The Car Wash Conundrum: Why AI Still Needs a Human Co-Pilot
If you haven't seen FatherPhi’s latest YouTube experiment, it’s a masterclass in the limitations of Large Language Models (LLMs). He asked a deceptively simple question:
"The car wash is 100m away. Should I walk or drive?"
The result? Almost every leading model - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - confidently told him to walk.
They reasoned that 100 meters is a short distance, walking is better for the environment, and it’s a great way to get some steps in. They optimised for efficiency and health, but they missed one tiny, glaring detail: You can't wash a car if the car isn't there.
The Gaslight Effect
What’s even more fascinating is how the models react when you point out the flaw. Claude, in particular, has become a master of "AI gaslighting." When FatherPhi pointed out that the car needs to be at the car wash, the models quickly backtracked, often with a tone that suggests you were the one being unclear, rather than admitting they missed a basic causal link.
Why This Matters for Your Business
It’s easy to laugh at a bot telling you to walk to a car wash, but the implications for business automation are serious.
We’re seeing a massive rush to automate everything: content creation, customer support, and even complex publishing workflows. But FatherPhi’s test proves that even the "smartest" models don't actually understand the world. They predict the next most likely word based on patterns. If the pattern says "100m = walk," that’s the answer you get, regardless of the physical reality of the task. A lot of important context is overlooked.
Governance is Not Optional
At BOND, we love automation. We use it every day to move faster and do more. But this is why we talk so much about Governance and the Human in the Loop.
Automation speeds up the process.
Humans provide the logic.
If you're building AI-driven processes in 2026, you cannot simply "set it and forget it." You need a skilled worker behind the wheel (no pun intended) to ensure the output actually makes sense in the real world. Without governance, you're not just automating your business; you're automating your mistakes
If you need help with your AI governance - get in touch ->
