Blog

Don't outsource your opinion

7/27/2026

Opinions are the touchstones of a person's character. As we grow, we naturally form them based on what we experience. Annoying as they can sometimes be, they are quintessentially human.

At a societal level, opinions aren't valued highly, however. And we subconsciously understand why. Not only are opinions often not based in facts;

An opinion about style does not make you stylish.

An opinion about taste does not make you tasteful.

An opinion about what someone should do, does not make you wise.

When do we value opinions? When they are expressed by people who embody their opinion and back it up by their personal knowledge, beliefs and experience.

Opinions by themselves are worth nothing. An opinion doesn't prove, grant or solve anything. In fact, if you're echoing what you've heard, read or seen, it's not even your opinion. Opinions (only) have value as the human characteristics that, combined, form our identities.

This is why it makes me so genuinely sad when I see someone outsource their opinion. Yes, this is about AI/LLM's, but the phenomenon is not new. We've had columns, news anchors and pundits for all of the modern age — and people echoing their opinions.

The LLM is interesting here, because it tailors so specifically to you, the user. But this is window dressing. An LLM will recommend you things based on statistical likelihood. They are sometimes called Stochastic Parrots for this reason. If it has context about you, it may approximate your preferences fairly well. It will even compliment you on them.

But none of that is about your opinion. Opinions are built from experience. To have an opinion that is your own, you have to test other people's opinions against fact, and your own beliefs and experience. Experimenting, making mistakes and reflecting is the gruntwork needed to form opinions that are yours. If you haven't reasoned or felt through an opinion you express, you will not know how to form the next one. You will lose confidence in your own voice. You may not even know what is your opinion and what's someone else's.

An opinion cannot be right, it can only be yours. So make your opinions yours.