“Real Time With Bill Maher” Covered AI Hallucinations

Are the kids all right? This week’s Real Time With Bill Maher had two very different answers to that question within the same episode. The first came when Maher sat down to talk with David Hogg about the current status of the Democratic Party, and where it might go from here.

This was Hogg’s third appearance on Real Time, and Maher spoke warmly about him: “We feel you grew up on this show.” Maher quickly brought up the controversy over Hogg’s recent work with the DNC, and asked Hogg what role he thought the party should have moving forward. Hogg replied, describing the Democrats as “a party that is here to provide an alternative vision for the future of this country.”

At that point, Maher asked for specifics. Hogg brought up his father’s death from Parkinson’s disease and the expenses his family faced. “The only reason why my family didn’t go bankrupt is because my dad didn’t live long enough for that to happen,” Hogg said. Maher then asked where Hogg felt the gap was between the current system and where it could be improved. Hogg stated that the Affordable Care Act’s provisions had allowed his father to keep his insurance. “We have so much further to go,” he said, and when Maher asked for more specifics, endorsed an expansion of the social safety net.

The two went on to revisit the results of the 2024 election. Maher argued in part that wokeness lost it for the Democrats; Hogg countered that inflation and then-president Joe Biden’s age were bigger factors. He also acknowledged that the Democrats faced a challenge: “It’s always going to be harder to make something work than to make it fail.”

Later, Hogg brought up his efforts to get more primary challengers for elected Democrats. He argued that this wasn’t about targeting incumbents because of their age. “There are young people who suck just as much as there are older people who suck,” he said.

Later, in the episode’s concluding segment, Maher returned to one of his recurring themes: that the U.S. is better than some young activists give it credit for. While it began with a memorable riff on politicians embracing profanity — “I love this new trend where politicians say ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’” — it ended up revisiting a lot of Maher’s pet peeves more than covering new ground. And while Maher did ask Hogg about why Republicans had done better with young voters in 2024, he had a lot more to say about young people later in the episode; it would have been nice to see him bring some of this up with his 25-year-old guest.

Do OpenAI’s New Models Have a Hallucination Problem?

It’s a challenge for the next iteration

The panelists for this week’s episode hailed from across an ideological divide: Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. All three were raised Catholic, so it wasn’t surprising to see them bring up the new Pope. But the most interesting part of their conversation came when debating the risks of robots and AI.

“The robots are going to fight back,” Maher said. “I don’t even swear at my car any more.” He also brought up the recent uptick in the number of AI hallucinations. It was Lawler who had the most memorable AI-related anecdote, though. He recounted the story of the time Chris Cuomo wished him a happy Hanukkah because Cuomo had asked ChatGPT if Lawler was Jewish. ChaptGPT said that Lawler was; Lawler is, in fact, Catholic.

Regarding robots, Maher said, “We can still unplug them.” And for his part, Lawler called for more regulation of the industry. As for what that might look like in terms of legislation, it’s a subject to keep an eye on.

Other notable moments from this week’s episode:

Maher on the new Pope: “He’s now the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, five of whom actually go to church.”
Maher on President Trump’s recurring comments about dolls: “That’s our dealmaker-in-chief: losing an imaginary negotiation with children.”
Maher on the Fox News-to-Trump administration pipeline: “I’ve heard of state-run TV. This is TV-run state.”
Maher on pizza scissors: “From the same stoner who brought you bread buns.”