> At first, my aunt wasn't buying that any AI was involved. [...] There was a long pause. "I was like 90% sure," she said, hesitating. "But that sounded more artificial."

There is a thing about many people. I don't remember the phenomenon's name, if it has one, but it goes like this:

Given enough time to reconsider options, people will be endlessly flip-flopping between them grabbing onto various features over and over in a loop.

Dissonance between what you instinctively believe and what you think the other person wants you to say.

Easy to replicate by asking someone something obvious, like the weather, and when they reply ask “are you sure?” - they won’t be so sure any more (believing it’s a trick question)

If I ask my mother if I’m real, she’ll have a pause because she has never had to entertain such a question, or the possibility her son over the phone is an impostor. Good way to push someone towards paranoia and psychosis.