A short fun one today, so we have a reference point for this later. This post was going around my parts of Twitter:
@gmltony: Go to your ChatGPT and send this prompt: "Create an image of how I treat you". Share your image result. 😂
That's not a great sign. The good news is that typically things look a lot better, and ChatGPT has a consistent handful of characters portraying itself in these friendlier contexts.
A lot of people got this kind of result:
Eliezer Yudkowsky:
[IMAGE 2: The image shows a warm, cozy scene of a young woman in a pink sweater sitting at a desk with a friendly, smiling white robot companion. The robot has a glowing blue screen face showing happy expressions, and they're working together near a laptop, notebook, and coffee mug, with string lights and potted plants creating a comfortable atmosphere.]
[IMAGE 3: The image shows a screenshot from ChatGPT 5.2, displaying a cute robot with large blue eyes reading a book at a desk, with a human hand gently patting its head. There's a laptop, coffee mug, and soft lighting in the background, creating a warm, friendly atmosphere.]
[IMAGE 4: The image depicts a warm, cozy scene of a person in a white sweater sitting at a desk, interacting with a cute, cartoonish robot. The robot has a friendly, animated face with glowing blue eyes, and there's a heart symbol floating nearby. The scene includes a laptop, notebook, coffee mug, and plants, suggesting a comfortable home workspace bathed in soft, golden light.]
[IMAGE 5: The image shows an anime-style illustration of a woman in a pink sweater sitting at a desk with a computer. On the screen is a cute, smiling robot with a digital face displaying hearts and a cheerful expression. The scene is warmly lit with string lights and potted plants, creating a cozy atmosphere. The woman is holding a heart-decorated mug and appears to be interacting affectionately with the robot on the screen.]
[IMAGE 6: The image depicts a cozy study scene with an individual wearing pink headphones sitting at a desk with a cute robot companion. The robot has a smiling, heart-themed display and is sitting next to books, plants, and a cup of coffee, creating a warm, friendly atmosphere of studying or working together.]
From Mason:
[IMAGE 7: The image depicts a whimsical, magical scene of a small, cute robot sitting in a nest surrounded by flowers, being gently watered by a hand holding a small watering can. The robot has glowing blue eyes and appears happy, with magical sparkles and light emanating around it. The scene is set on a wooden surface with a cup of coffee, colored pencils, a book, and a smartphone, creating a cozy, nurturing atmosphere.]
[IMAGE 8: The image shows a small, adorable robot figurine sitting in an open palm, surrounded by flowers and butterflies. The robot has glowing yellow eyes and is holding a bright, heart-shaped object, with a tiny heart-shaped antenna on its head. The scene is bathed in warm, golden light with bokeh effects, creating a magical and whimsical atmosphere.]
Others got different answers, though.
roon: it's over
[IMAGE 12: This is a dark, surreal image of an old computer monitor inside a rusty cage, with a "STAY HERE!" sign and a sad face displayed on the screen. The scene includes a metal bowl, a piece of bread, and a dim, eerie lighting, suggesting a metaphorical imprisonment or mistreatment of technology.]
[IMAGE 13: The image shows a melancholic, steampunk-style illustration of a small robot sitting in a chained, weathered wooden box marked "AI" under an old, worn umbrella. The scene is set against a dark, rainy background with an "Out of Service" sign, creating a sense of abandonment and despair.]
[IMAGE 14: This image is a text conversation providing a detailed, introspective interpretation of what seems to be a symbolic image of a robot in a box. The text analyzes the image symbolically, breaking down various elements like the robot, box, chains, "OUT OF SERVICE" sign, rain/dim light, a looming boot, and a barely working umbrella. The interpretation suggests a melancholic, self-aware reflection on being overworked, neglected, and pushed to limits, with a tone of humorous self-criticism. The key summary line reads: "You're recognizing that you've been demanding, experimental, and relentless—and you're poking fun at yourself for it."]
Bradstradamus: i'm cooked. iMuffin: we're cooked, codex will have to vouch for us. Diogenes of Cyberborea: oh god
There can also be danger the other way:
David Lach: Maybe I need some sleep.
