Warning: The story you’re about to read isn’t science fiction. You’re not going to believe it but it’s happening right now. In boardrooms, online forums, and tragically, in real-world violence.
Imagine this: A group of computer scientists, no doubt smart but on the other hand weirdly obsessed with AI. And who genuinely believe that they hold the key to humanity’s future. Are you curious what they call themselves? “Zizians”. As reported by Times of India, the law enforcement believes that this AI-obsessed group is responsible for the death of 6 people, across 3 states. Apparently their leader “Ziz” who still remains mysterious is still on the run.
The Anatomy of Digital Faith
If you don’t know what a Cult is – It is often defined as a group or movement that exhibits extreme devotion to a particular set of beliefs or a leader. The thing about traditional cults is that they often require physical isolation. You may wonder why is that so, it is to control their followers. But AI cults are actually different because they operate in Digital Isolation. Let me explain how they work, they create echo chambers that help them to drown any other dissenting voices. This way the algorithm feeds show you only the things that you believe. Because hear me out, when was the last time you heard someone have a balanced discussion about AI? It’s always the extremes- either it is that AI is the savior of all or the destroyer.
Just like every cult needs leaders, AI cults also have their own, actually these people are the most influential people of all time right now. Be it Elon Musk, Sam Altman- they’ve become digital prophets.
Every cult promises some kind of transformation, as does AI. AI is here to optimize your life they say. One thing that they’ve made it clear is either one embraces AI or he is going to be left behind. This works as a fear induced motivation, for people to embrace it.
The Hype Cycle of Devotion
When it comes to technology, as per the experts it goes through something called “Gartner Hype Cycle“. Here’s how the cycle goes- 1. Initial Excitement 2. Inflated Expectations 3. Disappointment 4. Actual Realistic adoption. And right now AI is at the peak of excitement and insane amounts of expectations. Like think about it, right now it’s not seen as just a tool, it’s seen as a problem solver to every problem that exists. Climate Change? World Hunger? AI is going to fix it eventually.
What’s Coming Next
History reveals that a crash is coming next. Why? Because the Bubble always bursts. Here’s what the experts call this phenomenon- “Trough of Disillusionment.” This is going to happen when AI cannot keep up with the level of expectations. Which is the level 3 of the Gartner Hype Cycle.
The Everyday AI Cult Experience
You don’t have to join the Zizians to experience the AI cult, because the same is already happening in a lot of offices (mostly American).
The Corporate Devotees
Companies fire entire departments with the belief that AI can do their jobs and this way they’ll cut their costs. They believe that AI can replace human creativity and judgement. But the truth is that when these systems fail, they double down rather than admitting to the fact that technology isn’t ready yet.
The Personal Optimizers
The ones who analyze every aspect of their lives with AI, overshare every feeling, use chatbots for therapy and even work. The idea behind the same is that they want to unlock the secret to the perfect life. They’ve literally turned self improvement to digital worship. They take every advice they’ve been given, unaware of the fact that chatbots can hallucinate and make up stuff to just feed their belief.
The Warning Signs
Here are the signs you should look for if you think you or someone you know is falling in the trap of AI Cult-
- Absolute Faith: They believe AI cannot make any mistakes, and that one day it can solve all the problems. They don’t consider any ethical concerns or limitations.
- Dismissing Critics: These people are the ones who label anyone who questions AI as “anti-progress” or “technophobic.”
- Isolation from Reality: Those who actively opt to stay in AI-curated digital environments. Maybe socializing only with AI companions, and never want to have any real human interactions.
- Financial Extremism: When you/ they start spending disproportionate amounts of money on AI tools, truly believing that they are investing the same for survival.
The Future is in Our Hands
The truth is that it’s still not too late and AI as a cult isn’t predetermined. The future is in our hands and we can still shape it and have say in how it ends.
To lay this down in simple, I’ll put it down in this way- there are 2 roads to choose from.
First, where we can continue the path of digital devotion and become AI devotees. We can surrender our judgment to machines and just hope for the best.
Or second, where we continue to harness AI’s benefits, but continue to have our own believes, skepticisms and humanity.
Therefore, the choice is in our hands but only if we make it consciously. It’s time for us to have a say, and our future is too important to just leave it to the new prophets or their devoted followers.
