One woman's annoyance with artificial intelligence centered on a family interaction and not just the technology itself.
After her brother-in-law asked ChatGPT why she dislikes AI, the woman shared a screenshot of its response with Reddit's r/MildlyInfuriating community.
Here's what to know
According to the Reddit thread, the issue started when the original poster saw her brother-in-law ask ChatGPT about her stance on AI.
She said that "everyone in my family knows how I feel about AI" and added that her objections go beyond ChatGPT, with "the concern for our environment is a major one."
In a later clarification, the original poster said she was more "irked" than truly angry. She also stressed that this was not meant as a total knock on her brother-in-law, calling him "genuinely a very sweet guy" who sometimes does things that are "dumb or annoying, just like everyone else."
Her complaints about AI were not limited to environmental concerns. The OP also objected to its use in creative fields like movies, shows, books, and video games, saying AI cannot replace "real human emotion or experiences that creating such things require."
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Commenters piled on both the brother-in-law and AI in general. One commenter summed up the mood bluntly, writing: "I'm sure this can be said of any point in history, but it is truly such a strange time to be alive."
Many comments also focused on the chatbot's tone and use of emojis. One said, "An AI using the laughing crying emoji while defending itself makes me want to pull the plug," while another mocked the interaction by quoting the AI's response: "But destroying the environment sounds like she's trying to get me canceled!"'
Another concern for the poster was how some people use ChatGPT "as therapists/friends," which she argued is a problem because "it just says what the user wants to hear not what they need to hear and I think that is harming a lot of people."
But the OP also acknowledged her own limits, writing: "I'm not going to act like some holier than thou person because I don't use AI (if I can help it), but I try my hardest to be environmentally conscious."
Where can I learn more?
This kind of frustration has shown up elsewhere, too, especially when chatbots start affecting relationships or giving troubling answers.
• In families facing chatbot obsession, loved ones say choosing the bot over me deepened painful rifts.
• On the social platform X, Elon Musk's xAI faced outrage over Grok producing concerning chats.
• The BBC found major chatbots were seriously flawed, reinforcing distrust of AI answers.
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