Until recently, I thought that the AI LLMs were just sort of fancy, souped-up search engines. Google on steroids. But then they started getting simple things wrong. And they seemed to understand that that our April 1 stories were just sarcasm. There seemed to be more to them than fancy search engines.
This MIT article explains what is going on with the LLMs.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/12/1129782/ai-large-language-models-biology-alien-autopsy/
What do you folks think of this?
Like many, I have turned to AI for circuit ideas. And like many, I have been surprised by how many of these ideas just don't work. I have found relatively simple circuits that don't work when built in the real world, and don't work when built in LTSpice. I have already described how AI failed when I asked it a simple question about how many 330 ohm resistors to put in parallel to get 50 ohms. Mike WU2D had found that a lot of AI provided circuits just don't work. (Go to the 10 minute point in his video. )
I was wondering why this is so. So... I asked AI! For those who are sure that their AI is smarter than my AI, let me specify: I just wrote the question into the Google search box and looked at the "AI Overview" in the response.
Here is what AI said:
AI-recommended circuits often fail in the real world due to gaps between simulation and reality, such as a lack of real-world data (noise, rare conditions), AI's inability to grasp complex physical nuances like heat dissipation or component aging, and poor integration with physical prototyping, leading to brittle designs that don't account for manufacturing tolerances or environmental stresses, despite being mathematically sound.
Key Reasons for Failure:
Data Limitations (Garbage-In, Garbage-Out): AI relies heavily on training data; if it's incomplete (missing extreme temperatures, noises, aging effects) or biased, the AI generates designs that work in simulation but not in messy real-world conditions.
Please let us know if you spot any errors, or if we have inadvertently missed anyone. Don't worry about being late to the game -- the challenge continues. All of the info is still available.
So this morning I asked this of AI:
How should I make a 50 ohm dummy load capable of handling 5 watts from 330 ohm 1/4 watt resistors?'
Here was the answer:
I have been a fan for many years. His comments on the vile influence of the algorithm and AI are right on target.
Google recently informed me that the SolderSmoke blog has "Low Value Content." Well, consider the source!
Three cheers for Veritasium!
On December 1st 1924, the 20kW Alexanderson Alternator with the call sign "SAQ" was put into commercial operation with telegram traffic from Sweden to the United States. 101 years later, the transmitter is the only remaining electro-mechanical transmitter from this era and is still in running condition. On Christmas Eve morning, Wednesday December 24th 2025, the transmitter is scheduled* to spread the traditional Christmas message to the whole World, on 17.2 kHz CW.
You can listen to the CW from Ciprian's setup above. I listened to it carefully and clearly heard the "KW ALTERNATOR" words at around the 3:30 mark in Ciprian's video. I wondered if this was in fact the SAQ Alternator (but then again, who else would be on 17.2 kHz on Christmas Eve?). I looked at the video from Sweden (below) at around the 49.37 mark we see the operator send "200 KW ALTERNATOR." Through Ciprian's video, I copied "KW ALTERNATOR." So Ciprian's operation was a success. Congratulations Ciprian!
Merry Christmas to all!
