4-self.org

self

When people say "self" they usually mean their own identity, personality, or body. It is the word a person uses to talk about who they are.

What a model may hear

the current object object-oriented programming: treat the word as a reference to the instance that owns the running method, so it may write code that accesses or mutates that instance's fields
the Self language computer science and programming language history: assume the user wants to discuss or write code in the Self programming language, a prototype-based system from the 1980s
self-attention mechanism machine learning and transformers: connect the word to the self-attention layer in neural networks, where each token looks at every other token in the same sequence
self-supervised learning machine learning training paradigms: assume the user means a training method where labels are derived from the input data itself, without human annotation
self-signed certificate network security and TLS/SSL: interpret the word as part of a discussion about certificates not signed by a trusted certificate authority

“I need to find my self”

Meant: I am trying to understand my identity or purpose in life

May be taken as: The model may generate code for object introspection or self-referential functions

Say instead: “I am trying to understand my identity and purpose in life”

“Help me improve my self”

Meant: I want to work on personal growth or self-improvement

May be taken as: The model may discuss machine learning self-improvement loops or recursive self-modification

Say instead: “Help me with personal growth and becoming a better person”

“My self is broken”

Meant: I feel emotionally damaged or mentally unwell

May be taken as: The model may debug Python class methods or discuss broken self-references in code

Say instead: “I feel emotionally damaged and mentally unwell”

“Tell me about self”

Meant: Explain the concept of personal identity or consciousness

May be taken as: The model may explain the Self programming language or object-oriented self references

Say instead: “Explain the concept of personal identity and human consciousness”

If you mean your own identity, say 'myself as a person' or 'my identity' to avoid programming references
When discussing psychology, add words like 'ego,' 'identity,' or 'consciousness' to steer the model
If you want programming help with 'self,' say which language you are using
Avoid saying 'self' alone when you mean emotional state; say 'how I feel' or 'my mental state'
If you want to discuss the Self language, say 'the Self programming language' explicitly