Darwin Awards Go Digital: AI Gets Its Own “Stupidity” Prize
The legendary Darwin Awards, which have been collecting bizarre stories of human self-overestimation since the 1990s, receive an offshoot: from 2025, particularly missed applications are to be awarded by artificial intelligence.
The first nominations are there
The so -called “Ai Darwin Awards“The initiators already said that they are worthy of deaths or tragic accidents, but document what happens when the technology enthusiasts meets. The first candidates are already circulating. A prominent example comes from Taco Bell: The fast food chain rely on an automated order in the Drive-Thru. Customers to understand.
While the classic Darwin Awards are targeting human daring, the new prices are aimed at misguided technology experiments. The initiators emphasize that it is not about mocking AI as a technology, but their irresponsible use. “Artificial intelligence is just a tool – like a chainsaw or a mixer. Fault is not the machine, but the one who uses it incorrectly,” says the announcement.
Reminder instead of entertainment
At the same time, the organizers draw an image of AI systems as innocent actors: highly motivated “puppies”, which simply follow their program – but with the difference that they have access to global infrastructures and make decisions at high speed.
The awards should therefore be less entertainment than a reminder: what is intended as a clever use of machine learning can lead to global breakdowns in an emergency. Or, as the organizers put it: “Why satisfied with individual stupidity if you can scale them with AI at the world level?”
