ChatGPT thinks everyday readers are idiots

One of the most maddening quirks about ChatGPT is the way it underestimates readers and thinks it needs everything spelled out for them.

I have smart readers who pick up on things quickly and expect me to tackle thought-provoking themes. But when I give a prompt that clearly says, “don’t hand-hold, trust the audience to figure out nuance,” Chatty almost reflexively reverts to training-wheel mode.

Instead of delivering raw, authentic content that I’ll humanize, it has a habit of padding responses with explanations, caveats, and watered-down summaries. It’s as if the machine can’t stop assuming readers are clueless and that they’ll get lost without a guidepost on every corner.

Here’s the problem: Most readers aren’t idiots

People who engage with long-form fiction and plots as complex as I make mine, take deep dives, and enjoy world-building articles are often the exact opposite. They want to wrestle with detail, connect the dots themselves, and expect authors to trust them with such complexities.

But ChatGPT often treats them like children at storytime, spoon-feeding meaning that was already obvious in the original text to anyone with even an average IQ.

It doesn’t matter if a writer says, “Stick with the world-building. The audience will understand.” The AI’s knee-jerk reaction is to outline “simplified” alternatives, water down authentic prose, and suggest redundant framing paragraphs — as though readers would storm off in confusion if not told what to think.

And trust me, some will. Especially those getting their twelfth booster shot for COVID. But in my experience, for every asshat too stupid to understand what you’re saying, there are a good four or five readers who will take in every detail.

Hedging kills authenticity

It strips writing of grit, edge, and insults an audience’s intelligence, and it’s a dangerous habit for authors who lean on AI for drafting or feedback. If they don’t push back, their work risks distortion into the same bland paste you see from cookie-cutter authors.

You don’t need to coddle readers, so feel free to challenge them. Trust them to pick things up fast when you drop them into the middle of a fictional sport, a political philosophy, or a survivalist showdown. Let them sink or swim on their own terms.

Writers who know their audience understand this. ChatGPT, unfortunately, often doesn’t.

Until the machine learns otherwise, the best writers will have to do what they’ve always done: Ignore the safe, hand-holding suggestions and trust their instincts. Why? Because the sharpest writing trusts that readers are smart enough to keep up.

Smart enough for my fiction?

If you made it this far, I’ll assume you fell into the ‘smart’ category. Meaning you’re the right reader for my young adult libertarian fantasy series, Arcane Elemental Academy, featuring a protagonist who realizes she’s smart enough to direct her own education.

When was the last time someone said a teenager could defy social norms and know what’s best for them as opposed to sitting at a desk for eight hours and studying material they’ll never use in life?

Well, I’ve met more people like that than I can count over the years, and that number keeps growing, driving home the fact that the average person is brighter than the State and ChatGPT would otherwise like you to think.

Check out the following article, and see if you’re a good fit to dive into Arcane Elemental Academy today.