Third party thinkers: ChatGPT user expectation vs reality

Contrast between expected and real appearance of people using ChatGPT

This two-panel contrast meme jokes about people's self-perception when using ChatGPT versus reality. The top panel depicts a silhouetted figure manipulating a sleek, futuristic holographic control interface with glowing digital displays, paired with the text 'WHAT PEOPLE THINK THEY LOOK LIKE TALKING TO CHATGPT', representing the common ego-centric idea that users are performing advanced, high-stakes technical work when interacting with the AI. The bottom panel features a confused, disheveled pirate character from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sitting on a beach next to a severed preserved head, looking bewildered as he rests his hand on his chin, with the text 'WHAT THEY ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE', poking fun at the fact that most users are actually confused, indecisive, or asking trivial/silly questions when using ChatGPT, far from the sophisticated hacker-like figure they imagine themselves to be.

This meme was shared on the Reddit Meme subreddit under the title 'Third party thinkers'. It is an original meme composition by creator ChamrsDeluxe, whose watermark appears on the bottom left of the top half of the image. It remixes two separate pre-existing media stills: the top is a stock sci-fi hologram interface scene, and the bottom is a comedic scene from the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It gained traction in tech and general meme communities for its relatable commentary on AI tool usage.