AI Is Very Confident for Something That’s Often Wrong
AI is like that bloke at the pub who answers every question with absolute confidence, despite being wrong 40 percent of the time. It doesn’t hesitate. It doesn’t say “I’m not sure.” It just commits. Hard. And when it’s wrong, it’s spectacularly wrong, usually while sounding like it just cited three peer-reviewed journals and a TED Talk.
You know the one. Loud voice. Strong opinions. Has “done his research”. No actual consequences.
Unfortunately, people are now letting that bloke run their websites.
The Confidence Is the Feature (and Also the Problem)
AI doesn’t umm or ahh. It doesn’t pause thoughtfully. It doesn’t say “look, that depends”. It just delivers answers with the confidence of someone who’s never once had to clean up the mess afterwards.
Which is impressive. And also deeply alarming.
Because humans are stupid creatures. We hear confidence and think competence. We see clean sentences and assume wisdom. If it sounds smart, it must be smart. Right?
That’s how you end up pasting mystery code into a live WordPress site at 2am.
AI Has Never Broken a Website and It Shows
AI has never watched a checkout stop working five minutes before a promotion goes live. It has never had a client ring asking why their site says “Error establishing a database connection” instead of, you know, selling things.
AI has never stared at a white screen wondering which of the seven “harmless” changes it just suggested actually detonated the site.
AI doesn’t feel fear. AI doesn’t feel shame. AI doesn’t feel the cold sweat of realising you probably should’ve made a backup.
Everything Sounds Easy When You’re Not Responsible
AI advice usually starts with phrases like:
“Simply disable…”
“Just edit…”
“All you need to do is…”
Which is exactly how every disaster starts.
Nothing on a live website has ever been “simple”. WordPress is not IKEA furniture. You don’t just tighten one screw and call it a day.
WordPress: Friendly on the Outside, Unhinged on the Inside
WordPress looks approachable. Buttons. Toggles. Plugins with smiling icons.
Underneath, it’s a loose collection of plugins, themes, databases, cron jobs, server limits, and old decisions made in 2017 that nobody remembers but everything still depends on.
AI treats this like a neat little system. WordPress is more like a Jenga tower that’s already missing three blocks.
“It Works on My Test Site” Is Not Comforting
AI advice assumes your site exists in a magical land where nothing else is happening. No traffic. No plugins. No weird hosting rules. No consequences.
Your actual website lives in the real world, where:
– One plugin hates another plugin
– Updates happen when you least expect them
– Caching breaks things quietly
– And nothing fails politely
AI doesn’t know any of this. It just vibes.
Mostly Right Is Still Wrong Enough
People love saying “AI is right most of the time”.
Cool. Would you accept a mechanic who only fucks up four out of ten repairs?
Because when AI is wrong, it’s not wrong about trivia. It’s wrong about things like:
– Security
– Performance
– SEO
– Whether your site still exists
Where AI Actually Belongs
AI is great for ideas. Explaining concepts. Drafting content. Helping you understand what something is supposed to do.
AI should not be trusted as the final decision-maker on a live website that pays your bills.
Think of it as the enthusiastic intern. Helpful. Keen. Occasionally unhinged. Never left unsupervised.
The Pub Bloke Test
Before following AI advice, ask yourself one simple question.
“If this bloke at the pub told me to do this, would I?”
If the answer is no, maybe don’t let the digital version touch your server.
The Bottom Line
AI isn’t evil. It’s just very confident for something that’s often wrong.
And confidence without consequences is how websites end up broken, businesses lose money, and someone eventually has to clean up the mess.
That someone is never AI.
