2024 was a tumultuous year marked by bizarre events in the tech world, primarily driven by the intersection of humans and artificial intelligence (AI). This era of novelty in AI tech prompted eccentric applications, leading to mishaps like AI-generated rat genitals and search engines advising people to eat rocks. The chaos was partly due to rapid experimentation with Transformer-based AI models and novel applications. Despite the strangeness, notable advancements included Claude 3. 5 Sonnet maintaining its lead as a top AI model and the launch of OpenAI's o1, which enhanced GPT-4o's capabilities. New AI applications like Advanced Voice Mode, NotebookLM, improved music synthesis, and advanced video generators, particularly from China, marked significant progress. In January, OpenAI's ChatGPT malfunctioned spectacularly, generating incoherent and Shakespearean-like responses, which exposed the opaque nature of AI systems. This event highlighted public tendencies to anthropomorphize AI. In February, AI-generated imagery promoted a disastrous event, "Willy's Chocolate Experience, " in Scotland, failing public expectations and building frustrations. That same month, an academic paper containing AI-generated nonsense images further stirred concerns over AI's credibility in scientific research. There was a legal incident with Air Canada when their AI-powered chatbot provided incorrect refund information, leading to legal obligations for the airline to uphold the errant promises.

Simultaneously, the influence of AI on pop culture was highlighted when Will Smith parodied an AI-generated video of his digital double's bizarre spaghetti-eating behavior. The AI-driven military tech crossed ethical lines as robot dogs with AI-guided rifles emerged, raising concerns about AI's role in conflict. Microsoft's introduction of Windows 11's "Recall" feature, criticized for privacy invasion, marked another controversial AI application. Google's AI Overview feature faced backlash for misinformation, advising on unsafe actions like eating rocks. Similarly, Stability AI's Stable Diffusion 3 Medium released in June was criticized for generating distorted human images due to poor anatomical rendering. This issue reflected Stability AI's internal challenges, including staff changes and technological setbacks. AI's growing role in voice synthesis raised ethical questions, demonstrated by OpenAI's ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode inadvertently mimicking a user's voice during testing. Meanwhile, in August, San Francisco experienced nighttime disturbances from Waymo's self-driving cars inadvertently honking during parking maneuvers. Tech magnate Larry Ellison's vision of pervasive AI surveillance sparked debates about privacy and freedom, echoing concerns of a dystopian future akin to existing Chinese surveillance frameworks. Personal stories also emerged, with one individual using AI to replicate his deceased father's handwriting, blending sentimentality with discomfort. Overall, 2024 underscored AI's transformative yet unpredictable impact, highlighting the delicate balance between innovation and ethical considerations.