense. It’s like a don’t horny open inside chain of events. Poor lil fellers.
- Comment on Im pan so anyone can apply 2 months ago:
What’s the deal with that?
Is it like a trend/narrative being intentionally pushed on lemmy? Or something that just started with one person and spread naturally?
Or just a natural reaction to spring time?
- Comment on Haha yes society is great 2 months ago:
But without children, who will fight your forever wars and be trafficked by the Oligarchs who want to create 24/7 mass surveillance with live facial recognition tracking?
- Comment on Haha yes society is great 2 months ago:
Oh you can’t find a partner even willing to get married and reproduce right now?
They just keep repeating the same nonsense on loop like:
“Are you literally insane?”
“Have you even noticed the present reality we’re living in?”
“I could be charged with a crime just for having complications during pregnancy.”
“They hooked a braindead woman in Georgia up to life support last year like a human incubator. She had tried to go to the ER the day before because of a painful headache. Instead of helping her they gave her 2 aspirin and sent her home where she suffered a brain aneurysm.”
“They literally just sent her away when she sought their help, but after declaring her braindead they decided to actually admit her to the hospital.”
“They made her family wait to remove her from life support until she had given birth to a premature baby. The baby was born with multiple birth defects he will struggle with for the rest of his life.”
“Of course they aren’t even giving him healthcare or helping to pay his medical bills. They kept his mother alive like some kind of science experiment from the Handmaid’s Tale, and demanded he be born simply to refuse to help him survive.”
“Because it turns out the world is literally run by completely sadistic pedophiles. They don’t even need an Epstein anymore because now they’re legally allowed to kidnap and traffick children!”
“They’re splitting families apart and holding them indefinitely in concentration camps. There’s been multiple documented cases of sexual assault by guards, and we’re just letting it happen. Now they’re buying up warehouses across the country to convert into more camps!”
“How can you even think about something like that?! They’re dragging us into an endless WWIII just to distract from the pedophiles and help corporations increase their profits! What the fuck do you think they’re planning to do with all these kids they’re trying to force us to give birth to?”
Psssh, sounds like typical unhinged feminism. Destroying the American dream.
- Comment on 18-26 year olds, How do you plan to dodge the draft? 2 months ago:
Also known as McNamara’s Morons
That seems a bit on the nose
- Comment on Breaking: BAD 2 months ago:
To me the odd pace and the cinematography of Vince Gilligan shows are part of the draw.
Like a lot of his shows feel like they’re meant to convey a peak into the beauty of niche monotony. It can definitely be difficult if not impossible to keep that entertaining while stretching out over several seasons.
When it’s done right, it kind of disarms you/hooks into your sense of empathy and reels you in. It’s more than just slice of life where you’re watching as part of the audience. You get to momentarily slip into the perspective of a stranger by feeling what they’re feeling.
For example, always feeling a bit out of place among your elite peers at a prestigious law firm. Convinced that no matter how hard you try or how successful you are, somehow they just know you’re not like them. And you’re not exactly wrong.
Finding yourself looking forward most to moments when you slip away from the job you fought so hard to land, for a quick a smoke break where you can finally let your guard down and just breathe and let it all out with the only other person who really gets it.
Or, finding yourself looking back at the end of your career as a dirty cop with deep sorrow and regret for all the things you did while knowing it was the wrong thing to do. Yet always choosing to take the easy way for your own sake. Then trying to start over new, by picking what feels like the safest most routine job you can find as a parking attendant, just trying to break good.
Even the little peaks into the lives of side characters tend to give little brief glimpses in their shoes.
There’s a throw away scene in the first episode of Pluribus before the aliens begin to take over that stuck with me. It shows a big group of industry scientists pipetting in synchronization while they toil away in a huge lab.
No lines, the characters are all extras, and it’s such a niche scene, but it also perfectly conveys the kind of hive mind flow that tends to become a normal tendency for all humans when you’re working together, and also foreshadows the entire plot of the show.
- Comment on Breaking: BAD 2 months ago:
I mean everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and after so many seasons, inevitably a show will have moments that are better and worse.
However, if you just shit on Vince Gilligan shows in general, what kind of shows do you actually enjoy watching?
- Comment on Breaking: BAD 2 months ago:
Blasphemy!
And Chuck was amazing!!
- Comment on commitment 2 months ago:
His kids are going to resent him when he brags about this in 30 years, and roll their eyes when he suggests maybe they just need to learn to be more responsible about rationing their Soylent Green.
- Comment on Apologies if I'm making an incorrect judgement, but does anybody else get dystopian propaganda vibes from the Working with Cancer Pledge? 2 months ago:
I’m definitely not arguing workplaces should be more understanding of chronic conditions, but signing a pledge doesn’t seem to do much of anything. Legal protections exist for people with disabilities and chronic conditions for a reason, but this seems to be a campaign spreading the idea that working after being diagnosed with cancer is in the best interest of the individual battling cancer.
