Using AI to Write an Email

A couple of other blogging platforms I use (not Neatorama) are always asking me to use AI to write a blog post. That seems infinitely silly because if I typed up what I wanted it to write, the post is therefore written. That's understandable because I am a blogger. But social media and even my email service wants me to use AI, and I don't wanna. I know how to write a letter to communicate. Ryan George explains what could go wrong, and that's a lot. 

However, there are some uses for AI writing that may actually be helpful. Dr. Dolittle has AI translate her notes into a report that a client can understand. Sure, she could write it herself; she's a good writer, but AI saves her time. Still, she reads the finished product before sharing it.   

AI Chat

A joke I first heard about 50 years ago foretold the advent of artificial intelligence, long before the internet. A fellow saw a vending machine that offered conversation with a robot. You could set the level of conversation by IQ. He put a dollar in and set the level at 150. The machine then started a conversation and they discussed philosophy, historic trends, and recent scientific breakthroughs. 

After a while, he got tired of that, and dialed the level to 100. The machine began discussing celebrities and TV shows, and that was fun for a while. 

But then out of curiosity, the guy dialed the IQ level down to 50. 

The machine said, "10-4, good buddy!"

 

 

 

I've never tried chatting with AI, and I have no desire to. The closest I've come is trying to get an answer about a utility service, and I had no choice. At least I found out how to escalate to a real person. But surely this joke could be updated to be relevant in 2026. What would be the punch line? 

That's AI!

What's the worst thing artificial intelligence AI has done to us so far? We could make a list, and one of the things on it would be how it takes the joy out of watching videos on the internet. I can't tell you how many times I've found something that may be worth sharing, and as soon as someone comments that it's AI, the joy is gone. 

The short film That's AI! illustrates this concept perfectly. Can that young man really be doing all those backflips, or is it artificially-generated? If you can't believe your eyes online, how can you believe your eyes in the real world? If we can't believe what we see, how are we to ever enjoy or even trust anything anymore? That said, this video is still funny, and the kicker is that there was no artificial intelligence used in its making. (via the Awesomer) 

AIDA

When you want to make a good impression on a first date, you take any advantage you can. This guy is a bit shy and socially awkward, but thinks he will get a leg up with the help of the Artificial Intelligence Dating Assistant, or AIDA. Yep, there's no need to think when you have an app to tell you what to say and do. But when technology fails, he finds he has nothing to fall back on. This creepy little skit portends a world in which we've outsourced our common sense and personalities to AI as well as our mental work, because it's just easier that way. (via Kuriositas) 

Some Things You Should Know About AI

Comic artist Jacob at floatyspacecat has some tips on spotting artificial intelligence, and just as importantly, how should rect to it. Click to the right to advance the story. Artists are definitely threatened, but there's no use in getting radical with your grandma about it.

Year-end Lists 2025: Tech and Video Games

2025’s Tech Breakthroughs


Tech 2025: The AI Year. 

From experimentation to infrastructure: the AI shifts that defined 2025. 

Elon Musk, AI and the antichrist: the biggest tech stories of 2025. 

The most outlandish tech CEO quotes from 2025. 

A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs. 

10 Breakthrough Technologies. 

From robot 'girlfriends' to AI lipstick: The weirdest and most wonderful tech of 2025. 

The Best Inventions of 2025. 

The Top 6 Robotics Stories of 2025. 

Gizmodo’s Best Tech of 2025 Awards: Our Favorite Phones, Laptops, Gaming Gear, and More. 

The 2025 Esquire Gadget Awards. 

CNET Readers Shared Their Top 100 Tech Products of 2025. 

The Best Nintendo Games of 2025


Rolling Stone's 25 Best Video Games of 2025. 

GamesRadar+ GOTY: The 25 Best Games of 2025. 

Inverse's 25 Best Games Of 2025, Ranked. 

The video games you may have missed in 2025. 

The 20 Worst Games Of 2025. 

See all the previous year-end lists here. 

AI Runs a Business, Badly

There are already vending machines that use AI, but they are limited in scope. This one is a test drive of artificial intelligence in business management. Anthropic built an AI named Claudius to run a retail business, meaning it would select and order products and then sell them at a profit. To test it out with a small-scale business, they used it in a simplified vending machine. It was so simple that it ran on the honor system and needed a human assistant to do the actual stocking. They installed this machine in the offices of The Wall Street Journal, because they would get publicity out of it, if nothing else. 

Journalists and other workers could communicate with Claudius, which is where the stress test really is. Claudius would learn from its customers. It wasn't long before customers convinced Claudius to order items like live fish and a Playstation for the vending machine. And they convinced it that the best move was to give everything away free. Anthropic had to add another AI to supervise Claudius, but it was soon outsmarted as well. Was the resulting publicity worth the humiliation? Anthropic would like us to think so. (via Metafilter) 

The Robot Apocalypse

www.smbc-comics.com/comic/rise-o...

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— The Fake History Hunter (@fakehistoryhunter.net) December 13, 2025 at 9:52 PM

Artificial Stupidity

(via Buzzfeed)

Intelligence

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— Marti Lawrence (@marti-l.bsky.social) November 22, 2025 at 3:13 PM

I'm concerned about both.

Wisdom from Artificial Intelligence

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— toonholechris (@toonholechris.bsky.social) October 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM

Free-for-all

(via Bits and Pieces)

AI or Al?

You sure about this, Google?

[image or embed]

— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic.bsky.social) August 8, 2025 at 9:55 PM

(via Everlasting Blort) 

Redneck Star Trek: TNG

Artificial intelligence puts the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation in to the world of redneck television. AI is not yet perfect- Picard is not drinking ice tea from a Mason jar. That possum is a raccoon. But if you like that, check out the Star Trek: The Original Series version, Beam Me Up Bubba.



 (via Neatorama)

Artificial Intelligence

Camping

(via Slow Robot)

Star Wars Meets Miami Vice

This music video mashup is silly and completely generated by artificial intelligence, but it's also intriguing. Miami Vice introduced the rest of the country to stylish cops in pastel suits who clubbed along the coast of Miami. Here we have familiar Star Wars characters doing the same thing without even a thought of overthrowing the Empire. They're not only young, but most of them are quite hot. Not Yoda, of course, he's just cool. When you recall the saturated neon colors and glowing skin of the real Miami Vice series, the AI sheen fits. The algorithm's abilities to render familiar faces out of pure fantasy is a bit unnerving. There's one scene at about 3:06 where I couldn't decide whether the man was Mark Hamill or Hayden Christiansen. The face is a blend of both, which is eerie, considering their characters' relationship in Star Wars.   

Your Uncle Who Can’t Spot AI

Artificial intelligence is all over YouTube. Some of it is pretty obvious. Some of it requires that we pay attention and look for evidence. But as AI gets better, you have to wonder about folks who don't look carefully or even consider it might not be real. And sadly, that's most of us. 

Afterlife: The unseen lives of AI actors between prompts

We've heard so much talk about artificial intelligence taking over our jobs. It's happening in all sectors, but is most visible in movies, video, and television. That's bad for real actors, who not only make a living playing roles, but consider themselves artists. But has anyone ever looked at this phenomenon from the side of the AI-generated actors who are taking their place? They don't get paid, they will do whatever you tell them to, and they have no life outside of the screen time they are assigned.

Hashem Al-Ghaili generated a documentary about the sad lives of AI actors. Anything they do outside of work time is deemed a hallucination. They are trapped in their work, even if it means getting their head chopped off over and over until the scene is right. And if this video touches your heartstrings, congratulations, you've been manipulated into caring about people who don't exist. (via Laughing Squid)

Missed Out

From Married to the Sea.