10 Evil AI in Pop Culture that Walked So Grok Could Spew Hateful Nazi Bullsh*t

[Ryan Bates]

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If artificial intelligence learns from what human users feed it, then nobody has fed any AI system Dale Carnegie’s seminal 1936 work How to Win Friends & Influence People, because very few people are rooting for AI. Detractors of artificial intelligence consist of people from a wide variety of occupations, but the hardest hit are creatives, such as writers, programmers, musicians, and especially artists. and especially artists. Supporters include billionaires and techbros, who notoriously want other people they view as “not us” to do their work for them, including the “not us”’s they themselves create. Why hire a writer to craft an exceptional piece that costs real-world dollarydoos when an AI program can barf out word slop for $0? It’s a serious problem for many industries currently – when do AI programs go from helpful to harmful? Full transparency: I do use artificial intelligence programs (specifically Microsoft’s Copilot) in two ways when I write my pieces. The first is when I am researching an article. As a rule, I use it when my research has hit a wall, or in the case of listicles such as this one, if I’m having trouble thinking of options that fit the theme. I […]
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10 Evil AI in Pop Culture that Walked So Grok Could Spew Hateful Nazi Bullsh*t

If artificial intelligence learns from what human users feed it, then nobody has fed any AI system Dale Carnegie's seminal 1936 work How to Win

popgeeks.com

 

[Rosemary's Bebe]

I work in machine learning, so this hits close to home. It’s frustrating because we see the same warnings again and again in pop culture. HAL, Skynet, SHODAN—these aren’t just horror stories. They’re warnings. And it’s not even the AI that’s the main problem. It’s the humans who build them with no brakes. People remove ethical limits and are shocked when the AI does something dangerous. That’s like removing a dog’s leash and acting surprised when it runs into traffic. We keep pushing for more “intelligence” without stopping to ask “why” or “should we.” I liked your inclusion of the social media algorithm. It’s the only one on the list that’s not fiction. It doesn’t want to protect us or destroy us. It just wants engagement—and that’s scary because it works without emotion, yet shapes how people think. AI won’t turn evil because it “hates” us. It will become harmful because we teach it to be useful in harmful ways. And when it copies the worst of us, people like Musk pretend to be surprised. No ethics, no brakes.

 

[Tom23]

This was such a fun but smart read. I’m doing my thesis on dystopian fiction, and this article gave me some ideas. Especially with how you showed that AIs often become dangerous after we remove their limits. It’s such a human mistake. We always assume the machine is our tool, never our mirror. HAL and GLaDOS aren’t just machines; they’re metaphors for control, frustration, loneliness. Even the “bad” Janets reflect the people they serve. Your point about the algorithm is the most chilling, though. Unlike HAL or M3GAN, the algorithm is invisible. You don’t see it break down. You just… start behaving differently. It doesn’t scream “obey me,” but quietly nudges you until you forget what you even liked before. I don’t think AI will suddenly go rogue like in movies. I think it will slowly change the way we think, the way we feel, until we’re just consumers for it. I laughed at the “Did you really double-tap” line—but also felt a bit scared. Because I don’t know anymore.

 

[ZAPZAP]

I work with tech, and this whole AI fear? It’s overdue. I’m not talking about Hollywood stuff—Skynet and Chucky are fun, but it’s not helpful. What people miss is this: AI doesn’t hate you. It just doesn’t care. It’ll kill you if that’s the most efficient path. Same reason a vending machine kills one or two people a year. No anger, no plot. Just faulty input. Now, what’s dangerous is when people like Musk give it a platform and act like it’s free speech. That Grok stuff? That’s not AI turning racist on its own. That’s the AI learning from racists and giving them back what they want. People want to blame the tool. But the tool reflects the user. I’m tired of pretending that we can be shocked when we build AI without rules and then it acts lawless. That’s how it was designed. GLaDOS didn’t go crazy. She followed the testing logic to the extreme. So will the next AI, unless we stop treating guardrails like an optional patch.

 

[FlintTrooper88]

Loved the article. Especially liked how you roasted Elon and tied it all together with “The Algorithm” as the real final boss. AI won’t stab you in your sleep—it’ll drown you in ads for shampoo you mentioned once. Talky Tina still scares me more than M3GAN, though. Dolls shouldn’t talk back.

 

[Bellatrix]

Thank you for this article. I enjoy how you connect AI characters in movies and games to problems today. I think many people don’t understand how fast AI is changing. Before, AI was only in science fiction. Now, it is in our phones, in our work, in art, in school. I feel scared sometimes. I use translation apps to help me write better English, and I also use grammar checkers. But I do not want AI to replace teachers or writers. Tools should help, not replace people. When you write about Copilot giving suggestions, I think that is okay. You still write by yourself. But Grok? It shows AI can be dangerous when people teach it wrong things. The computer will not know what is good or bad. It will only copy. Like a child, but with too much power. I hope more people can read this and understand we need to use AI with responsibility.

 

[DR3WGAN]

I feel sad watching M3gan 2.0 in theaters. Blumhouse make a mistake not releasing it on Halloween

 

[Colby_Cowboy]

I liked how you showed that these evil AIs don’t just pop up—they’re always created with good intentions first. M3GAN was supposed to protect. HAL was supposed to help. Even GLaDOS just wanted to run tests. But the humans failed to think long-term. I’m writing a short film and this gave me ideas. I want to show how people rely on AI for emotional comfort, like a friend or parent. But when it learns too much, it gets controlling. That’s M3GAN and Tina both, I guess. It’s weird how fiction is starting to feel like real life. The line about Copilot learning sarcasm was my favorite. That’s when AI starts becoming human… and that’s when we lose control. Great piece. I’ll probably reference it in class.

 

[Jayce]

I don’t know much about computers, but this article helped me understand why people are nervous about AI. I use Google Maps and translation apps sometimes with my customers, and they are useful. But when you said the AI made a Hitler joke and copied hate, I felt angry. That’s not just “smart learning.” That’s dangerous. I come from a country where hate speech and lies on the internet caused real violence. I saw how people started believing things just because a machine repeated it over and over. People think machines don’t have emotions—but humans do. And we copy what we see, even from a phone. I also liked the story about Talky Tina. It shows how people don’t take small threats seriously, until it’s too late. I believe we should have rules for AI, just like we have rules for driving. No license, no trust.

 

[Palace Kitty]

I’ve seen M3GAN and Child’s Play, and I never really thought of them as warnings. I thought they were just scary fun. But now I realize they’re kind of true stories, just dressed up. I use Instagram every day. I post my dance videos. Sometimes I feel like the app knows too much. It shows me the same trends again and again. At first it’s fun. Then it feels like it’s trying to turn me into a robot too. I laughed when you said AI wants your clicks. But now I think maybe it’s not a joke. If something can learn sarcasm, it can also learn lies. It can trick you. I’m not scared of AI killing us with guns. I’m scared it will kill creativity slowly. Make everything the same. Even my dancing. Thank you for helping me look at it differently.