Summary

Martin Fowler acknowledges a complex mix of feelings about AI and LLMs — fascination, excitement about productivity, and fear of existential risks — but identifies a single dominant emotion: he simply does not like them. The LLM 'voice' strikes him as an uncanny valley of human conversation, and their confident hallucinations with hollow apologies when caught feel dishonest. He accepts that LLMs are useful and even necessary, citing Jessica Kerr's framing that not using them is irresponsible, yet notes the contradiction that people find them useful while believing they'll harm society. He traces his discomfort partly to the Silicon Valley brogrammer culture that shaped these models, arguing their values reflect their creators'. Ultimately he applies his personal life-hack — avoid people he doesn't like or trust — and finds it disturbing to be forced to interact with something that not only mimics humanity but mimics the kind of human he deliberately avoids.

Key Insight

LLMs are tools we may be obligated to use, but their cultural DNA — shaped by Silicon Valley values — makes them feel like the kind of person a person of integrity would choose to avoid.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 8

  They confidently bullshit me - often giving me useful, helpful answers. But also just making stuff up with the same assurance - and with only a veneer of fake remorse when I call them out on it.

• 3

  Not only are they useful, it is irresponsible not to use them… They're more thorough, as well as faster.

• 6

  While the agents' behavior aren't explicitly programmed, they are nurtured with the values of their creators.

• 5

  One of my most successful life-hacks is to avoid people I don't like or don't trust.

• 8

  Hence my visceral dislike of interacting with an LLM that's not just making a pretense of being human, but also posing as the kind of human I walk away from.

• 4

  Much of this may be because LLMs are young - we haven't trained them to grow up yet.

• 7

  I'm wary of the Silicon Valley brogrammer subculture, and these LLMs are their products, so naturally lean toward their world-view.

Tone

reflective, candid, critical