AI Flourishes Underground in the Subway

AI takes the F train. h/t Deborah


Fake AI ads in the West 4th Street subway station unite commuters in hatred of AI ads, by Emma Li, Gothamist, August 10, 2026.

“Riding the subway, all I would see were AI ads that made me confused and angry,” Alterman said. “I wanted to know if other people felt the same way.”

In June, an Instagram reel of fake tech advertisements being put up on Subway station walls went viral, gathering 5 million views and more than 250,000 likes. The faux ads were made by Harris Alterman and Dave Ross, two comedians whose usual content caters to the meta-ironic and absurdist appetites of the internet.

One ad read, “What if forks were spoons?” by the fake company, “cutlery.ai.”

Another said, “1 + 1 = _____. Dennis can tell you.”

Read the whole article here.

Gothamist covers Joey Skaggs’ 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade

New York City’s greatest pranks, from fantastical parades to a phony Mets star, by Samantha Max, Gothamist, April 1, 2026

Trump’s Military Parade at the 33rd Annual April Fools’ Day Parade

Artist and activist Joey Skaggs has been inviting members of the New York City media to his annual April Fools’ Day parade along Fifth Avenue since 1986.

Press releases archived on Skaggs’ website describe the event as an attempt to “bring people back in touch with their inherent foolishness” and celebrate “the public’s right to laugh in the face of authority.” Past parades have included a President Donald Trump look-alike contest and a Y2K-themed end-of-the-world party. This year’s press release invites participants to ponder “what’s real and what’s not” at a parade led by the president himself, followed by a screening of the “Melania mockumentary” and a reading of all redacted names in the Jeffrey Epstein files, other than victims.

Read the rest of the article here.

From the Vault: Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning, 1968

“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head…”
and then…
and then…
and then…

Along came Skaggs with his 1968 anti-war art protest, “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning.

From the Vault: Joey Skaggs’ 1979 Wall Street Shoe Shine

Dime for a shine? Fuhgeddaboudit!

In 1979, Joey Skaggs, SVA students and friends, make a statement about runaway inflation by charging ten times more than normal for a luxury shoe shine on Wall Street for workers who easily made ten times more than the average person.

Check out the story behind the Wall Street Shoe Shine here.