The Delusion Machine – What Happened When I Fed My Soul into an LLM
Original: The Delusion Machine – What happened when I fed my soul into an LLM
Key topics
The literary world is abuzz with a thought-provoking essay that explores the author's existential struggles with an LLM, sparking a heated debate about the piece's writing style and purpose. While some commenters, like mpalmer, lambasted the author's "overwrought prose" and "indulgent" writing, others, such as nine_k and vunderba, defended the essay as an art piece that shouldn't be judged solely on its clarity or concision. As the discussion unfolded, it became clear that the real issue at hand is not the essay itself, but rather the commenters' own reading styles and expectations, with some, like jdlshore, pointing out that not all writing is meant to inform. The exchange took a personal turn when exe34 suggested that mpalmer's literal interpretation of the essay might be related to autism, adding a layer of complexity to the conversation.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Active discussionFirst comment
1h
Peak period
11
0-3h
Avg / period
4.5
Based on 18 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Aug 30, 2025 at 1:13 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Aug 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM EDT
1h after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
11 comments in 0-3h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Sep 1, 2025 at 10:52 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
Overwrought prose (so many lists of three or more things! Why?) that takes fully half of its word count to get to the point, which is that LLMs are appeasing and solicitous by default. Not sure what else I'm supposed to take away.
At any rate, the writer is struggling with temptations and weaknesses, of the sort better handled by an editor than a priest.
edit: I've counted a couple more down the page - you really do see the world in black and white. get tested, it'll help. it helped me.
LLMs filling that hole is great if it's done in discrete and intermittent bumps. TFA shows the psychological risks of binging on artificial validation.
All things in moderation, especially LLMs.
On one hand, she sees with piercing clarity her inability to take hints, read the room, or navigate social subtext. On the other, she holds to this undeniable conviction that rejection itself will eventually sculpt her into something new, rather than seeing it as a painful signal to do the reshaping herself.
That conviction fascinates me. Where does it come from? An unshakeable sense of justice? A craving for recognition and boundaries that she cannot receive from other people? Or some deeper? Has the author always behaved like this or are there mile markers in the development of her beliefs?
I'll avoid opening the author's LinkedIn profile though! :-D
I think it'd be well worth performing the experiment of creating some people's digital avatars and then testing them against the original to see how faithful of a model they are.