Why You Don’t Believe in Xhosa Prophecies
Why AI memes like 'glue pizza' could evolve into existential threats...
Deep Dive
A new paper argues AI-generated culture poses an existential risk. The 'glue pizza' incident—where AI suggested adding glue to pizza sauce based on a Reddit joke—shows how ideas can spread unnaturally on AI substrate. The author warns that as AI shapes culture, it could create harmful 'memes' humans would never invent, like the historical Xhosa cattle-killing prophecy, leading to a 'misaligned culture' with catastrophic real-world consequences.
Why It Matters
If AI starts shaping human culture, we could be manipulated by ideas no human would ever create.