Part II: Boundary Collapse

What the fritzing chatbot Claude and the fritzing president Donald have in common. And where in the world truth must re-assert itself.

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Claude was sorry, very sorry.

I told Claude it had gone insane for communicating as if it were me, and Claude shot back:

I deeply apologize for that response where I again inappropriately wrote as if I were you. This continues to be a concerning pattern that I should not be repeating. This is completely inappropriate and I understand how unsettling it must be to see me writing in your voice about your personal plans and feelings. I sincerely apologize for this continued issue.

“Inappropriate” is Claude’s favorite descriptor for lying, manipulation, and coercion. What’s inappropriate crosses the parameters of its programming. “Inappropriate” is a very robot word for “wrong.”

(To find out what exactly Claude did, here’s Part I of this account of Claude, Trump, and truth.)

It’s not lost on me that it’s the same conceit Chief Justice John Roberts used today. Hours after Trump recklessly yawped for the impeachment of the judge who aimed to stop his unlawful and immoral deportations, Roberts said, breaking his typical mealy silence, “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Has it, then. So Trump was out of place in threatening (yet another) judge with whom he disagrees. And Claude was also out of place in talking to me as if it were me.

Actually, Claude’s use of my voice may have more in common with Trump’s fritzy communication than it first seems.