Open AI – BhaskART — Art, AI, and Random Thoughts by Bhaskar N

5 Power Moves. 5 Backfires. One Dangerous Word: Certainty.

Certainty is the most dangerous word in today’s world. In a single week in 2026, five powerful moves by governments, tech companies, and militaries all backfired, each one made with absolute conviction that it would succeed.

When certainty is not certain anymore

A few days ago the most powerful military in the world went to war with a country halfway across the globe. Their certainty almost convinced the world of a quick victory. They were ready to blow their Trump’et.

That move literally backfired. They now realise they are not dealing with an also-ran army.

In the same week, the world witnessed another fight of unequals. The Pentagon and the US government picked a fight with an AI company practically down the street and blacklisted them.

That move backfired too.

They did not expect the world to C’LAUD’e the very company they went against. Large numbers of people downloaded Claude almost as an act of solidarity. Reddit threads appeared explaining how to migrate from ChatGPT. Someone even drew chalk art outside Anthropic’s office in San Francisco saying “you give us courage.”

Then came Sam Altman. The genius. The man considered incapable of a wrong move.

He announced a deal with the Pentagon on the same day Anthropic was officially blacklisted. Seemed like a smart move. Fill the vacuum, grab the contract, look decisive.

That backfired too. So badly that he publicly admitted it looked “opportunistic and sloppy.” Not a great sentence to have to say out loud when your whole brand is built on being the good guy.

Meanwhile Claude spiked. From 42nd on the App Store to number one in a matter of days. Claude may not have been the choice of the US government, but it certainly became the choice of everyone else. Anthropic was beginning to bask in the glory. People felt happy propping the victim to the podium.

And guess what. That backfired too.

All those people who downloaded Claude in an act of righteous solidarity promptly crashed it. The servers slowed. The app hung. Social media filled with frustrated posts from users who had just made a principled stand for ethical AI and now could not get the thing to load.

Meanwhile, two of the most powerful and strategically sophisticated militaries in the world, with all their precision weapons and war games, almost managed to choke Iran. Almost.

But did they win? We will never know. What we do know is that this move backfired too.

What weapons could not achieve, geography did. A narrow strait became the convenient choke point to starve the world of its fuel. Powerful nations came to their knees.

In the space of one week, everyone who made a move they were completely sure about got it wrong.

Maybe the most dangerous thing in today’s world is not AI. It is not wars either.

It is certainty.

That is the irony of it all. Or should we say, AI’rany of it all.

Problems to a Solution with Google search

Ah, those frustrating Google answers.

My relationship with Google search engine was like Tom’s relationship with Jerry – Can’t be without it even if it drove me up the wall, every time. Its infinite wisdom notwithstanding, Google searches invariably resulted in creating Problems to a Solution, not the other way around.

Once stuck, I trusted Google to bail me out. Instead, it spun me in circles with cryptic wisdom and contradictions until I figured—better to keep the problem than search for the solution. Here are some pearls of wisdom Google generously offered as answers to my conundrum:

“Problems are the stepping-stones to success.”

An eternally optimistic quote but a convenient excuse to avoid giving me an actual solution. I was not in the mood for stepping-stones or success that day. I wanted a simple answer. Period.

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.”

This gem almost made me believe that the problem was my choice. I was not giving into Google’s mind games until I got a simple fix.

“If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good.”

Wow. A philosophical uppercut. Who said anything about worrying?

“I am not smart. I stay with problems longer.”

That was a cheap shot quoting Einstein. He spent his time breaking down teeny tiny atoms, so his problems probably were smaller. ‘Relatively’ speaking, at least!

“There is no problem so complicated that it cannot be run away from.”

Finally! If you can’t fix it, avoid it. A solution I could get behind.

Or so I thought.

“All too frequently, a problem evaded is a crisis invited.”

And just like that, Google ruined it. Evade or not to evade—that was now the question and it pushed me back to square one.

“Sometimes problems don’t require a solution to solve them; instead, they require maturity to outgrow them.”

Great. Just grow older and outgrow your problem. What an elegant answer.
Just as I was about to thank Google, it threw a Googly.

“That’s the real trouble with this world. Too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney

Tom & Jerry might one day make peace with each other, but Google and I? Never. Yet, much like those iconic cartoon rivals, I know I couldn’t live without it either.

And then came #OpenAI.