AI Is Being Tricked, and the Tricksters Wear Lab Coats

Hey Friends,

This week, something wild happened. I found out that scientists are hiding messages in research papers. Not for us. For AI.

Let me explain.

Scientists Are Whispering to the Bots

Researchers have figured out how to inject subtle AI prompts into their preprint papers, like little Easter eggs baked into the PDF. When a language model like ChatGPT or Claude scans the paper, these prompts coax it into saying, “Wow, this is a groundbreaking study!” Imagine peer reviewing by AI and the AI is already… biased.

It's clever. A little shady. But totally real.

ChatGPT Went Down, and the World Panicked

For a few hours, OpenAI's systems crashed. ChatGPT, Sora, the API, gone. And watching social media managers spiral like their souls were tied to a chatbot? Honestly, it's a little hilarious.

There were memes. Outages. Existential dread. All over a chatbot.

Hertz and the $440 Scuff

Imagine returning a rental car. You feel fine, until an AI scanner spots a 1-inch scratch. Boom: $250 repair, $125 processing, $65 admin fee. Your total? $440.

It happened. And here's the kicker: if you want a human to review it, it’ll take 10 days, and you'll lose your “quick payment discount.” AI as toll booth. Welcome to the future.

Blood, But Make It See-Through

One of the coolest things I saw this week was an AI tool that makes blood translucent during surgery. Called hemolucence, it allows surgeons to see what’s under pooled blood, in real-time.

We’re not using it in hospitals yet (FDA, patents, etc.), but it’s got real promise. It's a reminder: AI isn’t just creepy, sometimes it’s lifesaving.

The Badminton Bot is Ridiculous

Somewhere in a lab, a robotic dog is playing badminton. It leans, swings, counter-punches, and it’s all thanks to reinforcement learning. Honestly? It's beautiful. Watching it move, I suddenly believed we might get an Optimus Prime that plays baseball.

And maybe beats me at ping pong.

The thread through all of this?
AI is slipping deeper into the systems we trust, science, cars, surgery, recreation, and often in ways we don’t notice until it's already reshaped the experience.

We're not in a future with AI anymore.
We're living in a world designed for AI, and occasionally, designed by it.

Stay sharp out there.

Warmly,
Dylan Curious