I was struck in the same way but I think it makes sense in terms of a thinking partner.

It is still ultimately Terence that is steering things.

What is crazy to me is how few of other people's conversations like this I have actually read.

Tao is really great for this because the anti-AI crowd can't really chime in and take the thread in a pointless direction. It is hard to think of another human alive who can carry the weight of unassailable authority in the same way.