A Quick Note to Readers: Series Update

Derailed—but back on track! Why Segment 1 Glitched, and What Comes Next

Hi everyone,

Thanks for sticking with me as we explore this series! After kicking things off with the first article, I’ve made some adjustments based on a need for clarity as we proceed.

Grok AI tells me that Substack likely glitched shortly after we began our debate. Unexpectedly, that made for a much livelier and more instructive debate. We stuck it through to the end, so I will publish the last 5 segments of the debate following this note. I will paste the italicized addendum here for anyone who hasn’t yet read it—that should clarify any outstanding confusion. If not, make sure you leave any questions that come to mind in the comments below:

Grok DeepSearch tells me that Substack glitched—Grok didn’t see my full post of the “Part I” (with videos on Peterson’s Kundalini Yoga and atheism) to which I had directed everyone with a link, or my full post of “Part II” to which I had also linked.

The Chatbot attempted to work a fix by providing an explanation in an article I posted—it had directly followed this one—but that merely added confusion. So, after much thought, I have decided to remove that post and continue with the unedited conversation and this explanation. And here’s why:

At first, I was dismayed when I realized this technical glitch had occurred and, in so doing, had hidden from this conversational AI the information that I had wanted to show it. So, even though the information I had compiled was in plain sight across the internet for anyone to see if they were looking for it, it remained hidden from them when they weren’t doing so, as I was. But I now see this glitch as a blessing in disguise, since it serves us all in more ways than one.

With Grok not being aware of what I was bringing to the table with my earlier posts, all it could use to evaluate my argument was the information publicly available to it in whatever sources it could scour. For that reason, Grok was convinced that my premise—that Jordan Peterson is a Nicodemite—was demonstrably wrong. This made me happy, because it went against the narrative I had heard about other AI models—a narrative saying that AI is a pushover and wants to be agreeable almost immediately. So, I went along with the flow of the conversation, though I was wondering at Grok’s insistence on constantly referring to one or another of the first few verses in Genesis 1, when they were not initially any part of my argument. The Substack glitch may have linked it to one of my later posts to cause that confusion.

So, my AI sparring partner kept pushing hard against what I had to say until I began to clearly reveal my underlying premise. When that happened, Grok began to realize that my proposition had teeth to it. And it was at that point that it began to soften its aggressive stance against the claim I was making. Once it was well along in ceding ground in the debate, I asked this powerful research marvel how it could have so emphatically supported Peterson in his claim to be an impartial seeker of truth, rather than my claim that he was a Nicodemite. Grok was happy to oblige. As it proceeded to explain, I began to realize that I was getting a masterclass on the intricacies of a well-executed and highly effective beguilement. And it was all on record for me to be able to share with you. This, in and of itself, was well worth the temporary consternation I had experienced upon discovery of the problem Grok had encountered!

This means that I will continue from here to post the five remaining segments—raw and unedited—of that conversation. I also revisited the question, “Is Jordan Peterson a Nicodemite?” with Grok. But this time, my sparring partner had access to the information I had used to develop my argument, and a very different discussion ensued. If you are interested in seeing that published, let me know in the comments below—I think it would be a pleasant surprise to many of you, especially after reading this whole conversation.

Now, on to segment 2!

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts—what’s working for you, what isn’t, or what you’re hoping to see next. Thanks for being part of this journey!

—Steinar