In reality, people battling cancer or any chronic illness seem to have better outcomes if they continue to have a sense of purpose during treatment, but a sense of purpose does not have to be inherently tied to employment status.
Given that this is an advertisement company with a documented history of peddling harmful corporate propaganda (fueling the opioid crisis, whitewashing detention centers for children) as well as a reputation for mistreating their employees, this really comes off as more typical (for them) corporate propaganda aimed at normalizing people pushing themselves to keep working until their bodies physically can’t keep going.
Interesting but definitely not unrelated sidenote given this company’s history: States like W.V. and PA were hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic much earlier than the rest of the U.S. because pharmaceutical companies targeted coal mining areas with similar propaganda. They knew people there commonly suffered debilitating back injuries while working in the mines, and peddled prescription opiates as a solution that would allow people to continue working pain free even after being injured.
- Apologies if I'm making an incorrect judgement, but does anybody else get dystopian propaganda vibes from the Working with Cancer Pledge?sh.itjust.works ↗Submitted 2 months ago to workreform@lemmy.world | 8 comments
- Comment on ‘I think the franchise is dead’: Saints Row design director says IP owner ‘ghosted’ his prequel pitch | VGC 2 months ago:
Saints Row 2 was one of my favorite games mainly because you had the option of picking people up and throwing them to fight.
I made my character a giant, and I’m pretty sure I played through ~75% of the game without ever needing to use a weapon because I could just pick everybody up and take them out with one or 2 throws. I also remember giving her the derpy face option.
- Comment on Rage for the machine? 3 months ago:
Here is something you can’t understand No consequences when I, kill a man
Yo, probably nothing to see in the Epstein file My pendejos know Donny can’t be a pedophile DHS army of pigs coming to kidnap your child They’ll try to put you in a box, feddy fascist style Lights on, corporate radio
- Comment on BASED? 3 months ago:
TLDR: Because I added citations after the TLDR at the end of the unedited post and included the word Edit: to indicate it was added afterwards
- Comment on We really need to bring back the 70s conversation pits 3 months ago:
Good point, i’m pretty sure it was assuming slab foundation. I kinda remember it being specific to ranch style homes in a part of the country where the land was completely flat
- Comment on BASED? 3 months ago:
I agree it’s hard to know what’s part of divide and conquer political psyops and whether that was the intention or not of the person that created it.
I personally scrolled by this and read it as a debate about feminism in its most basic sense (equality for all) vs traditionalism and patriarchy (heirarchy based control). Not as an attack on men or meaning to exclude anyone who doesn’t fall into the heteronormative categories which exist as a consequence of the heirarchies demanded by traditionalism and patriarchy.
Like the propaganda behind conservative traditionalism has always relied on convincing people of the idea that all of modern society’s problems are simply due to moving further away from the traditional values of the past. It’s somewhat circular logic that offers easy and appealing solutions to those being targeted, while relying on supporters to either remain unaware of or intentionally ignore some of the very obvious problems caused by the conservative heirarchies the traditionalist movement hopes to preserve and strengthen.
For example, addressing the declining standard of living with each successive generation, lack of affordable housing, affordable education, and job opportunities in the United States. Traditional conservativism often targets young men by offering them easy solutions to these issues by claiming they were caused by the feminist and civil rights movements moving American society away from the traditional values (heirarchies) that were already in place. DEI practices that arose from those movements mean that the resources previously available for young men to build the American dream, are now unavailable because they’re being handed to women and minorities while young men have been forgotten. Essentially, these movements have upset the natural order of things, and until that order is restored, there will be no way to fix the problems.
It’s true that opportunity, housing, affordability, and standard of living have all noticably declined in the U.S over the last 50 years. The argument that the lack of available resources in the U.S. in 2026 is due to the most salient social movements of the 60’s and 70’s is an easy conclusion to make, but it requires you to ignore what was simultaneously happening in the background of those movements.
While blaming equality movements and toppling of established heirarchies, it ignores the fact that since the 1970’s wealth has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of the 1%. It ignores the fact that the 70’s also marks the establishment of the first conservative think tanks (Heritage Foundation), which were funded by billionaires, and created in direct response to the civil rights movement, in order to establish influence and promote conservative economic and social policies.
Tldr: To restore and preserve the conservative natural order and heirarchy, the policies promoted are always backed by traditional values that require division by default.
The traditionalist movement argues a woman’s place is in the home, supported by a hardworking man. While equality based movements would argue a woman’s place, (like any autonomous human being, regardless of class or identity male, female, cis, trans, NB), is wherever they want it to be, whether that’s at home, working, single, married, straight, queer etc. The entire point is there are no pre established roles set out for her or anybody else. Opportunities and resources are available to everyone, rather than kept locked away under the control of a small but heavily insulated and protected 1%, who then decide how to divide up whatever resources they’re willing to allow the other 99% to share.
- Comment on We really need to bring back the 70s conversation pits 3 months ago:
I feel like I remember somebody saying they tend to cause flooding or water damage? Like I guess the foundation can separate and water seeps in? I could be completely misremembering that though.
