My name is Larry King. AI or no AI, Googling me is fruitless.
I have a name like “Larry King” too, but all I have to do to get AI to focus on me is say, “Tell me about ‘Larry King’ who lives on Hawai’i Island” or give it some other clue unique to me.
I tried that. (not Hawaii, my city) I got the famous one, the locally prominent one, and two more kinda famous ones.
When I put in my name it gives an extensive career history, where I went to college, etc. Could have been pulled entirely from Linked In.
When I put in “Spice Weasel” it gives me Futurama, and apparently a kind of hot sauce.
Fine, I guess.
You do seem kinda hot & saucy sometimes. 
We can add Google AI to the long list of hilarious errors that happen due to me being a very white guy who has a very Black name.
Kinda scary. Kinda not.
For background, my first name is ordinary, my last is fairly rare, and I have just about zero voluntary presence on the internet under that name. Other than public records, there ought to be little to find about me.
In the main Google homepage there’s now a [AI mode] button inside the search text input box. I clicked that first and it came back with a new screen that was titled “Hi [my real first name], what’s on your mind?” Of course I’m logged into Google, so there’s no mystery where it got that from. But it was a disconcerting moment, given what I was about to ask it.
Given a prompt of “tell me about [firstname lastname]” it came back that there are several sorta prominent folks with that name and proceeds to list off what’re pocket bios lifted from (probably) personal or professional websites or LinkedIn. None of those people are me. I’ve done Google “vanity searches” before AI was a thing and knew of most of these folks from years ago.
Given a prompt of “tell me about [firstname middlename lastname]” it came back with me. It knew my birthdate and hence age, and said I live in [city]. Which was true up until 2022 but not since. Then it continued with “While he shares a name with several public figures, he is distinct from others who often appear in professional searches:” which then listed the same roster of big(ger) names as before. And invited several follow-up questions about those other folks w my name.
I suspect it got that city from the county property records of the condo I used to own there.
One prompt invited me to ask about my professional affiliations. So I did. It came back that I was associated with a now-dead investment LLC. Which isn’t true. It made that association on the strength of an attorney with the same last name, a different first name, and a different middle name from me. But same first and middle initials. Hint there Google: “James David Smith” and “John Desmond Smith” are probably two different people. And the attorney who represents a corporation is not the same thing or same person as whoever owns the corporation. And thus does slop get created.
It seems my efforts to be invisible on the internet are working fairly well.
So then I asked it “tell me about LSLGuy on the Straight Dope”. It wrote a pretty good bio of my posting & community standing. It says I’m held in high esteem. So there, neener!
And then it said [my real name] was almost certainly the person behind the LSLGuy persona. And offered some details of how bits of my real info and LSLGuy’s info lined up. :eek: 
I hope I didn’t just teach it that.
It goes on to list two prominent SDMB members: Cecil Adams and LSLGuy. And labels me both a “Charter Member” and a “Perfect Master.”
I hope Unca Cec doesn’t get worried I’m gunning for his spot.
Using that prompt, it didn’t tell me your real name, but it told me this
He is considered a “pillar” of the community, frequently participating in “Ask Me Anything” style threads related to his career as a pilot to educate other members.
You do?
(And it had links to Aviation Stack Exchange, where questions were being answered with quotes from you here. Did you know you were famous?)
I’m a frequent poster in the great ongoing aviation thread here. It’s certainly not titled an “Ask me Anything”, and it’s not really intended as an “ask anyone anything”, but you can sorta see it from there.
I have never posted anything under any name at stack exchange, PPRuNE or any other aviation website.
ETA just after DG’s post below went in: But I see somebody there posted my words and a link to an SDMB post of mine. Evidently I’m now citable. Woo Hoo!
No, it is answers directly quoting your SDMB comments. Google AI gave links to two of them.
I asked it about the name Czarcasm in Portland. I am not female, that is not my name, Orycon 30 did not have a co-chair in Hospitality etc.
I’m beginning to think this is all fake(uhh, yeah beck get with the program).
It said Beckdawrek is “legendary” on the Dope and loads of flowery sentimental stuff about my presence here.
I was happy for about 2 minutes. Then I realized it’s shining me on.
I wonder if you would get the same results if you typed your question from a different computer?
I did it on my phone, my tablet and my laptop. They were all similar.
Sounded pat and scripted. Which I suppose it is.
All of which you own or use very frequently, so they are trying to please you. What about typing it on someone else’s machine?
With a different IP address.
I wonder that too.
Here it is from my IP address:
Beckdawrek
is a prominent and prolific member of the Straight Dope Message Board (SDMB), known for her humorous, often chaotic stories about rural life, her family, and her medical experiences.
- Storytelling Style: She is celebrated for a distinctive narrative voice, frequently posting “shaggy dog” style stories about misadventures on her farm. Common themes include encounters with wildlife, farm animal mishaps, and eccentric family dynamics.
- Family & Nicknames: Her posts frequently feature a recurring “cast of characters” using board-specific nicknames, most notably her children, often referred to as “Son-of-a-Beck” or her daughters.
- Location: She identifies as living in a rural area, often cited as Arkansas, which provides the backdrop for her tales of Southern life and local color.
- Health and Personal Updates: Beckdawrek often shares candid updates regarding her health and personal life, fostering a strong sense of community with other long-term “Dopers”.
- Community Role: On the Straight Dope Message Board, she is viewed as a “personality” member whose threads—typically found in the “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” (MPSIMS) or “Cafe Society” forums—garner high engagement due to her self-deprecating humor and engaging writing style.
Same thing I got.
I sound great don’t I?
Now ask it about my Bad, bad, bad threads. It goes on…
Even the worst poster I can think of gets a glowing write up. (I think everyone has good in them so it was hard to come up with a name)
I smell a fish.
(No not you @Gatopescado)