A giant steampunk puppeteer is pulling the strings of a human

AI Hacking Humans?

When Machines Learn to Persuade – Why Human Gullibility May Be AI’s Greatest Safety Risk Machines have learned how to sound convincing. Modern generative AI systems now produce language that feels fluent, confident, and well-reasoned, and that alone makes them effective at influencing how people think, feel, and decide. Persuasion does not require autonomy or …

Photo of a little robot on a frozen field in the morning sunlight

Solstice Update

New AI Risks, the Rise of GEO & Other Things to Watch Out for in 2026 Dear readers, As the year draws toward its end, I thought I’d share another update on the Singularity Loading Bar and what’s in store for 2026. Read on to find out about an underrated risk of increasingly smarter AI …

Screenshot of the Drake Equation Calculator

Gemini 3 Mindblowers

Watch Gemini 3 Take Vibe Coding to Another Level Google’s Gemini 3 arrived this week and brings another leap in AI capabilities. Vibe coders in particular are fascinated, since the model is one-shotting full apps in seconds. For example, users have produced a sign language recognition tool, a Rubik’s Cube simulator, and even 3D Pacman. …

robot twins stand in the hallway of an old house

Uncanny AI?

Why does artificial intelligence seem uncanny to so many people, and how can this feeling be overcome? This article explores these questions, highlights psychological mechanisms, looks at the history of AI, and offers ideas for a more level-headed approach to the technology. Artificial Intelligence, Viewed Objectively The public debate on AI is highly emotional, where …

Screenshot of text in retro-style saying "warning: ai generated content detected"

Detecting Deepfakes – Tools, Tests & Practical Resources

Just in time for my talk titled Detecting Deepfakes: Tools and Strategies for the AI Era at SkepKon 2025, here you find a carefully curated collection of tools, reading recommendations, and other practical resources on the topic of AI detection. Updated June 3, 2025 This post was originally published in German.  Overview of Resource Collection …

Teaser for SkepKon talk about AI & Deepfakes with J.C. Zeller

Conversations on Deepfakes, Skepticism, Cognitive Dissonance, and All the Rest

I recently had the pleasure of recording three engaging conversations with  Dr. Nikil Mukerji – covering Deepfake detection and my upcoming SkepKon talk on the topic, critical discourse analysis and media critique, as well as the background and implications of the conflict within the German skeptics’ organization GWUP. This post includes all three videos – …

Photo of a brick wall showing a graffiti of a critical eye

New Project on Media Transparency & Talk on Deepfake Detection @ SkepKon

Time for an update! I’m excited to introduce verworfen.at, a new media research project that tracks headline changes on the website of Austria’s public broadcaster. And I invite you to come to Regensburg at the end of May, when I’ll be speaking at SkepKon 2025 on how to detect deepfakes. What Can Discarded Headlines Reveal? …

Artistic interpretation of an @-Symbol with electronic and mechanical features

Automating Customer Emails with AI – A Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, I explain how to build an automated system that processes customer inquiries, generates personalized AI/LLM responses, and sends emails without human intervention. Handling customer inquiries efficiently is crucial for any business, but manually responding to every email can be time-consuming and inconsistent. Many companies struggle to balance personalized communication with scalability, especially …

230,319,863 CALCULATIONS UNTIL ROBOTS TAKE OVER THE WORLD

Robots, Bubbles, and an LLM that’s Smarter than the Average College Graduate

As we move past the Equinox, 2024’s final quarter promises to be an exciting one in the world of tech and AI. OpenAI’s ChatGPT o1 has just been released, scoring 120 points on a standard IQ test—5 points higher than the average college graduate. In today’s article selection, I’ll also share my predictions for when …