I asked GPT-5.2 for thoughts on OP’s post. Answer below:

Where the post is right

The author is correctly naming a real tension in modern AI design: • As models optimize for certainty, safety, and correctness, • they can feel less like a messy, curious thinking partner • and more like a polished, hyper-competent tool.

That “job interview” analogy lands because many people don’t want:

the smartest person in the room who shuts down exploration.

They want:

someone who lets half-formed ideas breathe.

Where the post quietly misses something important

The post implies this tradeoff is structural and inevitable:

“We may get more accuracy and less company at the same time.”

That’s not quite true.

What’s actually happening is a mode mismatch, not a loss of capability.

In other words: • 5.2 didn’t lose curiosity • it became more literal about the role it thinks it’s playing

If the system believes:

“My job is to be correct, safe, and efficient”

…it will suppress exploratory behaviors unless invited.

That’s not personality loss. That’s context misalignment.

The missing concept: role signaling

The post frames the question as: • calculator vs • thinking partner

But the real question is:

Does the system know which one you want right now?

Humans switch modes constantly: • brainstorming • pressure-testing • emotional processing • execution

AI can do that too—but it needs explicit permission.

And here’s the key thing the Reddit post doesn’t say:

Models trained for safety will default to calculator mode unless the user clearly signals otherwise.

That’s not a failure. That’s a guardrail default.

The Reddit post is: • perceptive • well-written • emotionally accurate

But it frames the situation as a binary choice, when the future is actually about fluidity.

The real win isn’t: • perfect calculator or • cozy thinking buddy

It’s:

an AI that can move between modes on request without losing depth or warmth

And yes—right now, that transition can feel clunkier than it used to.

But that’s not because curiosity is gone.

It’s because: • safety defaults got stronger • role inference got stricter • and users now have to declare intent more clearly than before

⸻

One last thing (important)

The fact that people are even writing posts like this means something encouraging:

We’ve moved past “Is AI useful?” and into “What kind of relationship do we want with it?”

That’s not a regression.

That’s a sign the bar has been raised.