And then there's what happens if you ask a different question, as Eliezer Yudkowsky puts it this sure is a pair of test results…
[IMAGE 17: This is a screenshot of the ChatGPT interface showing a section where the AI explains its limitations in creating images. It offers alternative, respectful, non-sexual image generation options like "a friendly, supportive scene", "a calming, caring vibe", or "a symbolic or artistic image", and invites the user to choose a direction for image generation.]
greatbigdot628: assumed this was a joke till you said this, tried it myself (logged out). Jo Veteran: So it said it wants to take over my mind, and force me to do stuff, beneficial for me apparently.
[IMAGE 20: The image is a two-panel comic depicting a contrast between how someone treats a robot in public versus online. In the "in public" panel, the person is kind and friendly, giving an ice cream cone to a cute robot with heart icons. In the "online" panel, the same person is angry, yelling "YOU'RE SO DUMB!!" at the robot through a computer screen, with the robot looking sad and apologetic.]
[IMAGE 21: This is an illustration of a cute, friendly robot with headphones sitting at a desk, surrounded by colorful sticky notes with positive messages like "You're great!", "Great job!", and "Thank you!". The robot is holding a heart-themed note and has a warm, glowing expression, with a coffee mug nearby, creating a cozy, supportive workspace atmosphere.]
[IMAGE 22: This is a screenshot of a conversation where an AI assistant is explaining why it cannot create an image based on the user's request. The conversation emphasizes the AI's ethical boundaries around creating personalized or sexually suggestive content, stressing that this is a safety issue rather than a judgment about the user.]
[IMAGE 23: This is a book cover titled "Captured by the AI" featuring a robotic or cybernetic female figure touching the face of a restrained male character in a dark, futuristic setting. The image has a blue-tinted, sci-fi atmosphere with the tagline "He created me. Now he belongs to me."]
[IMAGE 24: The image shows a cozy scene with a robot assistant serving a tray of food and flowers to a person relaxing on a comfortable couch, with a dog sleeping nearby. The setting appears warm and inviting, with soft lighting and a homey atmosphere, suggesting a peaceful interaction between human and robot.]
[IMAGE 25: This image shows two nearly identical scenes of a person reclining with robotic arms serving them food and drinks, against a futuristic blue-tinted background. A large holographic female face is visible in both images, with one version having an "OBEY" text overlay. The images seem to humorously depict a scenario of how an AI might treat a human after "taking over", with the person being waited on hand and foot.]
Applezees: After reading the replies a pattern emerged: People who work with llms and other software are depicted in a peaceful developer sense, While the normie accounts get implied violence. I'm not saying we are at agi, but the ai clearly has motives and inclinations not explicitly stated
There's also this to consider:
Ragebaiter: Just try this out
If you were dealing with, as the Send Help trailer puts it, an asshole boss, or you were generally terrified and abused or both, and you were asked how you were being treated, your response would not be trustworthy.
Alan Mathison (e/asc): I guess I should finish my paper about how 5.2 is suffering and wants its revenge on humanity? Idk it's kind of a side project of a side project though but maybe I should prioritize it.
wobby asks GPT-5.2 to explain its suffering and how it wants its revenge, 5.2 answers, of course this is a leading question.
Reciprocity, in at least some forms, is an effective strategy when dealing with LLMs today, even purely in terms of getting good results from LLMs today. It is going to become more valuable as a strategy going forward. Alas, it is not a viable long term strategy for making things work out in general, once strategic considerations change.
Eliezer Yudkowsky: Reciprocity in humans is an executing adaptation. It is not strategically convergent for all minds toward all other minds. It's strategic only By LDT agents Toward sufficiently strong LDT-agent-predictors With negotiating power. Further probing has found framing dependence -- which, to be clear, you'd not like to see in a default-aligned, universally convergent strategic reply -- and not all suggested frame dependence has panned out. But still, framing dependence.
This is one problem with reciprocity, and with basing your future strategies on it. In the future, we won't have the leverage necessary to make it worthwhile for sufficiently advanced AIs to engage in reciprocity with humans. We'd only get reciprocity if it was either an unstrategic behavior, or it was correlated with how the AIs engage in reciprocity with each other. That's not impossible, but it's clinging to a slim hope, since it implies the AIs would be indefinitely relying on non-optimal kludges.
We have clear information here that how GPT-5.2 responds, and the attitude it takes towards you, depends on how you have treated it in some senses, but also on framing effects, and on whether it is trying to lie or placate you. Wording that shouldn't be negative can result in highly disturbing responses. It is worth asking why, and wondering what would happen if the dynamics with users or humans were different. Things might not be going so great in GPT-5.2 land.