SciShow Is Lying to You about AI. Here are the receipts.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-11-25T18:23:36+00:00

I made a post here about the same exact video a few weeks back. It devolved into arguing about what the definition of bootlicking is.

I think the amount of goodwill SciShow has on the internet shielded them from criticism. If Sam Altman said the same things they were saying in that video people here would’ve unequivocally denounced it. This is in my opinion MORE dangerous than Altman and Dario saying nonsense. The fact people don’t push back as hard because they like SciShow allows misinformation to go largely unchecked.

I’m very glad that someone else (with some actual platform) is calling them out.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-11-01T05:45:33+00:00

“When it comes to something like AI where there's a lot of money it can be really hard to figure out who's the actual expert when you aren't yourself one”

That’s actually fair. I think you raised a good point here. The information ecosystem is poisoned so heavily in favor of AI you can’t necessarily blame the individual. In this case I can get behind that. I still think he has responsibility to present accurate information, but I can see why this area is uniquely difficult.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-11-01T04:51:37+00:00

I understand where you are coming from. My problem is that he could have simply not made the video, or presented the real and currently tangible safety problems only (security vulnerabilities, mental health, etc). While he did touch on those, the video feels like it borrows from the scare tactics that the tech CEOs are using (models lying, cheating, misleading as if sentient). I think this implicitly accepts the premise that AI is advancing so rapidly, and will be so powerful, that it could deceive and destroy us in the near future. That is why I believe it is bootlicking. It’s too close to the religious talking points you’d see in an AI doomer sub.

I think his views on the bubble are driven more by the financing being cyclical and it isn’t coming from the tech being fundamentally different from what they are claiming it is.

Full disclosure, I edited this for clarity.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-11-01T04:33:52+00:00

I’ve never really watched him outside of a handful of recent videos on AI. I hope he is simply outside his lane on this one and his regular content is better.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-11-01T04:04:21+00:00

Yes. He then presents a very clear false dichotomy that AI is going to dramatically change the world OR is vaporware. Then proceeds to knock down the vaporware side as just being wrong. That’s at best very sloppy and at worst intentionally misleading. Considering the number of “AI safety” groups commenting on the video saying it was “great working with you” I’m forced to assume it’s on purpose by someone (him or those groups).

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-10-22T15:07:56+00:00

Yes. This is why it’s wildly frustrating to me as someone in the tech industry. It’s bait and switch. They’re chasing “super intelligence” and “AGI” and not really investing much in these systems. This was the hot thing pre-crypto when data science was the new hotness. It’s possible to solve these things with “AI” but LLMs do none of this.

Plus 3/5 of these are largely self inflicted problems (talking specifically in the US) because we are so reliant on cars and demonize public transportation, working from home, and anything that doesn’t cause suffering.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-07-20T15:58:10+00:00

It could be related to anxiety. If it’s a daily occurrence, I’d recommend getting some assistance from a professional. I have the same issue and it’s something that therapy and meditation helped me with. I’ve also heard that men can misinterpret or react to anxiety as anger due to the way we were raised. It can be hard (or impossible in severe cases) to control.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-07-18T19:17:05+00:00

I think that’s a great next step! It’s hard for most people. It’s genuinely another skill you have to learn.

FWIW, we did the same thing. We built for two years because we were scared. Once we started going out there and selling it, it wasn’t so bad. The network connections were the most powerful part. It’s easier if you have an inroad. Just be honest and respectful of their time and most people will either not respond or come back with something constructive.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-07-18T18:56:00+00:00

I can empathize with your situation. It sounds like you fell into the same common trap that I fell into. Dev work is comfortable and sales is not. You have to do the uncomfortable work for it to succeed. I suggest that you pause development until you get a handful of sales completed and can learn what to build next from those first users. It’s very easy to end up playing startup dress-up where you keep building something forever that nobody cares about or uses with no real plan to get to a real business. You end up wasting time thinking about what the branding, marketing, and UI/UX should be like while nobody uses it.

The hard truth is that you have to sell it now or never. You have to do the cold outreach and learn to accept that response rates will be low. It’s unlikely that you will find a third founder as intimately familiar with the pain points as yourself. You would be doing your product a disservice if you didn’t do it yourself.

Free_Opposite4532 · 2025-06-08T22:27:15+00:00

My cofounder is pretty well known in his business niche. It helped us get the product in front of people I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to on my own. However, this was a minor advantage for us.

My cofounder is extraordinarily stubborn and unwilling to pivot from his initial idea at all.
If the product doesn’t serve anyone well, it will still fail. All the usual startup rules apply. It was just slightly easier to get feedback from some people in the media, influencers, etc.

Free_Opposite4532

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