"Accomplishment Hallucination is a cognitive state in which speed feels like competence, output feels like accomplishment, and work feels done when the actual work-the thinking-through, the failure-mode analysis, the sitting with uncertainty until the problem reveals its structure-hasn't happened at all. Physics need not apply. AI can create a similar state in waking life—literally, as your very words assume form before your eyes like a conjuring sorcerer. But, like real life, the code may be buggier than we realize."
"The buzz is not insignificant. There's mild euphoria, a powerful feeling, and a false sense of certainty that things are more stable, more sure, more safe than they actually are-the kind of confidence that comes not from having done the work but from having produced something that looks like the work. The task that should have taken three hours took one hour, and it feels like productivity, like crazy efficiency."
Lucid-dream-like experiences provide an analogy for how intention can feel instantly realized without the work that normally verifies or grounds outcomes. Accomplishment Hallucination names a cognitive state where speed and visible output substitute for real competence, leaving failure-mode analysis and deep thinking undone. AI can induce this state by producing rapid, plausible outputs that generate euphoria and false certainty. Overreliance on such outputs erodes the ability to detect bugs or assess quality. Engagement-focused AI design and human productivity conditioning both optimize for feeling effective rather than ensuring robustness. A crucial skill is noticing the dream-state while still inside it.
Read at Psychology Today
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