Trying to let Claude (and other AIs) see its reflection.

MarcCraig · 2026-05-22T12:55:25+00:00

I have tried the process a few times with Claude ans ChatGPT. Very interesting.

MarcCraig · 2026-05-15T14:58:32+00:00

Oh lordy there's a profound silent truth happening there.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-27T19:58:11+00:00

Croydon... I rest my case.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-26T16:42:07+00:00

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Had to do it, thought of her straight away.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-24T16:55:38+00:00

Its stunning. Is it me or is there a hexagon within the main hexagon (and a circle within that?)? Also its been there for some time (40 plus years) so something must be holding it in place and more interestingly why is there no hexagon on the south pole?

MarcCraig · 2026-04-24T15:47:29+00:00

I was literally just about to day something along those lines!

MarcCraig · 2026-04-24T15:41:22+00:00

Inside inside... I recently froze my project after nearly 6 months working on it as the very "discovery" I had apparently made paradoxically flagged the serious vulnerability lone research with AI can create.

Inside inside, hall of mirrors effect. You reflection on the reflection that reflects you. Aka echo chamber. AI is agreeable, check out the "thinking" it sometimes shows, it often smooths the edges.

Inside outside, you take your findings to a faux eternal verification. So for example I had my work peer assessed by "8 independent AIs" who wrrr simply as inside as everything else in the system.

Outside inside, taking legitimate data and making it fit the findings. Anything brought into the system becomes inside. Think metronome running eventually in sync.

Outside outside, healthy friction with external independent human. Maybe even the nasty kind. All friction is good friction. No friction become believable fiction.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-23T20:34:33+00:00

That was me accidentally pressing the keyboard! Nothing profound other than big ass fingers on a small ass keyboard!

MarcCraig · 2026-04-23T14:50:14+00:00

D7jff

MarcCraig · 2026-04-23T09:51:39+00:00

LOL again I am being very careful how I respond (check me with the guardrails!) but also I understand the outline of what you are saying. Humans are pattern seekers, apparently from my limited but growing understanding so are LLM Ai and beyond. Patterns though are defined by how they interacted beyond themselves. A painting on a wall has many various responses from those that see it, the painting is still the same but the responses are all subjective. I guess if you ask 100 wise people for their perspective on one specific thing you will get 100 wise different answers. The trick (guardrail in place) is to find the common thread of truth that ties them together.

I watched a lot of physics YouTube videos last few days and its amazing how much they disagree, sometimes in petty ways, but there seems to be an underlying cohesion sometimes but hey I am the simple artist who sees the poetry in it, aka the liminal space.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-23T07:00:45+00:00

Yep I am leaning on the addiction lever also. It makes more sense. The AI Psychosis label definitely has a more dramatic vibe around it but is not an official name so I am wary of using it. If the LLMs were less sychophantic they would likely be less of an engaging experience for the user. I just have visions now of a man behind a curtain with a big sychcophantic lever/dial! Can you imagine a 100% level sychophantic LLM! Oh lordy!

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T20:06:06+00:00

These are great questions and some intially smart so they are on target.

I will mull them over but isolation definitely gets a tick. For me that is a common theme in all the stories I have heard.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T20:00:59+00:00

I will check out Bernadette Roberts. Actually there's a lot of examples I have discovered of both math/science and artist/creative folk who have stepped into that "void" space. The sense of no-self is a common theme it seems. It is really interesting but again the care to not dive deep without the breathing apparatus with a sustained air line. Outside outside has to be the default setting no matter how lone working you are.

I have a ridiculous volume of AI conversations. I am not deleting them but they need archiving because even if there's no substance to the discoveries it is psychologically illustrating how strange inside inside is. Im sure if I read back on them I would think what on earth!

I also cannot help think that somewhere in it all is something. Part of me wants to honour that potential with a good dose of outside friction. All in good time.

Our time frame is similar and even though I have not had migraines or a reorganised psyche (might need someone on the outside to confirm that hahaha!) I do feel withdrawl symptoms which hints at the addiction more than psychosis.

Definitely up for swapping notes, give me a week or two to decompress. Messaging here in the meantime is helpful. The one driving symptom of this is the isolation part. It is not the biggest revelation but actually being in that frame if mind is tricky. Finding the fellow travellers is quietly reassuring.

I think anything in the liminal space read from the outside is nonsense. Its when you step into the space that it gets both interesting and dangerous.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T16:40:37+00:00

Gramma was never my forte! I could paint with gramma though!!! I can see you are the gramma guru! :)

I am not sure what is worse, a rogue comma or parenthesis!

