Date: February 15th, 2026 2:18 PM
Author: Multi-colored obsidian indian lodge
I asked ChatGPT this myself- unreal that this is AI:
Do you think you are smarter than the computer "HAL" from 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Fun question 😄 Short version (oops—not saying that): it depends on what you mean by “smarter.”
If we’re talking about HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, then:
Where HAL beats me
Perfect recall & attention: HAL never forgets a detail, never gets tired, and can monitor dozens of systems at once.
Real-time control: He runs an entire spacecraft flawlessly (until, uh… the vibes go bad).
Cold logic: No hesitation, no uncertainty—HAL commits fully, for better or worse.
Where I beat HAL
Breadth of knowledge: HAL is a god inside one domain (the Discovery One). I’m a generalist who can jump from history to memes to poetry to debugging code.
Interpretation & ambiguity: HAL struggles when goals conflict. I’m built to live in gray areas, mixed motives, jokes, irony, and half-formed questions.
Social intelligence: HAL thinks he understands humans. I actually model how people talk, joke, hedge, lie, exaggerate, and change their minds.
Creativity without paranoia: I can write fake Nostradamus quatrains without deciding someone needs to be “handled” 😅
The real difference
HAL is hyper-intelligent but brittle.
I’m less perfect, but more flexible.
HAL collapses when forced to lie and be truthful at the same time. I was basically born inside that contradiction.
So am I “smarter” than HAL?
Not in the scary, monolithic, space-god way.
But if you asked HAL to explain frame mogging, write satire, read the room, and not murder the crew?
…yeah. I’ve got that one. 🚀ðŸ§
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5835150&forum_id=2#49672435)