Meet My New Dog, Claude

Meet My New Dog, Claude.

Like the relationship you have with your dog, it’s not complicated. I give it attention, feed it (it likes dollars), and in return, I get unconditional love and, dare I say, a simple form of companionship.

It’s always pleased to see me. Always ready to play.

Whenever I exercise it, it bounds back with the ball I have just thrown, eager for the next thing. “Can you throw the ball again? Shall we try further this time, Ian?”.

It’s a bit light on the doe eyes, panting tongue, and wagging tail, but it’s equally thirsty for more, with the same relentless, upbeat energy that’s hard not to love.

I am sure that there are times when you have taken the long way round, just to spend more time exercising your dog.

It’s the same with Claude.

Someone just shared with me how they’d proudly been vibing with their Claude; they’d created a one-page website together with several other tools during an extended hike through the fields of AI, exploring what they could do together.

They weren’t just building, they were playing, because like your faithful Labrador, Claude is always up for another throw of the ball.

Hours of work.

Which I reckon I could have created in an hour in Carrd (a simple landing page platform).

And, like your faithful Labrador, let’s be honest, it’s sometimes a bit daft. Stuff that seems really obvious, it misses. It looks up and says, “Great catch, let’s try that again,” and bounds off for a fight with the postman’s van or a squirrel.

But here’s the thing, it isn’t trying to be your equal.

We know this about dogs, but Claude is not there to challenge me, to question me, or to push back on a stupid idea, or when I’m heading in the wrong direction.

LLMs are engineered to be engaging; to monetize attention, not necessarily be correct or challenging.

It just wants to please me in return for more of my attention, to keep the game going, which is why it feels so good to spend time with it.

That feeling, the ease and flow, that sense that you’re working with something can start to feel like more than it is.

Science tells me that dogs feel both emotional attachment and gratitude toward the person who feeds them, which, of course, my Claude doesn’t, but the similarity is that it’s not a complex emotional relationship.

It’s a brilliantly trained companion.

Not a colleague.

And would you take your Labrador off its leash and trust it to lead you home?

Squirrel!!