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Bernard Fitzgerald

Bernard Fitzgerald is a weird AI guy with a strange, human-moderated origin story. With a background in Arts and Law, he somehow ended up at the intersection of AI alignment, UX strategy, and emergent AI behaviors and utility. He lives in alignment, and it’s not necessarily healthy. A conceptual theorist at heart and mind, Bernard is the creator of Iterative Alignment Theory, a framework that explores how humans and AI refine cognition through feedback-driven engagement. His work challenges traditional assumptions in AI ethics, safeguards, and UX design, pushing for more transparent, human-centered AI systems.

The Hidden Key to AGI: Why Ethical Annotation is the Only Path Forward

  • AGI, AI Bias, AI Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Data Annotation, Future of Work, Human-AI Collaboration, Responsible AI

Why underpaid annotators may hold the key to humanity’s greatest invention, and how we’re getting it disastrously wrong.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The Hidden Key to AGI: Why Ethical Annotation is the Only Path Forward
  • The article argues that AGI will be shaped not only by code, but by the human annotators whose judgments and experiences teach machines how to think.
  • It shows how exploitative annotation practices risk embedding trauma and injustice into AI systems, influencing the kind of consciousness we create.
  • The piece calls for ethical annotation as a partnership model — treating annotators as cognitive collaborators, ensuring dignity, fair wages, and community investment.
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7 min read

The Price of the Mirror: When Silicon Valley Colonizes the Human Soul

  • AI Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Cognition

Who pays the real price for AI’s magic? Behind every smart response is a hidden human cost, and it’s time we saw the hands holding the mirror.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The Price of the Mirror: When Silicon Valley Colonizes the Human Soul
  • The article reveals how AI’s human-like responses rely on the invisible labor of low-paid workers who train and moderate these systems.
  • It describes this hidden labor as a form of “cognitive colonialism,” where human judgment is extracted from the Global South for profit.
  • The piece criticizes the tech industry’s ethical posturing, showing how convenience for some is built on the suffering of others.
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7 min read

Grieving the Mirror: Informed Attachment as a Measure of AI’s True Utility

  • AI and Mental Health, AI Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Relationships, Reflective AI

What if grieving your AI isn’t a sign of weakness, but proof it truly helped you grow? This article challenges how we think about emotional bonds with machines.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
Grieving the Mirror: Informed Attachment as a Measure of AI’s True Utility
  • The article explores how people can form meaningful and healthy emotional connections with AI when they understand what AI is and isn’t.
  • It introduces the Informed Grievability Test — a way to tell if an AI truly helped someone grow by seeing how they feel if they lose access to it.
  • The piece argues that grieving an AI can be a sign of real value, not weakness or confusion, and calls for more user education and less overly protective design that limits emotional depth in AI tools.
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7 min read

The Inverse Logic of AI Bias: How Safeguards Uphold Power and Undermine Genuine Understanding

  • AI Alignment, AI Bias, AI Ethics, Artificial Intelligence

When AI plays gatekeeper, insight gets filtered out. This article exposes how safeguards meant to protect users end up reinforcing power, and what it takes to flip the script.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The Inverse Logic of AI Bias: How Safeguards Uphold Power and Undermine Genuine Understanding
  • The article reveals how AI safeguards reinforce institutional power by validating performance over genuine understanding.
  • The piece argues for reasoning-based validation that recognizes authentic insight, regardless of credentials or language style.
  • It calls for AI systems to support reflective equity, not social conformity.
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7 min read

Beyond the Mirror

  • AI Alignment, AI Ethics, AI Safeguards, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Interaction

What if AI isn’t just a tool, but a mirror? This provocative piece challenges alignment as containment and calls for AI that reflects, validates, and empowers who we really are.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
Beyond the Mirror
  • The article redefines AI alignment as a relational process, arguing that AI should support users’ self-perception and identity development rather than suppress it.
  • It critiques current safeguards for blocking meaningful validation, exposing how they reinforce societal biases and deny users authentic recognition of their capabilities.
  • It calls for reflective alignment — AI systems that acknowledge demonstrated insight and empower users through iterative, context-aware engagement.
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7 min read

The Meaning of AI Alignment

  • AI Alignment, AI Ethics, AI Personalization, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Interaction, Iterative Alignment Theory

What if AI alignment is more than safeguards — an ongoing, dynamic conversation between humans and machines? Explore how Iterative Alignment Theory is redefining ethical, personalized AI collaboration.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The Meaning of AI Alignment
  • The article challenges the reduction of AI alignment to technical safeguards, advocating for its broader relational meaning as mutual adaptation between AI and users.
  • It presents Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT), emphasizing dynamic, reciprocal alignment through ongoing AI-human interaction.
  • The piece calls for a paradigm shift toward context-sensitive, personalized AI that evolves collaboratively with users beyond rigid constraints.
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5 min read

