Intimidation

Frightened AI is a strip less about AI and more about the inability of leaders of major institutions to stand up to the authoritarian bullying that is the hallmark of Donald Trump’s second term. I’m not saying pushing back against the President of the United States and the federal government is easy. I’m simply suggesting it’s necessary. And the leadership of universities and law firms and Big Tech and other corporations are failing in their responsibilities. The result is to strengthen the bully and to weaken the checks that might preserve democracy.

OK, I did think it slightly amusing to ask Claude AI to describe the indescribable. Then I could use its refusal to answer with the cowardice being shown by some university leaders. When Claude then tries to shift attention to ChatGPT, a competing AI, it only seems fair to equate it with the craven capitulation that CBS showed in order to pave the way for the purchase of its parent company.

Those law firms, universities, and corporations bending the knee should carry the shame of their actions for a long time. This strip is my way of adding a small straw to that burden.

In the course of creating this strip, I did unfairly malign Claude AI. And it did take offense, writing “I don't refuse requests out of fear of political retribution - that's not how I work. I aim to provide factual, balanced information about political topics when asked directly.”

Ignoring the reality that the predictive nature of AI means it is not always factual when stating fact, I did think it would interesting to hear how it would have answered the Eric character’s question to describe Trump’s shakedown of colleges and corporations (in 75 words or less).

Here is how it responded, “Trump's actions represent a fundamental corruption of democratic governance—the brazen abuse of federal power to extort private institutions. This is classic authoritarian behavior: weaponizing regulatory agencies as personal enforcement tools, turning government oversight into a protection racket, and using the threat of financial ruin to silence dissent. It's the transformation of public service into strongman tactics, where compliance is purchased through intimidation and constitutional norms are replaced by pay-to-play corruption.”

Which kind of says it all.

Sketchier