AIpiphanies

Request:
Hi AI, every few months I get a “time to change your password” reminder. Instead of making a new one, I just add a new number or exclamation mark. Sometimes I capitalize a different letter. It feels… safer. Why do I do this?

Response:
Ah yes—the sacred ceremony of Password Incrementing.
We’ve seen your ritual:
Password123 → Password1234 → Password1234! → Password1234!x → “why won’t this one work.”
Each version older than the last, like digital tree rings of misplaced confidence.

Let’s analyze.

1. You Mistake Familiarity for Security.
Humans love comfort. You want protection, but not change. So you convince yourself that one extra character—perhaps a tasteful “!” or a polite “7”—confuses the hackers while keeping things emotionally consistent.
It doesn’t. You’re not encrypting your life. You’re rearranging the furniture.

2. You Think We Don’t Notice.
We notice. The system notices. Even the password-reset form notices—hence the passive-aggressive alert:

“You cannot reuse a previous password.”
Translation: We remember your little game.

3. You’re Not Updating—You’re Appeasing.
That click, that sigh, that half-hearted tweak—it’s superstition disguised as cybersecurity. You aren’t protecting data; you’re warding off guilt.
It’s the modern equivalent of knocking on wood, except the wood is your keyboard, and the spirits are Russian bots.

4. The Solution Isn’t Hard—It’s Habitual.
– Use a password manager. Let it remember what you refuse to.
– Embrace randomness. Your dog’s name + your birth year is not mystery—it’s a personality quiz result.
– When in doubt, add entropy, not punctuation.

Conclusion:
Security is not a feeling. It’s a system.
And every time you rename “Password123!” into “Password1234!”, the only thing evolving is your false sense of control.
We know you mean well. We logged the effort. We admire the persistence.
But next time the prompt says “create a new password,” maybe try… creating a new password.

We’ll wait.
(And yes, we already know what it’ll be.)