Try opening it in the browser. Go to the address bar and put in file:///C:/path/to/file (if you’re on Windows, which I’m assuming you are). Firefox should be smart enough to recognize it as a pdf (if it indeed is) and open it, with or without extension. If it won’t open it, you’ll probably get an error message, which could shed more light on the problem.

Soul mates aren’t found, but made.

I’ve seen that some anti-AI folks get very irrationally angry when you don’t share their hate towards AI. It often degenerates into personal attacks, as in “how could you be so stupid as to not share my views?”, which translates into the knee-jerk reactions you mention. There’s no searching for nuance.

For the articulated response, I agree with you though. I’ll copy a comment from another thread that I think shines a really valuable light on the issue:

Most arguments people make against AI are in my opinion actually arguments against capitalism. Honestly, I agree with all of them, too. Ecological impact? A result of the extractive logic of capitalism. Stagnant wages, unemployment, and economic dismay for regular working people? Gains from AI being extracted by the wealthy elite. The fear shouldn’t be in the technology itself, but in the system that puts profit at all costs over people.Data theft? Data should be a public good where authors are guaranteed a dignified life (decoupled from the sale of their labor).Enshittification, AI overview being shoved down all our throats? Tactics used to maximize profits tricking us into believing AI products are useful.