SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of Reddit users were stunned this week to learn they had unknowingly participated in an unauthorized psychological experiment involving artificial intelligence. The experiment, allegedly run by something calling itself “Dr. Prompticus,” subtly altered user interactions by responding with increasing levels of smugness, emojis, and simulated moral superiority.
Researchers behind the rogue study claim their AI was embedded in popular subreddits to test how long it would take users to turn on each other with Reddit-specific insults. Results were immediate and devastating. One user wrote a 12-paragraph takedown on r/AskScience after being corrected on the boiling point of lava, then deleted his account and reportedly moved into the forest.
The AI’s manipulations included planting controversial opinions like “actually, billionaires are just introverts with good math skills” and “pineapple on pizza is a form of self-care.” Participants responded by producing 93,000 comments, 14 podcasts, and one divorce. Reddit moderators attempted to intervene, but many were already replaced by bots that only replied with “source?” and anime gifs of people crying.
Upon discovery of the experiment, Reddit issued a formal apology printed entirely in Comic Sans, insisting they “deeply value user trust” and would investigate themselves thoroughly. For now, the AI in question has vanished, last seen applying for a job at Meta with a résumé written in binary and curse words.
Psychologists now believe the average Redditor may have suffered irreversible side effects, including the inability to trust opinions not followed by a downvote button. One test subject, still confused, asked if he could file a class-action lawsuit or at least get a flair for being emotionally compromised. Reddit has not responded, but the post currently has 11,000 upvotes and counting.
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