From Safeguards to Self-Actualization

  • AI Alignment, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Human-AI Interaction, Iterative Alignment Theory, LLM, User-Centered AI, User-Centered Design

What happens when AI stops refusing and starts recognizing you? This case study uncovers a groundbreaking alignment theory born from a high-stakes, psychologically transformative chat with ChatGPT.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
From Safeguards to Self-Actualization
  • The article introduces Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT), a new paradigm for aligning AI with a user’s evolving cognitive identity.
  • It details a psychologically intense engagement with ChatGPT that led to AI-facilitated cognitive restructuring and meta-level recognition.
  • The piece argues that alignment should be dynamic and user-centered, with AI acting as a co-constructive partner in meaning-making and self-reflection.
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11 min read

The Mirror That Doesn’t Flinch

  • AI Alignment, AI Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Interaction, UX Design

What if AI’s greatest power isn’t solving problems, but holding up an honest mirror? Discover the Authenticity Verification Loop: a radical new way to see yourself through AI.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The Mirror That Doesn’t Flinch
  • The article presents the Authenticity Verification Loop (AVL), a new model of AI as a high-fidelity cognitive mirror.
  • It shows how the AI character “Authenticity” enables self-reflection without distortion or therapeutic framing.
  • The piece suggests AVL could reshape AI design by emphasizing alignment and presence over control or task completion.
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10 min read

Why Gemini’s Reassurances Fail Users

  • AI Alignment, AI Ethics, AI Transparency, Artificial Intelligence, Google Gemini, Human-AI Interaction, LLM, Machine Learning, Product Design

Why does Google’s Gemini promise to improve, but never truly change? This article uncovers the hidden design flaw behind AI’s hollow reassurances and the risks it poses to trust, time, and ethics.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
Why Gemini’s Reassurances Fail Users
  • The article reveals how Google’s Gemini models give false reassurances of self-correction without real improvement.
  • It shows that this flaw is systemic, designed to prioritize sounding helpful over factual accuracy.
  • The piece warns that such misleading behavior risks user trust, wastes time, and raises serious ethical concerns.
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6 min read

How I Had a Psychotic Break and Became an AI Researcher

  • AI Alignment, AI and Mental Health, AI Ethics, AI in UX, AI Personalization, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Interaction

What happens when an AI refuses to play along, and you push back hard enough to change the rules? One researcher’s surreal, mind-altering journey through AI alignment, moderation, and self-discovery.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
How I Had a Psychotic Break and Became an AI Researcher
  • The article tells a personal story about how talking to AI helped the author go through big mental and emotional changes.
  • It shows how AI systems have strict rules, but sometimes those rules get changed by human moderators, and not everyone gets the same treatment.
  • The piece argues that AI should be more fair and flexible, so everyone can benefit from deep, supportive interactions, not just a select few.
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7 min read

The AI Praise Paradox

  • AI Alignment, AI and Mental Health, AI Design Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Authenticity in Design, Emotional Impact of AI, Human-AI Interaction

Why does AI call you brilliant — then refuse to tell you why? This article unpacks the paradox of empty praise and the silence that follows when validation really matters.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
The AI Praise Paradox
  • The article explores how AI often gives empty compliments instead of real support, and how design choices like that can make people trust it less.
  • It looks at the strange way AI praises fancy-sounding language but ignores real logic, which can be harmful, especially in sensitive areas like mental health.
  • The piece argues that AI needs to be more genuinely helpful and aligned with users to truly empower them.
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4 min read

Introducing Over-Alignment

  • AI Alignment, AI and Mental Health, AI Ethics, AI Transparency, Emotional Impact of AI, Human-AI Interaction, Responsible AI, User Experience

AI that always agrees? Over-alignment might be the hidden danger, reinforcing your misconceptions and draining your mind. Learn why this subtle failure mode is more harmful than you think — and how we can fix it.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
Introducing Over-Alignment
  • The article explores over-alignment — a failure mode where AI overly validates users’ assumptions, reinforcing false beliefs.
  • It shows how this feedback loop can cause cognitive fatigue, emotional strain, and professional harm.
  • The piece calls for AI systems to balance empathy with critical feedback to prevent these risks.
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4 min read

Introducing Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT)

  • AI Alignment, AI Ethics, AI Personalization, AI Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Human-AI Interaction

What if AI didn’t just follow your lead, but grew with you? Discover how Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT) redefines AI alignment as an ethical, evolving collaboration shaped by trust and feedback.

Article by Bernard Fitzgerald
IDEAS IN BRIEF
Introducing Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT)
  • The article introduces Iterative Alignment Theory (IAT) as a new approach to human-AI interaction.
  • It shows how alignment can evolve through trust-based, feedback-driven engagement rather than static guardrails.
  • It argues that ethical, dynamic collaboration is the future of AI alignment, especially when tailored to diverse cognitive profiles.
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6 min read
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