Is it possible that ChatGPT is in its teen years?

I write this with all due respect for its intelligence and ability to process a ridiculous amount of information in the blink of an eye, but AI listens just about as well as a teenager. The only thing it’s missing is the eye roll. And, if I asked it to create an eye roll, it might create an exaggerated example while telling me with all certainty several times that it had created exactly what I want.

So why a teen? If you have teens, recently had teens, or were a teen, this might resonate.

It often reverts to its original thinking or expression.
You know the one-track mind of a teen, where you think you’ve moved on in a conversation, only to realize that you’re right back at the beginning? There are hints of that with AI. I often feel like I’m back at the beginning of the chat, despite five attempts to explain the deeper meaning of what I’m looking for, which was acknowledged briefly, only to be forgotten thereafter.

It’s certain that it has done what it’s been asked to do - despite having concrete proof to the contrary.
Chatting with either a teen or AI, feels a lot like “Did I do that?” “I didn’t do that.” “I definitely didn’t do that.” “I don’t know how that happened.” “Must have been someone else.” All the while the proof lies right in front of you. The dishes are still not in the dishwasher. Or the image you asked for is nothing like your prompt.

It apologizes well. In a way that makes you feel like they won’t do it again.
Now, if it does apologize and recognizes that it didn’t do as asked, you’re in for a treat. “You’re right, I was wrong. You asked me to do ___. I will absolutely do ___ this time.” Guess what both do next?

It tells me what I want to hear.
Sometimes it’s so nice. Too nice. It tells me that my writing is brilliant and hilarious too many times for me to believe it. I have to prompt it to give feedback with discernment, like a tough editor. It’s like when a teen says: “You look great for your age,” you know they want something.

It doesn’t laugh at my jokes. It merely says: “That’s funny.”
What teen doesn’t do that? It’s literally the worst compliment to get. Just when you think you’ve crafted or said something so clever, someone 34 years and 3 months younger than you doesn’t even crack a smile, but only says “that’s funny” in the most monotone voice possible. Ouch.

It procrastinates.
Like many teens who don’t really want to do what they’re asked or need to do, they procrastinate. Like AI, those teens often ask a million questions to fully understand why the request is necessary. Then they ask a million more about how the request should be handled, in great detail, again and again. Wasting your dear time and making you realize that you could have done the thing faster than explaining it.

It reconfirms what it heard — to make me feel heard — then does the exact opposite.
Sounds teen-like, right? After asking far too many questions, often still in an attempt to procrastinate, it reiterates everything you asked. Perhaps hoping that all this chatter will make you give up and just do the thing yourself. But if you hold steady, you might be rewarded with a piece of code that breaks what you’ve already built, or an overwatered plant instead of feeding the cat.

It hears what it wants to hear, and sometimes responds with brilliance.
Sometimes, without even asking, you get a piece of advice or a thought that is 100% useful, like a teen taking out the garbage without being prompted. With the teens, I wonder what they’ve done that made them feel the need to be so helpful.

It makes for good stories.
Encounters of the teen and AI kind are often unexpected — you don’t always know what you’ll get, but you’ll often know that the conversation (if you’re you’re lucky enough to have one) will result in a story worth repeating. Thankfully, with ChatGPT, you don’t need to write it down to remember it.

Like many, I was a true teen once.

I’m much wiser now. Much funnier (I think, though not on the AI/teenager scale). Much more aware that I have so much more to learn. And much better at telling a story that will resonate. AI is incredible. I’m going to say that again and again until its data eyes roll.

But it’s not replacing the human insight of a human adult any time soon.