Post by @mgorny@social.treehouse.systems

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems

2026-09-10 11:35 UTC

Okay, let's get this straight. I have trouble taking compliments for my work. I was raised in 1990s Poland, you could say it was on the border between two eras. It was a time of newly realized freedom, when people thought that the possibilities were now endless and you had to grab them, you had to compete for them. You didn't compliment kids for their work, that would spoil them. You could compliment kids for their looks (not me, though, I apparently had "other qualities"). But not for their successes; you instead pointed out where they didn't succeed, or that they could do even better. Because that obviously motivates them to try harder, rather than causes them to stop trying at all, because what's the point. And of course you never complimented your employees, because they never deserved that, they were always the lazy little bastards, undeserving of the job you've given them, only looking how to steal your money. Well, you get my point. So when I started interacting with people from other cultures, it's been a shock. I've been raised to be an asshole. Fortunately, at least some of them knew this part of "Eastern European" culture and bore with me. And I've got compliments, and real gratification, and my mindset slowly started changing. Honestly, when someone compliments me for my work, I still am uneasy and distrustful (are they being sarcastic?), but I can believe it's honest. And here comes all the messed up #AI hype, and bootlicking machines. And most of them are mass generating false compliments and pleasantries, and what not. And people are repasting this slop everywhere, and learning from it, and talking like it. And now, whenever I see people being nice, I'm not just uneasy. I keep wondering: is this real, or is it slop? Am I talking to a person, or to a bot? Is this actually being nice, or is it awfully disrespectful? I'm so tired of this timeline. How do you people stay sane? #NoAI #NoLLM

Replies (7)

@Klara@drupal.community 2026-09-10 12:09

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems Keep in mind that you grew up really knowing what propaganda is, you got a layer of defence that many others have not. Be glad of that at least.

Open ##5292584
@bituur_esztreym@pouet.chapril.org 2026-09-10 12:15

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems quite simple: we don't `w;7[) & @skeletor@mas.to is here

Open ##5292586
@TAVCreations@ottawa.place 2026-09-10 12:35

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems very similar upbringing in my home in the 1980s… very hard to overcome the natural training of being tough on ourselves and others as a motivational method. #NoAI - I try to focus on the actual people I’m grateful to have in my life - and even the ones I have to find ways to be grateful for 😉.

Open ##5333209
@failedLyndonLaRouchite@mas.to 2026-09-10 13:35

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems The English writer Ford Maddox Ford claims that his father, raised in Germany in the late 1800s, was, after every meal, required to kiss his Father's hand, in gratitude for the sustenance provided :)

Open ##5333210
@pietinger@infosec.exchange 2026-09-10 13:38

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems What I’ve learnt in 60 years: Most people are good, friendly and decent (though politeness varies a little). You can usually spot truly malicious people very quickly, and then there’s no doubt about it. However, as long as you’re not sure, you should always assume that it’s just a misunderstanding. In my country, there’s also a lovely saying for when someone has made a mistake: ‘Don’t assume malice when it could simply be stupidity or inexperience’. Yes, it can sometimes be disappointing when you start off assuming that the other person is a good person ... On the other hand, you get on well with the vast majority of people. The older I got, the better I became at judging people, and that helped me to become increasingly optimistic. (And yes, even in ‘Western’ countries there are stepfathers who tell you that you’re useless and worthless … but you mature best through personal contact with other people).

Open ##5333211
@masterwolf@cyberplace.social 2026-09-11 13:52

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems what makes you think other people are saying sane? I can speak for myself that I am not being successful at such attempts. I am sorry but as a natural intelligence I cannot give you advice about things I don't know myself. For advice about the unknown, I would need AI lying capabilities which I very clearly do not have. Well, there is one solution: beer. It doesn't explain things, but enough of it make the explanation stop mattering! I guess that kinda works?

Open ##5333217
@mk30@tilde.zone 2026-09-12 22:49

@mgorny@social.treehouse.systems I live in the woods on an island with my cats and my plants. I re-trained to work in a field (wastewater) where there isn't really AI, at least not in my area.

Open ##5333223