> Do you honestly still think that anything is ever genuinely "trending" on Twitter? On YouTube? On Reddit?

No, I never put much stock in those aspects of social media because I've always found those curation features to be somewhat limiting. This feels entirely different because I'm beginning to question if I'm even talking to a human right now. Sure, companies have done all kinds of things to look more legitimate on the outside, but this is very different. This upends the fundamental assumption that you are communicating with another human when you have a direct conversation online.

For what it's worth, I'm a human posting under my real name. I was born, and I will die, and I'm here with you now. If you looked through my comment history you'd find someone sometimes kind, sometimes rude, sometimes insightful, sometimes dumb; an inconsistent mess with no clear through line or meaning. I collect funny jokes in my HN favorite comments [1]. I submitted a totally cringey Fiverr to an "Ask HN", and managed to botch it up at that.

Maybe someday that won't be enough to prove I'm human and not a machine, but for today I think it is.

[1] Here's the best one https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32230005

You joke but there has been conspiracy theorizing about that apparently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INMpsFfhaVk

Thing is, I still believe behind your comment is a real person. In a year or two? Not so much.