Practical Jokes and Mischief - The Art of the Prank

December 19, 2025

Ethical Vacancy

What happens when AI’s lack of conscience converges with people with no conscience?

“The ‘AI Homeless Man Prank’ reveals a crisis in AI education,” by External Contributor, Digital Information World, December 14, 2025.

The new TikTok trend “AI Homeless Man Prank” has sparked a wave of outrage and police responses in the United States and beyond.

The prank involves using AI image generators to create realistic photos depicting fake homeless people appearing to be at someone’s door or inside their home. Learning to distinguish between truth and falsehood is not the only challenge society faces in the AI era. We must also reflect on the human consequences of what we create.

As professors of educational technology at Laval University and education and innovation at Concordia University, we study how to strengthen human agency — the ability to consciously understand, question and transform environments shaped by artificial intelligence and synthetic media — to counter disinformation. Read the whole article here.

November 25, 2025December 12, 2025

Santa Claus is coming to town!

You better watch out…

“‘Most hated event on the planet’: New movie shows the rise of San Francisco’s SantaCon,” by Dan Gentile, SFGATE, October 31, 2025.

The trailer just dropped for ‘SANTACON,’ which premieres at the DOC NYC film festival on Nov. 13.

There are few San Francisco events as divisive as SantaCon. The yearly, debauchery-filled bar crawl features hundreds, if not thousands, of costumed Santas rampaging through cities across the country, leaving a trail of inebriated chaos in their wake. But it wasn’t always this way.

A new film is set to premiere on Nov. 13 at the DOC NYC film festival and is simply titled “SANTACON,” directed by Seth Porges, whose previous work includes “Class Action Park” and “How to Rob A Bank.” The first trailer, released on Friday, begins with footage of violent Santas and also shows Jimmy Fallon mentioning the New York Police Department’s understanding of the event as “the nightmare before Christmas.” Local news anchors declare that locals want the event to be canceled, and text appears on the screen proclaiming SantaCon the “most hated event on the planet.” Read the whole article here.

November 12, 2025

The Bush is Trying to Make a Comeback

Comes with dental floss in matching colors.

“Follicular Follies,” by Flora Gill, AirMail, November 1, 2025.

The Bush Is Back, Baby! But there’s a catch. Welcome to the wild world of “merkins”.

Before women leave the house for a night out, there’s a routine we all follow. We check that our makeup isn’t smudged. We add a dash of perfume to the nape of our necks. And … we carefully comb out the faux pubes on our underwear. No? Is that last bit not part of your evening checklist at present? Well, it might be, if Kim Kardashian gets her way.

Following her release of the viral “nipple bra” a few years ago, the reality-TV star turned business mogul has brought out yet another Internet-breaking item through her $4 billion intimates company, Skims. This time, it’s a “merkin.” Read the whole article here.

October 6, 2025

Albania Government Replaces the Ouija Board with a Computer

It may not be as environmentally friendly or accurate, but it might be a step up from current fiscal decision making.

“Albania’s mischievous AI stunt,” by Editorial Board, Washington Post, September 21, 2025.

The tiny country’s prime minister announces a chatbot as minister.

Move over, DOGE. President Donald Trump famously created a White House agency that uses technology to streamline government. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has one-upped Trump by appointing an artificial-intelligence bot to his cabinet.

Rama announced this month that “Diella” — Albanian for “Sun” — would join his government as a minister. Diella already pops up to greet visitors on the government website e-Albania. Her new charge: to oversee public procurement.

She won’t need to be that incorruptible to outperform the current system.

Read the whole article here.

February 28, 2025

If it Looks like Bullshit and Smells like Bullshit, It’s Bullshit

Ah, the irony… “According to [San Francisco] state law, it is a misdemeanor to intentionally disrupt the business of public employees by obstructing or intimidating and then refusing to leave upon request.” Perhaps this law should be applied to the real DOGE.

SF City Hall ‘DOGE raid’ was a YouTube prank; authorities weigh whether to pursue charges, by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News, February 27, 2025

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether federal Department of Government Efficiency impersonators committed any criminal acts earlier this month when they entered City Hall and allegedly demanded access to employee computers.

On Feb. 14, three men wearing MAGA hats and DOGE shirts entered various offices at San Francisco City Hall and apparently asked employees to turn over digital information related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud.