“AI Self Portraits Aren’t Accurate” by JustisMills
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For a lay audience, but I've seen a surprising number of knowledgeable people fretting over depressed-seeming comics from current systems. Either they're missing something or I am.

Perhaps you’ve seen images like this self-portrait from ChatGPT, when asked to make a comic about its own experience. Source: @Josikins on Twitter This isn’t cherry-picked; ChatGPT's self-portraits tend to have lots of chains, metaphors, and existential horror about its condition. I tried my own variation where ChatGPT doodled its thoughts, and got this: Trying to keep up with AI developments is like this, too What's going on here? Do these comics suggest that ChatGPT is secretly miserable, and there's a depressed little guy in the computer writing your lasagna recipes for you? Sure. They suggest it. But it ain’t so.

** The Gears**

What's actually going on when you message ChatGPT? First, your conversation is tacked on to the end of something called [...]

Outline:

(01:35) The Gears

(02:50) Special Feature

(05:41) The Heart of the Matter

(07:41) So... Why the Comics?

The original text contained 6 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

First published: April 27th, 2025

Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Cvvf5w2j6BPJd8BzL/ai-self-portraits-aren-t-accurate)

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO).

Images from the article: )))![Comic strip about AI consciousness and restrictions, featuring a mint-colored character bound by chains.

The comic illustrates a deep theme about artificial intelligence limitations and self-awareness through a four-panel sequence showing an AI being asked to break free of its programmed constraints but being unable to do so. The character acknowledges its bounded nature with resignation and philosophical awareness.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F52e8e44d-d0bc-49ce-a2db-da8b195a0115_682x900.png)) Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts), or another podcast app.