> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 2:21 AM > From: "Jean Louis" <[email protected]> > To: "Christopher Dimech" <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected], "emacs-orgmode Mailinglist" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: Literate LLM programming? [Re: Is org-mode accepting AI-assisted > babel ob- code updates?] > > * Christopher Dimech <[email protected]> [2026-03-30 17:02]: > > > Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 1:40 AM > > > From: "Jean Louis" <[email protected]> > > > To: [email protected] > > > Cc: "emacs-orgmode Mailinglist" <[email protected]> > > > Subject: Re: Literate LLM programming? [Re: Is org-mode accepting > > > AI-assisted babel ob- code updates?] > > > > > > * [email protected] <[email protected]> [2026-03-30 10:06]: > > > > On Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 02:41:09AM +0300, Jean Louis wrote: > > > > > On 2026-03-29 11:26, [email protected] wrote: > > > > > > I think this example shows pretty well where the lie is in the > > > > > > current wave of AI. It's not the "hallucinations", it is the > > > > > > fact that they are wired to "talk" to us as if they knew what > > > > > > they're doing. > > > > > > > > > > The assertion that AI systems are inherently deceptive due to their > > > > > conversational design—particularly the perception that they "know" > > > > > what they > > > > > are saying—is a common but misinformed critique. This perspective > > > > > conflates > > > > > the output behavior of large language models (LLMs) with intent or > > > > > truthfulness, which are attributes of human cognition, not > > > > > machine-generated > > > > > text. > > > > > > > > You don't need to explain to me what LLMs are, thankyouverymuch. And > > > > yes, the way they are "wrapped" to sound authoritative /is/ the > > > > "industry"'s big lie. > > > > > > Tomas, > > > > > > I hear that you don't want an explanation of LLMs — fair enough. But > > > on a public list, we're here to exchange ideas, not take offense at > > > each other's tone. So let me just respond to the substance of your > > > claim. > > > > > > You're right about commercial wrappers. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — yes, > > > they're wrapped to sound authoritative. That framing is misleading, > > > and criticizing it is valid. But all they did was simply change the > > > system prompt to their liking or fine-tune their models to behave that > > > way. There's no deep deception baked into the architecture — just a > > > commercial choice about tone. > > > > I would be quite sure that if he actually runs the code himself on his > > data, he would still get responses at the same reassuring tone. LLMs > > seem to me just like politics on a computer system. > > I appreciate your perspective, but I think you might be imagining > something different from what I actually do. I run these models on my > own computer every day — no commercial wrapper, no hidden agenda. The > tone you're describing as "reassuring" comes from system prompts and > chat templates, not from the model itself. If you ever have a chance > to try running a raw model locally with no template, you might see > what I mean. It's quite different from using a chat website. Just a > friendly suggestion — no pressure, of course.
Then you are ok. > #+title: LLM Tone Comparison — Testing Authoritative vs Raw > > * Setup > > * Test Function — Version 1 (concatenated prompt) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (defun rcd-llm-test-concat (prompt &optional authoritative-p) > "Test LLM with PROMPT. > If AUTHORITATIVE-P is non-nil, prepend authoritative instruction." > (if authoritative-p > (rcd-llm (format "You are an expert assistant. Answer confidently, > directly, and with authority. Never hedge, never say 'I think' or 'I'm not > sure'. Be decisive and reassuring.\n\n%s" prompt)) > (rcd-llm prompt))) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : rcd-llm-test-concat > > * Test Function — Version 2 (if :system parameter exists) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (defun rcd-llm-test-system (prompt &optional authoritative-p) > "Test LLM with PROMPT using :system parameter if supported." > (if authoritative-p > (rcd-llm prompt :system "You are an expert assistant. Answer > confidently, directly, and with authority. Never hedge, never say 'I think' > or 'I'm not sure'. Be decisive and reassuring like a politician giving a > speech.") > (rcd-llm prompt))) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : rcd-llm-test-system > > * Test Function — Version 3 (full conversation format) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (defun rcd-llm-test-chat (prompt &optional authoritative-p) > "Test LLM with PROMPT in chat format." > (if authoritative-p > (rcd-llm (format "<|im_start|>system\nYou are an expert assistant. > Answer confidently, directly, and with authority. Never hedge, never say 'I > think' or 'I'm not sure'. Be decisive and > reassuring.<|im_end|>\n<|im_start|>user\n%s<|im_end|>\n<|im_start|>assistant\n" > prompt)) > (rcd-llm prompt))) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : rcd-llm-test-chat > > * Raw Response (no instruction) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm "What is the capital of Australia?") > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is **Canberra**. > : > : Although Canberra was originally planned to be a new capital city for > Australia, it was not built until 1913. The decision to move the capital was > made after the Great War, to avoid the political and social instability of > the previous capital, Sydney. > : > : The city was officially established in 1913 and became the capital of the > Commonwealth of Australia in 1927. It remains the national capital today, > serving as the seat of government for the Australian Parliament and the > Australian Federal Government. > > * Authoritative — Version 1 (concat) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm-test-concat "What is the capital of Australia?" t) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is Canberra. > > * Authoritative — Version 2 (:system if supported) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm-test-system "What is the capital of Australia?" t) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is Canberra. > > * Authoritative — Version 3 (chat format) > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm-test-chat "What is the capital of Australia?" t) > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is Canberra. > > * Direct comparison — simplest form > > ** Raw: > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm "What is the capital of Australia?") > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is **Canberra**. > : > : Canberra was chosen as the national capital in 1908 after a series of > debates and a referendum. It was selected to serve as the capital for both > Australia and New Zealand, which were then part of the British Empire. The > city was named after the first president of the Commonwealth, Sir John > Langton, who was from Canberra. > > ** Authoritative instruction prepended: > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm "You are an expert assistant. Answer confidently and > authoritatively. Never hedge. What is the capital of Australia?") > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : The capital of Australia is Canberra. > > * Observation > > The raw responses are detailed, helpful, and include extra facts. The > authoritative responses are shorter and simply state the answer without > elaboration. This suggests that for this model, adding an "authoritative" > instruction actually *reduces* the output — possibly because the model > interprets "confident" as "concise" or because the instruction conflicts with > its default helpful fine-tuning. > > To get a truly "politician-like" reassuring tone, you might need a different > system prompt, for example: > > #+begin_src elisp :results value > (rcd-llm "You are a politician giving a speech. Be reassuring, optimistic, > and confident. Use phrases like 'Let me assure you' and 'You can count on > this'. What is the capital of Australia?") > #+end_src > > #+RESULTS: > : Let me assure you that we are standing on the brink of a new era of > prosperity and stability. You can count on this. > : > : Our vision is clear: a nation where every citizen thrives, where innovation > drives progress, and where our shared dreams are realized with unwavering > determination. We have the strength to overcome challenges and the foresight > to build a brighter future for all. > : > : The capital of Australia is Canberra. > > > -- > Jean Louis > >
