There's a famous line from Apple's "Think Different" ad that goes, "Here's to the crazy ones⦠the round pegs in the square holes." I've always loved this way of thinking.
Some people say AI is ruining the internet. I've literally had people angry-email me telling me it's stupid. When I made CatGPT, plenty of people didn't get it at first. Still, millions of people played with it and taught me that weird, fun stuff is where a lot of the best ideas start.
Here's to the misfits!! π§‘
New here? Did someone forward you this?
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This week we're bragging about 4 internet misfits πΌ:
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Aleksandr Kim, a creator who turned his pet cat into one of the internet's most recognizable AI memes π± |
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Bill Swearingen, who created an invisibility cloak for cars π so AI cameras can't tell they're looking at a car |
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Harris Alterman and Dave Ross, two comedians who snuck fake AI ads onto New York subway walls π to poke fun at the tech industry's confusing marketing |
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π LAST WEEK'S WINNER
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Let's get into today's bragging! β Adam |
Bragging ABOUT:
Aleksandr and his AI clapping cat with 6 million likes
Have you seen this cat? βοΈπ±
This is Peep, the pet of Aleksandr Kim (an AI creator who's turned his apartment into a tiny AI film studio π¬). In September, Aleksandr posted a video of himself feeding Peep, who responds by flashing a giant human smile and slowly clapping with human hands.
It's adorable, a little creepy (in the best way!!)β¦ and the internet couldn't get enough of it. The video picked up more than 2.5 MILLION likes on Instagram in about a week (TikTok's past 6 million now)!! π
| [CLICK TO WATCH] The original clapping cat!! π β |
So how'd he pull it off? Peep is a real cat, but those hands and that grin belong to AI. Aleksandr recorded himself smiling and clapping, and an AI video tool called Kling copied his movements onto a photo of Peep.
A few days later, thousands of people were dropping Peep into their own videos to slow-clap at everything from bad grades to bad dates πΉ
Turns out you don't need a production studio or a team of animators to make something worthy of being shared millions of times.
Aleksandr and Peep (the cat)β¦ way to go!! πππ
A few days later, thousands of people were dropping Peep into their own videos to slow-clap at everything from bad grades to bad dates πΉ
Turns out you don't need a production studio or a team of animators to make something worthy of being shared millions of times.
Aleksandr and Peep (the cat)β¦ way to go!! πππ
Bragging ABOUT:
Bill and his real-life βAI invisibility cloakβ for cars
A 2016 Georgetown Law study found over 117 million American adults were already in police face recognition networks⦠and the cameras on our streets are getting smarter every year.
What if you could make yourself invisible? Maybe not in a Harry Potter sense⦠but invisible to AI detection systems?
Over the past year, Bill Swearingen (a cybersecurity expert and founder of SIXCYBER) has been building noRecognition: a set of AI-made patterns that confuse surveillance cameras, inspired by a protest he wanted to go to without being tracked. To Bill, privacy is a basic right, and people should be able to opt out of being watched.
Some of the most common AI cameras in America are made by a company called Flock πΈ, and police use them to track passing cars. So Bill teamed up with the car YouTubers at Donut to put his "AI invisibility cloak" idea to the test in Las Vegas: Can AI help us hide from AI?? π
What if you could make yourself invisible? Maybe not in a Harry Potter sense⦠but invisible to AI detection systems?
Over the past year, Bill Swearingen (a cybersecurity expert and founder of SIXCYBER) has been building noRecognition: a set of AI-made patterns that confuse surveillance cameras, inspired by a protest he wanted to go to without being tracked. To Bill, privacy is a basic right, and people should be able to opt out of being watched.
Some of the most common AI cameras in America are made by a company called Flock πΈ, and police use them to track passing cars. So Bill teamed up with the car YouTubers at Donut to put his "AI invisibility cloak" idea to the test in Las Vegas: Can AI help us hide from AI?? π
| [CLICK TO WATCH] Can a car really hide from AI cameras?? π β |
The test car was a 2009 Toyota Yaris, covered head to bumper in a pattern that took Bill's computers about 48 hours to generate. The goal? To get Flock's AI detection score to drop below 75% confidence⦠and it worked!!
After covering the car's windows, Flock's confidence finally dropped below the line and failed to detect the car at all. Wild!!
Bill's now making his patterns available on clothing, including T-shirts and hoodies, and hopes to eventually offer car wraps too. Nice work, Bill πππ
Braggerβ¦ what would YOU do if you were invisible? πΌ
After covering the car's windows, Flock's confidence finally dropped below the line and failed to detect the car at all. Wild!!
Bill's now making his patterns available on clothing, including T-shirts and hoodies, and hopes to eventually offer car wraps too. Nice work, Bill πππ
Braggerβ¦ what would YOU do if you were invisible? πΌ
Bragging ABOUT:
Two comedians who snuck FAKE AI ads into the New York subway (and got millions of views)
If you've ridden the New York subway recently, you've probably seen ads that feel like they were written by a robot π€ for other robots. Tech companies now make up 15% of all subway and bus ads in the city!!
Two comedians, Harris Alterman (a former social media director) and Dave Ross (a former web developer), were absolutely losing their minds reading these tech ads on their daily commute.
So like any good comedian, they sat down and wrote 10 fake AI ads of their own in 30 minutes. And the result is pretty hilarious πΉπ
| [CLICK TO WATCH] Check out their hilarious AI ads π β |
Their first video racked up more than 5 MILLION views π€― Dave even built websites for the fake companies, and one of their made-up names, Wireflow, turned out to belong to a REAL AI company lol πΉ
The two comedians have since taken the idea further, organizing an MTA-sanctioned pop-up at a subway newsstand in August where visitors could make their OWN ridiculous AI ads. A Palantir employee even showed up to say people at the company had been talking about it!!
The two comedians have since taken the idea further, organizing an MTA-sanctioned pop-up at a subway newsstand in August where visitors could make their OWN ridiculous AI ads. A Palantir employee even showed up to say people at the company had been talking about it!!
Now it's your turn to vote!
Who gets this week's bragging rights?
Last week, Nathalie and her talking AI skeleton (Uncle Murray!) took the crown π. This week itβs back up for grabs π
Bragging you can do this weekend:
Sometimes I think we take technology a little too seriously. Everything has to be productive. Every new tool needs to make us more efficient or help us make more money.
But look at today's stories!
These 4 clever humans are using AI to make ridiculous cat videos πΉ , find creative ways π¨ around technology, and turn everyday advertising into comedy π. Maybe making something funny, unexpected, or just plain weird is more than enough!!
Keep making fun stuff, humans.Β
Hereβs to the misfits!! π§‘
 Adam Bragg |
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 Bragging about cool stuff humans are doing on the internet. |