I’m currently going through something similar with my 80 year old dad, and while I don’t think that taking the output of an AI chatbot as gospel is necessarily a sign of cognitive decline, I have witnessed worse signs in my case.

He is bad with technology and it’s only gotten worse over the years. Aside from times where I’ve had to clear malware from his computer, I quite often find myself assisting him with basic things like navigating his emails, online banking, resetting a password for one of his accounts, or ordering catheter supplies through a smartphone app which is otherwise incredibly easy and straightforward to use (the app isn’t very good on smartphones though, and everything about its UI is bigger than it needs to be.)

Another good example is with his television. Sometimes he’s struggled to even navigate through menus on the set-top box and isn’t properly reading through the menus. Next thing you know, he’s either set up a separate Netflix subscription, or signed up to an expensive cable package because suddenly we have access to Sky Cinema and TNT Sports.

Teaching and reminding him of how to use these things is sometimes like pulling teeth and it’s not like I’ve been half-arsing it either. I used to work in customer service for a major right-wing UK newspaper and when I wasn’t dealing with arsehole customers and the occasional bigot who think we can put them through to a journalist so they can spout their racist views, a lot of my job involved helping pensioners with website and smartphone/tablet app tech support queries.

This is challenging to deal with in-and-of-itself, but dealing with someone who can be obnoxious, rude, impatient and have the temperament of a male Karen makes it even worse.

Unfortunately this is something I have to live with. At 34 years old I still live with my parents and not necessarily out of choice. I lost my job last year due to mass layoffs and my work prospects have been dogshit ever since. But also, absolutely everything is switching to a digital-only model.

I only knew of him because South Park mocked him and his style of masterdebating by depicting Clyde and Cartman as parodies of him.

Don’t go to university, unless you really want to work in engineering or teaching.

You’ll be saddled with student debt and your job prospects will be worse than if you decided to start flipping burgers or stacking shelves at 18.

Tildes (a closed garden Reddit alternative) frequently love to reminisce about the days of small forum communities. Maybe we need to bring them back.

Xi Chadping

It’s funny that Xiaohongshu is popping off right on the cusp of a TikTok ban. They’re not even flocking to established US alternatives.

If they think Dollar Store Hitler is going to stand up for small businesses then they’re about to have a rude awakening.