For the first time, speech has been decoupled from consequence. We now live alongside AI systems that converse knowledgeably and persuasively'deploying claims about the world, explanations, advice, encouragement, apologies, and promises'while bearing no vulnerability for what they say. Millions of people already rely on chatbots powered by large language models, and have integrated these synthetic interlocutors into their personal and professional lives. An LLM's words shape our beliefs, decisions, and actions, yet no speaker stands behind them. This dynamic is already familiar in everyday use. A chatbot gets something wrong. When corrected, it apologizes and changes its answer. When corrected again, it apologizes again'sometimes reversing its position entirely. What unsettles users is not just that the system lacks beliefs but that it keeps apologizing as if it had any. The words sound responsible, yet they are empty. This interaction exposes the conditions that make it possible to...
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