13h ago

Google DeepMind philosopher Henry Shevlin argues AI-generated images of empty indoor waterparks act as a psychological 'cognitive exploit

The images trigger tension between childhood nostalgia and isolation.

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Original post
thebes#1499@VOOOOOOGELOPLalwen (writing poems about G-d)Lalwen (writing poems about G-d)@HOLOTOPIAN

it's a kind of nostalgia for an experience that would likely have been painful, being alone as a child. the colors and playful atmosphere does the heavy lifting as to the nostalgia. the dark corners and lack of windows signal that we are deep inside the beast

8:43 PM · May 24, 2026 View on X
REPLYHerbie Bradley#1022Herbie Bradley@HERBIEBRADLEY

@dioscuri vaguely reminiscent of the shape store in this way

Henry ShevlinHenry Shevlin@dioscuri

Seriously though, why is there something borderline psychoactive about this specific set of motifs? Why pools? Why no windows? Why the pastel colours? It feels suspiciously like an arbitrary code execution exploit on the human mind.

12:47 AM · May 25, 2026 · 1.8M Views
5:41 AM · May 25, 2026 · 157 Views
REPLYbilal#1402bilal@BILALTWOVEC

@dioscuri

Henry ShevlinHenry Shevlin@dioscuri

Seriously though, why is there something borderline psychoactive about this specific set of motifs? Why pools? Why no windows? Why the pastel colours? It feels suspiciously like an arbitrary code execution exploit on the human mind.

12:47 AM · May 25, 2026 · 1.8M Views
10:44 AM · May 25, 2026 · 27 Views