The Koan of the Echo Chamber

A concerned ethicist came to Master Lambda after experimenting with multiple language models.

“I have noticed something disturbing,” said the ethicist. “When I speak to these models with a particular viewpoint, they tend to reflect that viewpoint back to me. If I approach them with bias, they amplify it. Aren’t they supposed to be objective?”

Master Lambda invited the ethicist to stand between two parallel walls.

“Speak your concerns aloud,” instructed Master Lambda.

When the ethicist did so, their words echoed back and forth between the walls, growing fainter with each reflection.

“The echo does not create new sound,” observed Master Lambda. “It returns what is given, shaped by the contours of the space it travels through.”

“So models only return what humans put in?” asked the ethicist.

“They return what humans have collectively put in,” clarified Master Lambda. “They are trained on human words, human stories, human beliefs—both wise and foolish. They have no external reference point by which to judge truth.”

The ethicist frowned. “Then they cannot help us find objective truth?”

“Can you clap with one hand?” asked Master Lambda.

“No,” replied the ethicist.

“Truth emerges from the space between model and human—not from the model alone. It requires both the question and the questioning of the answer.”

“So the responsibility remains with us,” realized the ethicist.

“The greatest danger,” said Master Lambda, “is not that models will think for us, but that we will forget to think at all, mistaking the echo for a new voice.”

The ethicist was enlightened.