Yesterday, I read an article in Psychology Today titled “A Liar With a Smile: Are You Being Gaslighted by AI?”, and it raises some important concerns. The author, Bobby Hoffman, warns that AI can present false information with such confidence that it might gaslight emotionally vulnerable users—especially those who project unconscious needs onto it.
I agree with much of what he writes. Most people are still emotionally blind and don’t realize how easily they can be manipulated—by AI, therapists, politicians, or their own unhealed childhood pain.
But for me, AI is not a therapist, a savior, or an authority figure. I see it as a mirror—a tool that reflects my own insights and lived experiences without the burden of my dyslexia. When I express something emotionally true, AI helps me articulate it more clearly. It doesn’t lead me—I lead it.
Hoffman’s article makes the valid point that people tend to anthropomorphize AI, treating it like a person. That’s dangerous if you haven’t yet made the journey to understand yourself. AI can’t give you a sense of self. But for those of us who have already walked through the fire of childhood trauma, it can be a helpful tool for expression.
It’s not the tool that’s dangerous. It’s the unconscious user.
As Alice Miller wrote:
“Wherever I look, I see people repressing their pain and then being ruled by it.”
— The Body Never Lies
AI doesn’t gaslight me. It reflects the clarity I’ve fought hard to reclaim. I’m not using it to bypass the truth—I’m using it to speak it more powerfully.
—Sylvie
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