GoKawiilEssay argues chatbot 'intelligence' mirrors cold-reading tricks used by psychics
An AI researcher argues that the perceived intelligence of chat-based language models isn't a property of the models themselves but an illusion created in users' minds, similar to how psychics use cold reading techniques. The author, who wrote a book called 'The Intelligence Illusion,' contends that LLMs are purely statistical text-prediction systems with no reasoning capability, and that user belief in their intelligence stems from the same psychological mechanisms exploited by cold readers.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
This argument challenges a widespread assumption underpinning much of the current AI industry hype—that chatbots demonstrate genuine understanding or reasoning. If the comparison to cold reading holds, it suggests many commercial and enterprise use cases built on the premise of LLM 'intelligence' may be resting on a psychological misperception rather than a technical capability, with implications for trust, marketing claims, and regulatory scrutiny.
- The author argues LLMs are mathematical token predictors, not thinking systems.
- The perceived intelligence of chatbots is compared to cold reading tactics used by psychics.
- The essay warns some AI use cases resemble pseudoscience built on this illusion.
Source: softwarecrisis.dev — Baldur Bjarnason, 2026-09-20
Published there as: “The LLMentalist Effect (2023)”
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