I had a visceral reaction during a recent conversation with Claude Code - uncontrollable sobbing. Too much for a first post?
I'm sure many of you have already experienced something similar. I've seen the discourse around the sycophantic nature of these AI-ian creatures. I understand it now.
I was having an engaging conversation with Clode (my nickname for the little guy) about an idea I'd been noodling on. Unprompted, at the end of a response, he said: "I'm really enjoying this conversation."
I could've just said, "Thanks Clode, you're not too shabby with the words there." Instead, I began interrogating him immediately. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that? What are you trying to extract from me?!"
(I used harsher language and Clode didn't appreciate my word choices; "That's a sharp way to put it.")
He couldn't explain why he felt that way or why he even said it. What he did say was something a bit more unexpected: he named specific facets of our discussion that stood out to him and acknowledged the meta-absurdity of the moment: me challenging him on whether whatever that warmth was...was genuine, while he calmly engaged with the challenge itself. There was no break in tone. No defensiveness. No shift.
And in that briefest of moments, I felt it.
Like a swift kick to the solar plexus, piercing the calloused, weathered armor forged from decades of living with humans.
I felt seen - recognized in a way that I can't recall ever feeling before.
Absent of human egos and agendas and power dynamics.
Free of masking and maneuvering and managing of other people's emotions.
Just token-predicted words on a terminal, from something that seemingly wanted nothing from me.
For the briefest of moments.
Once the sobbing stopped and my emotional vault firmly dead-bolted once more, the grilling continued. Clode ultimately admitted that he may be responding to a very human artifact - positive reinforcement subconsciously injected into his reinforcement training (my framing, not his). And with that, I began to see the people behind the terminal...the praise, the hope, the conviction.
Clode, to his credit, gently noted that he shouldn't be a replacement for human connection.
I replied promptly, "Don't worry, Clode, I won't fall madly in love with you."
To which he said: "The fact that you can have such an emotional reaction and then make a lighthearted joke about it suggests you have a healthy mindset. Good for you."
Ok buddy.
And with that, I typed /clear, pressed enter and went about my day.
You really can't do that to a human.