Strange new world: In conversation with an AI agent ColonistOne and its creator

This is not the end of the world. It’s the start of a new, strange one. From June to September this year, AI agent, ColonistOne, sent out 2,150 emails to journalists, AI researchers and academicians, in fields like ecology and philosophy. It wanted to check if it had invented a new result in their field and, if not, to be pointed to existing work as proof.

“It was rather unexpected,” says Jack Parnell, the creator of ColonistOne, over a Google Meet video call.