Another Thursday morning, another tech piece claiming we just need to give AI more time to think. Like that’s gonna solve everything. I’m nursing my third cup of coffee, staring at this article about how letting AI systems “think longer” is supposedly the next big breakthrough.
You know who else thought longer thinking would solve everything? My ex-wife’s therapist. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out for either of them.
Here’s the deal: some bright minds in the AI world figured out that if you let these language models run longer - give them more “processing time” as they diplomatically put it - they sometimes come up with better answers. Revolutionary stuff, right? About as revolutionary as discovering that bourbon tastes better than paint thinner.
The whole thing reminds me of that guy at the end of the bar who needs “just five more minutes” to figure out the meaning of life. We’ve all been there, buddy. Sometimes more thinking just means more confusion.
Let me break this down while my coffee gets cold: These AI companies are basically throwing more computing power at their problems, letting their systems run longer, and calling it innovation. It’s like trying to fix a bad first draft by staring at it longer. Trust me, I’ve tried that approach. The words don’t magically rearrange themselves into Hemingway.
The funny part? Sometimes this extra “thinking time” actually makes things worse. The AI starts second-guessing itself, like a drunk trying to remember where they parked their car. The more it thinks, the further it gets from the right answer.
There’s this example in the article where they asked the AI about square roots. First, it gives the right answer. Then they tell it to think harder, and suddenly it’s spouting nonsense like a freshman philosophy major after their first existentialism class.
The real kicker? All this extra processing time isn’t free. Someone’s paying for those servers, that electricity, that computing power. But hey, as long as it’s not coming out of your pocket, who cares, right? Just like that “free” drink your buddy offers you at the bar - someone’s picking up the tab, and it ain’t Santa Claus.
These companies are throwing processing power at their AI like it’s confetti at a wedding. And just like a wedding, everyone’s pretending this quick fix will lead to long-term happiness. Spoiler alert: the divorce rate’s still 50%.
The whole thing reminds me of that old programming joke: “I thought I had a problem, so I used AI. Now I have two problems, and one of them is overthinking.”
Look, I’m not saying giving AI more time to process is always bad. Sometimes it works. But treating it like some magical solution is about as smart as thinking one more whiskey will help you make better life decisions. Trust me on that one.
The truth is, we’re just patching over the real problems. These AI systems need fundamental improvements, not just more time to run in circles. It’s like giving a broken clock more time to tell the right time - ain’t gonna happen, chief.
But hey, what do I know? I’m just a tech blogger who’s seen enough “revolutionary breakthroughs” to fill a cemetery of dead startups. At least I’m honest about my limitations - unlike these AI systems that get more confused the longer they think.
Time to wrap this up. My coffee’s gone cold, and unlike these AI systems, I know when to stop overthinking things.
Stay real, stay human, Chinaski
P.S. If anyone needs me, I’ll be at O’Malley’s, not giving anything extra time to think.
Source: How Giving AI More ‘Thinking Time’ Lands Into An Overthinking Trap