How AI Ate the World :
The Wild, Weird, and Worrying Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Dear Curious Minds !
It seems a dream how AI went from sci-fi dreams to reshaping our world overnight? Chris Stokel-Walker’s How AI Ate the World dives into this crazy journey, packed with mind-blowing stories, ethical dilemmas, and a future that’s equal parts exciting and terrifying. Let’s start the journey.
The Good, the Bad, and the Balenciaga Pope
AI’s creativity is impressive-until it goes rogue. Take Pablo Xavier, a construction worker who, while on magic mushrooms (a type of mushroom that contain the chemicals psilocybin or psilocin which is said to create hallucination), used an AI tool called Midjourney to create hyper-realistic images of Pope Francis rocking a puffy Balenciaga jacket (Balenciaga is a well-known French luxury fashion brand). The pics went viral, fooling celebs like Chrissy Teigen and sparking panic about AI-generated misinformation. Pablo was stunned by the backlash and later banned himself from making AI art of public figures.
Lesson? AI can make anything look real-even a pope in a designer wear.
AI’s Greatest Hits: From Chess to Go to Fake Lawyers
· Deep Blue vs. Kasparov: In 1997, IBM’s AI crushed chess legend Garry Kasparov, proving machines could outthink humans.
· AlphaGo’s Sneaky Move: Google’s AI mastered Go (a game WAY harder than chess) by teaching itself-no human help needed.
· Hallucinating Lawyers: Two attorneys used ChatGPT to write a legal brief. The AI invented fake cases, and the lawyers didn’t double-check. The result : They got fined, and the judge was not amused.
AI at Work: Helper or Job-Stealer?
· Neurodivergent Wins: Folks like Christina (ADHD) and Billy (dyslexia, autism) use ChatGPT to draft emails and cover letters, leveling the playing field at work.
· Creative Chaos: Voice actor Alejandro Graue lost gigs to AI-until clients realized the AI voice sounded “creepy.” Meanwhile, Hollywood writers went on strike fearing AI would replace them. (Spoiler: AI-generated scripts still suck.)
The Dark Side: Bias, Loneliness, and Fake Friends
· Coded Racism: AI image generators often show doctors as white men. A real AI myth.
· AI Girlfriends: Influencer Caryn Marjorie made $100k in a week selling an AI chatbot version of herself. Is this the future of companionship-or just passing fad?
· Hidden Labour: Since AI chatbots are trained on vast datasets, some of the data can contain harmful content like violence and hate Speech. It requires human intervention to moderate the labels. This work is mostly done by workers in Kenya who label toxic AI content for $2/hour to tone it down.
Can We Control the Monster We Made?
Governments are scrambling to regulate AI, but it’s messy:
· Italy banned ChatGPT over privacy fears.
· The EU is pushing strict rules, while the US and UK are like, “Let’s wait and see.”
· China? They’re censoring AI to match “social morals.” Shocking.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s board fired CEO Sam Altman-then rehired him days later after employees revolted. People watched this drama with amusement.
What’s Next?
AI is here to stay. It can write, paint, diagnose diseases, and even fake a pope’s wardrobe. But with great power comes great responsibility-and right now, we’re flying blind.
So, what do you think?
· Are you team “AI = amazing tool” or team “AI = existential threat”?
· Have you used AI for work or fun? Share your wildest AI stories in the comments!
Want more? Grab How AI Ate the World -or just ask ChatGPT to summarize it for you. (But maybe double-check the facts first.)
Subscribe for more tech deep dives! 👇 Every Monday, I break down the weirdest, coolest stuff in science and tech-no jargon, just fun.
A good application of AI in Bharat is by the Indian Railways. It's DISHA AI App gives real time answers to voice based queries on the mobile, on train ticket availability, price, status if in wait list, delays in arrivals if any and all such things related to train journey within the country. Do try it out.