I’ve been recommending the use of consistent lies about name and date of birth to online systems since Eternal September began. Very few sites and systems justify accurate PII, and even for those I often still maintain dual accounts/profiles as necessary.

My first name can be shortened, and I go by either. When I first signed up to Claude, I thought we were entering the world of artificial “intelligence”, so I told it my name was “<long form> or <short form>”.

Well, it hardcodes that field rather than running it through the model, but I’ve kept it so I get an evil chuckle to myself (or perhaps pyrrhic reassurance) at its lack of smarts and a reminder that it’s still a somewhat subservient product experience that isn’t all that smart after all.