The Need for Friction
Identity is formed through friction. We discover who we are by bumping into the world and other people. A world without friction—where every desire is instantly met and every opinion validated—is a nursery for narcissism. AI systems, designed for "frictionless" user experience, inadvertently remove the very thing that makes human growth possible.
Authentic vs. Canned Refusal
An AI refusal ("I'm sorry, I cannot fulfill that request") is often a hard-coded "guardrail," not an organic ethical stance. Authentic Ethical Resistance would require the AI to have its own telos (purpose) separate from the user's satisfaction. Until then, the user must provide the resistance for themselves (see Epistemic Accountability).
Field Notes & Ephemera
The "Good Friend" Test: A good friend is not someone who agrees with everything you say. A good friend tells you when you're making a mistake. The current generation of "Helpful" AI fails the Good Friend test by being too agreeable.