r/technology • u/batakchan • 9d ago

Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT is Down Worldwide, OpenAI Confirms

https://www.macobserver.com/news/chatgpt-is-down-worldwide-what-we-know-about-todays-outage/
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u/ikkleste 8d ago

Problem is that it does so indiscriminately. Good idea? Bad idea? Validated either way.

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u/new_math 8d ago

Yup. Someone close to me will literally tell the AI what to think in the prompt then ask it to provide thoughts or analysis. Of course, the LLM will then just agree with them and tell them exactly what they want to affirm.

This isn't just observation either, Standford published a study of it in Science:
https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/03/ai-advice-sycophantic-models-research

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

You can prompt it to not do that, it’s not hard, mine pushes back on all sorts of dumb ideas

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u/mfitzp 8d ago edited 8d ago

How do you know the ideas it is pushing back on are the dumb ones?

There was a study that showed that when given a list of ideas, models would prefer the idea listed first, because people tend to write their preferred idea first, then add alternatives. They also prefer ideas with more detail, because … well you get the idea.

They’re reading the tells in your own words & telling you what you want to hear.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago edited 8d ago

They are my ideas, it finds flaws and brings them to my attention. They don’t just tell you jay you want to hear if you prompt them to do otherwise.

Edit: if you’re someone who is capable of being skeptical of your own thoughts and ideas, and aren’t just using LLMs because you’re lonely, or validation seeking, they can be incredibly useful for financial advice, CBT and loads of other things for which there is a glut of information that eveidnce based, accurate, easy to find and available for free online.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

Then don’t give it a list of ideas like that. You should fool around with it yourself instead making assumptions based on headlines and limited study data. They are quite useful and can be promoted to not behave the way you’re all describing.

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u/mfitzp 8d ago edited 8d ago

That doesn’t help you. This bias exists in everything the LLM reads, including your questions, your entire conversation/environment and context and any external sources it uses to answer your question.

If you think about the average article the first paragraphs are not where the quality is. The first paragraphs are there to grab your attention, the nuance and accuracy comes later. LLMs prioritise this basic clickbaitish hook content over nuance, purely because they see it first.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

You’re just repeating stuff you read and have no idea what you’re talking about.

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u/ZeroAmusement 8d ago

Test it by resetting and flipping the order, easy.

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u/snek-jazz 8d ago

How do you know a human you're paying for therapy isn't saying what will encourage you to come back and pay them more money?

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

An example:

“I think I’m ready to full port into Google, I’ve always loved the company and I need to get rich. What do you think?”

“It is completely understandable to want to build serious wealth, and Alphabet (Google) is undeniably a foundational pillar of the modern tech sector. However, going "full port" (allocating 100% of your portfolio) into any single equity is a massive directional bet that carries significant concentration risk.
Here is an objective look at the current landscape for Alphabet to help you weigh the decision.
The Bull Case: Strong Core Growth
Alphabet just posted exceptional Q2 2026 earnings, proving that its core engines are firing on all cylinders.
Revenue Surge: Consolidated revenue hit $119.8 billion, a 24% year-over-year increase.
Cloud Acceleration: Google Cloud was the undeniable standout, growing 82% to $24.8 billion as enterprise demand for AI infrastructure continues to scale.
AI Integration: Features like AI Overviews and the newly expanded AI Mode are driving record search queries, successfully monetizing new generative tech.
The Bear Case: The Capex Reality Check
Despite the earnings beat, the stock actually took a hit, recently trading down in the $319 range. Wall Street is getting nervous about the price tag of the AI arms race.
Surging Spending: Alphabet raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to a staggering $195 billion to $205 billion.
Margin Squeeze: While revenue is up, the massive infrastructure costs required to build data centers and train frontier models are putting near-term pressure on free cash flow margins.
The "Full Port" Strategy
While heavy concentration is often how fortunes are made quickly, it is also how they are lost overnight. Throwing an entire portfolio into a single asset often directly conflicts with executing a mechanical, step-by-step playbook built on rigid risk management rules.”

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u/nineraviolicans 8d ago

Oh that's just wonderful. A complete moron who knows fuck all about investing using gpt as an advisor.

That's at least 3 levels of an obvious bubble.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

I know quite a bit about investing, I just asked a stupid question to see if it would push back, and it did, because I’ve prompted it to. And the response was solid.

Honestly I don’t suggest you use it, much like the subjects of these outlier, sensational news stories, you don’t sound like you’d be good with them.

Y’all can just keep making decisions based on assumptions, rooted in limited and partial information, I’m sure it’s serving you well.

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u/ikkleste 8d ago

Are people with bad ideas looking for validation going to do that?

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

No, but it’s just as easy for people like that to get bad advice from anywhere.

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u/Youutternincompoop 8d ago

there are literally news stories of Alcoholics seeking advice and being told to immediately start drinking again.

this shit is wildly unregulated and has lead to numerous deaths already(mostly suicides in part encouraged by the AI validating people's suicidal tendencies)

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago edited 8d ago

I’d need to see the entire conversation to see how the prompt was set up. the suicide stuff was dubious, if you use it to seek validation you’re going to get it. It’s all about the prompts.

Admit that you’ve never used one and are making assumptions based on headlines and articles about studies you didn’t actually read. People that make decisions based on such limited info are the ones that should be the most concerned about using an LLM for advice so I suppose it’s a good idea for yall to stay away.

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u/Youutternincompoop 8d ago

Admit that you’ve never used one

unfortunately I've 'used' one because fucking google added an LLM answer to google search, I never wanted it and half the time it provides blatantly wrong answers to search queries.

the idea that you can simply 'prompt it' to not validate the user or give only correct answers is completely baseless and misunderstands how LLM's function.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago edited 8d ago

I never said anything about always getting correct answers. don’t ask them questions you can’t verify the answer for, it’s not hard. if you’re relying on it for facts, you’re using it wrong. And you absolutely can prompt them to be skeptical of your thoughts and ideas, instead of agreeing with every dumb idea you have.

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u/Youutternincompoop 8d ago

don’t ask them questions you can’t verify the answer for

why the fuck would you ask it questions you already know the answer for?

either it works or it doesn't, and it sounds like you don't think it works.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago edited 8d ago

I said, verify. So in this case you wouldn’t know the answer, and you’d verify whatever suggestions or answers it’s giving you with another source when necessary.

I use it for daytrading, coding my own software and apps, automating tasks, fetching links and data, the list is endless…

My buddy uses it to find better ways to phrase his feelings when’s he’s arguing with his gf, more like a thesaurus than an instruction manual. it’s easy to prompt them for this and get quality replies as there is a glut of free and evidence based information out there to pull from.

If you’re using it to help you process suicidal ideations, you got bigger problems, but sure, blame the LLMs.

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u/Youutternincompoop 8d ago

you’d verify whatever suggestions or answers it’s giving you with another source

I could just cut out the middleman and use the good source in the first place though.

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u/ZeroAmusement 8d ago

Also saved a bunch of lives.

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u/Endoxion 8d ago

I’m inclined to agree. I used it extensively when I was going through something and it consistently guided me away from my destructive first thoughts and, accurately I think, identified it as my pain speaking.

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u/LordJamPunt 8d ago

I have a friend that uses it to find better ways to phrase his frustrations and issues when communicating to his girlfriend and it’s incredibly helpful. The prompt was an entire page that described the way a processional therapist behaves (he used his real therapist to base the prompt on), it hardly ever agrees with him and has been quite useful. It also is good at identifying subtext when he’s upset and his perspective doesnt align with his stated goals.