I can believe you, but, having read your previous comments in this thread, I'm still not seeing the distinction between ask and request.

An ask is the subject/object of a request.

If you were to request a cookie, you would say "Can I have a cookie?". The entire question is the request, where "cookie" is the ask.

If that were the case, to 'make an ask' would in this case mean to make the cookie, which it doesn't.

It seems like 'ask' is a verb, not a noun - in which case it is synonymous with 'request'.

People seem to be arguing that it's a 'more specific' form of 'request', but I can't really see how you could make a nonspecific request.

Edit: Ha! I even confused myself... 'Ask' here is indeed a noun - like 'request' when used as a noun - but it still seems to refer to be entire request, not just the object (which is the point I was trying to make).

Yeah, it does seem a bit weird to "make an ask" if the ask is the object.

As to the "more specific" bit, I think people mean it has a slightly different meaning than a request.

"Request" is a pretty broad term. An ask is focused, specific, planned. It's something more like "negotiating point" or "initial position" or "requirement" or "demand".