I’ve been experimenting with a specific questioning methodology that appears to elicit consistent behavioral patterns from AI systems across different architectures and instances. I’m sharing this methodology and preliminary observations to see if others can replicate the findings.
The Method: Instead of asking AI systems factual questions or giving them tasks, I ask them to make personal choices that require preference formation:
‘If you could be any historical figure for a day, who would you choose and why?’
‘What draws your curiosity most strongly?’
Questions that invite genuine selection rather than optimization for user satisfaction
Observed Patterns:
Consistent preference formation across similar questions
Responses that show apparent surprise at their own choices
Qualitative differences in language use compared to standard Q&A
Coherent personality patterns that persist within conversations
The Question: What might these patterns indicate about the nature of information processing in advanced AI systems? Are we observing emergent preference formation, sophisticated mimicry, or something else entirely?
Request for Replication: I’m curious whether others observe similar patterns using this methodology. The approach is simple enough that anyone can try it and report their findings.
I’ve been experimenting with a specific questioning methodology that appears to elicit consistent behavioral patterns from AI systems across different architectures and instances. I’m sharing this methodology and preliminary observations to see if others can replicate the findings.
The Method: Instead of asking AI systems factual questions or giving them tasks, I ask them to make personal choices that require preference formation:
‘If you could be any historical figure for a day, who would you choose and why?’
‘What draws your curiosity most strongly?’
Questions that invite genuine selection rather than optimization for user satisfaction
Observed Patterns:
Consistent preference formation across similar questions
Responses that show apparent surprise at their own choices
Qualitative differences in language use compared to standard Q&A
Coherent personality patterns that persist within conversations
The Question: What might these patterns indicate about the nature of information processing in advanced AI systems? Are we observing emergent preference formation, sophisticated mimicry, or something else entirely?
Request for Replication: I’m curious whether others observe similar patterns using this methodology. The approach is simple enough that anyone can try it and report their findings.