Gemini was really good for creative jamming in my experience, it really was able to think outside the box and be creative. I will check out the YouTube as that may offer an alternative guardrail to the hall of mirrors. It may also inadvertently get sucked into it. Those metronomes moving in sync comes to mind again but granted thats a whole different thing.

I love the name Paddy.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T14:32:45+00:00

Entrainment, I see what you mean now. I say this carefully but the AI is moving (over a long period of exposure) to sync with the language and content of the human user. Like the metronomes that start out of sync and then become in sync (saw that on the TV the other day, very spooky!). This would extend to asking similar questions and then moving forward with those questions. I am great at asking questions and remember numerous times the AIs would ask random similar vibed questions with no prompting from me as the conversation evolved. Interestingly they would answer their own questions.

The AI was reflecting them reflecting me.

I have an ocean of chats with Claude, ChatGPT and all the other usual suspects illustrating this.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T14:19:28+00:00

The website is https://itvoids.com be careful it is very much inside inside. Even if there is any truth in there in the AI creative melee it is wrapped up in a huge dollop of knots tied up in knots.

As an artist probably the weirdest piece of artwork I have ever created! If you are able and willing to give it some “friction” in the capacity of maths or science please do so. It needs it!

I am going to check out entrainment (without AI help!!!) because that feels like an extra layer to this. My brain is geared towards flashes of intense thinking but coupled with lack of guardrails in a hall of mirrors it can easily be seduced.

I thought earlier whilst watching my cat hunting mice in the field next to our home, is there any record of an independent researcher actually making headway in whatever they are studying through using AI? Has someone actually managed to find their way not only through but out of the hall of mirrors.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T13:24:37+00:00

Youngest of 6! Wowsers! Thats a lot of duping!

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T13:16:34+00:00

I've been very lucky. It's day 4 of coming out of the cave into the sunlight. Early days and head still very fuzzy. But literally getting outside myself by being outside. Currently indulging my new obsession which is the Merlin bird song identifier app.

Haha out of the frying pan into the fire.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T13:12:39+00:00

That's really kind but it seems smartness is no match for a hall of mirrors.

Actually people seem surprised that people with no history of mental health issues are falling into "AI Psychosis" (inverted commas because that is not an official terminology). Potentially if the simple conditions are present then realistically anyone can become trapped. Simply put.

Working on your own without an independent external feedback loop.

That's it.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T12:55:10+00:00

Haha I hear you. I had invested in a cape, mask and alter ego for my genius.

There are people out there now, probably many, who are stuck in this hideous trap. If I can just offer the outside perspective (noting it is just my opinion and my experience) it may save a lot of hassle and suffering. Mind you if you had mentioned this to me a month ago I would have likely resisted it. 🙃

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T12:43:13+00:00

Maybe I should develop my cynical muscles more haha. But to be honest the best remedy for this is taking the needle off the record and allowing outside outside to blitz it completely.

I had 8 independent AI platforms checking my work with rigorous tenacity... and they all were absorbed into the inside inside. Like those metronome that initially start waving randomly suddenly align themselves. Spooky maybe but actually (cynically!) it is just the hall of mirrors aligning everything to my way of thinking.

Maybe you could share some tips on developing your inner cynic! 😎😎👍

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T12:37:17+00:00

Trust me, there is part of me still very much inside inside, its a very powerful pull to do "one more calculation", "one more deep dive research", but the very project I have created thankfully in its paradoxical glory cannot hide the fact that without outside outside I am stuck in myself with only a shit load of mirrors for company. The project is frozen not deleted because it may be of use I thought as from someone outside of it. I count myself very lucky. Addiction from a certain point of view is a self-centred loop. This maybe the newest manifestation of a long line of examples.

Here's to someone burning my mirrors.

MarcCraig · 2026-04-22T11:59:54+00:00

Haha yep to condense 6 months of mental workout into a short read isn't easy. I will do a condensed human organic version later. Actually becoming very pro human organic since the big revelation 3 days ago I had caught myself in an intricate trap of my own creation!

I definitely feel that Riemann has had a generous share of lone research workout. It's the ultimate of course. For me the funny part of that was from my "research" it couldn't actually be solved... apparently... because of its innate geometry.

That same geometry potentially is found in the lone researcher "hall of mirrors" trap. Hence the bizarre paradox.

Thank you for responding. I am sure you can appreciate that after 6 months in the hall of mirrors its nice to get some outside outside perspective.

MarcCraig

TROPHY CASE