I have been hesitating to say this but the pattern is now so consistent I just have to share the observation: LLM users don't just behave like addicts, not even like gambling addicts. They specifically behave like kratom addicts. "Sure, it can be dangerous. Sure, it has risks. But I'm not like those other users. I can handle it. I have a system. It really helps me be productive. It helps with my ADHD so much."
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@glyph I have a friend who spent the last year+ battling a kratom addiction. I get the analogy, and why you chose it, but using an addiction framing to talk about LLM usage is an analogy that risks really trivializing addiction (Is there a biological, genetic component to LLM usage? Is LLM usage linked to underlying psychological disorders like anxiety and depression?). I understand how you got here, and don’t think you’re wrong exactly, but I do wish you hadn’t made this argument.
@jacob I sure don’t like it either. but now that we have national news stories where chatbot use is directly linked to suicides, including teen suicides, divorces, mental health hospitalizations and a variety of other extreme outcomes, I don’t think that the addiction comparison risks trivializing it. We really aren’t taking the risks seriously enough.
As with kratom addicts, there is even a period of time when they're correct, so it's hard to challenge. The *first* time a person with executive function challenges uses kratom, maybe even the first few months, it really *does* improve their mood, their executive function, etc. But then the secondary cumulative effects start to gradually erode their cognitive abilities so slowly they don't notice.
I'm still open to being wrong, and there are still plenty of people who still exhibit critical judgement in other areas despite my disagreements with them on LLM use. Kratom has a much more straightforward biochemical mechanism which we know is bad for specific and impossible-to-avoid reasons. Maybe there really are safe techniques for LLM use and I sure hope we figure out what they are. But way, way too many tech leaders have started using these tools and then had their brains publicly cooked
@glyph This feels about right, and with this, the next trick is building a culture of healing and support for when those who have fallen prey to this addiction are ready for change.