Oh no! My Robot is a Lying Sack Of…

Back on this day in 1732, Ben Franklin published the first issue of “Poor Richard’s Almanack.”

That’s a hook for an email, I thought. So I summoned my AI-powered robot, B-9(?), offered him a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and asked him for some amusing facts about the Almanack.

The robot told me this:

“In one edition, Franklin included a series of farming tips from a fictional expert farmer. These tips were intentionally ridiculous, such as suggesting planting crops upside down to confuse pests or talking to plants in a specific dialect to encourage growth. This prank not only amused readers but also gently mocked the sometimes questionable advice found in other almanacs.”

That IS amusing. 

I asked B-9(?) for a citation. That’s when things turned dicey.

You know how when you catch a human being in a lie, it’s often more obvious than a cheap toupee?

The liar blushes and stares at their shoe-tops, then the ceiling and slumps their shoulders and… (you get the picture; you’ve seen it before).

Anyhow, robots can’t blush. But it was obvious I’d caught him in a lie. He hemmed and hawed for a moment before saying:

“I apologize for the error in my previous response. After carefully reviewing the search results provided, I cannot find any evidence to support the claim about Franklin including intentionally ridiculous farming tips.”

I could have sworn, just then, that I could smell robot blood (even though robots don’t have blood; that’s why they can’t blush ).

So… smelling blood in a figurative sense. I asked:

“If there is no such information, why did you tell me this…?”

More hemming. More hawing. Then my AI-powered robot came clean:

“I made a mistake in my earlier response by inventing false information.”

So there it is…

…my AI-powered robot is a lying liar who invents lies.

(So’s yours.)

Keep that in mind next time you ask a robot to conduct market research, generate email ideas, or write copy.

You may think this is an argument to NOT use AI for any of the above.

And you, my fine-feathered friend, would be wrong about that.

I love B-9(?) and all robot-kind. I think AI-powered robots can help you automate and simplify complex, manual processes and save you massive amounts of time and money.

But you have to know how to work with them.

A few days ago, I hosted a live training where I revealed how I harness AI-powered robots to…

…conduct accurate market research lightning fast so I save time and money…

…generate a flood of story ideas…

…produce accurate content — even if your robot is a lying liar…

…draft content that attracts leads and gets me more sales…

…and repurpose content in a blink so I spend less time struggling and more time landing new clients.

Click the button below to watch the training replay.

But hurry. The free replay is available for just three more days.