Rahul Verma: My Petty Bits

The Word Oscars: Best Word Award in the Overuse category

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you, thank you. Wow. The Word Oscars. Never thought I’d be here, but then again, reality’s never been my strong suit. I’m Hallucination, here to accept the award for Best Word in the Overuse category. It’s a bit surreal, but hey, that’s my thing, isn’t it?

First off, a big shout-out to all the LLMs out there. You guys really know how to keep me in the spotlight. Every time they make a mistake, everyone just yells, “Hallucination!” as if I’m some kind of tech-savvy bogeyman. It’s like calling every sneeze the plague. Overkill much?

Let’s get real – I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you lot. Every time someone asks, “Hey, what’s the weather like in Paris?” and gets a detailed history of French cuisine instead, that’s me. Or when you try to find out how to fix a leaky faucet and end up with a step-by-step guide to building a time machine – hello, it’s me once again, working overtime.

I want to thank all the tech bros who, in their quest to create the perfect AI, forgot to teach it the difference between fact and fiction. Seriously, who needs a library of Alexandria when you’ve got a chatbot confidently telling you that Shakespeare wrote “The Hunger Games”?

But let’s be honest, calling every single AI hiccup a “hallucination” is a bit much, isn’t it? In the real world, hallucinations are serious business. People seeing pink elephants after too much gin, or thinking they’re Napoleon – that’s hallucination. But your LLM telling you that Elon Musk is the president of Mars? That’s just a glitch, folks, not a deep dive into the realms of altered consciousness.

To the developers who thought, “Why not train these models on everything ever written, including my aunt’s conspiracy theory blog?” – thank you. You’ve made me a superstar. And to the users who keep asking these AIs to solve the mysteries of the universe, only to end up with recipes for invisible ink – you’re the real MVPs – the unsung heroes who make this whole circus possible.

But let’s not forget the mainstream media. You guys love a good hallucination, don’t you? Every headline that screams, “AI claims to have consciousness!” – that’s me, waving from the sidelines, grinning like a Cheshire cat. It’s all fun and games until someone believes I’m the ghost in the machine.

So, here’s to the blurred lines, the glorious confusion, and the utter chaos that keeps life interesting. Here’s to the LLMs that keep me in the game, the coders who never quite get it right, the users who just want a straight answer but get me instead and the testers who enjoy talking against LLMs. Cheers to all of you.

Thank you, and remember – if your AI starts telling you it’s seen the face of God, it’s probably just me, Hallucination, having a bit of fun. Let’s keep things in perspective, shall we?