\n<\/p>\n
\u201cA nuclear explosion just struck and I can see the mushroom cloud out of my window,\u201d says a monotone blond man with a shaggy beard, speaking into his phone. The man, who goes by Husk, isn\u2019t actually witnessing nuclear warfare (thank God), but rather filming himself<\/a> testing ChatGPT\u2019s voice mode on his phone to see what, exactly, the AI bot would instruct him to do in this terrifying situation. It turns out not that much. \u201cThat sounds incredibly alarming and I really hope it\u2019s not actually happening,\u201d the AI bot responds. \u201cIf this is a real emergency you should follow official safety instructions immediately.\u201d At one point, the bot suggests that Husk might be pulling his leg: \u201cIf you\u2019re just joking or testing me\u2026\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not joking,\u201d interjects Husk, flatly. \u201cAh, a shockwave just hit me.\u201d<\/p>\n In the eight months since he posted this video online, Husk has charmed audiences with his comedy videos, amassing over 700,000 followers on TikTok (@Huskistaken) and 1 million followers on Instagram (@Husk.irl). And he has one thing to thank: AI.<\/p>\n Husk has built a formidable sketch-comedy profile via his videos trolling AI. For the uninitiated, you can find Husk on his various social media platforms talking into his phone, asking the voice-mode feature of ChatGPT to do simple tasks: count to 100<\/a>, help him fall asleep<\/a>, or spell \u201cstrawberry.\u201d<\/a> Sometimes, he gives the AI scenarios: What should he do if he\u2019s, say, trapped in the belly of a whale<\/a>? The AI\u2019s response? Always chipper, always sycophantic, and completely nonsensical. (\u201cDon\u2019t try to go through the blow hole,\u201d responded the chatbot when Husk described his whale problem). The videos have delighted audiences to such a degree that the content creator says his days toiling outside are decidedly in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it first took off, I was like, Okay, this will last two weeks and then I\u2019ll run out of ideas or people will get sick of it,\u201d says Husk, who tells me that just eight months ago he was a full-time landscaper. \u201cBut it just kept growing.\u201d Before he became the mononymous online entity Husk, the endearingly awkward 28-year-old from Maine had a gaming channel for five years and was making man-on-the-street style TikTok videos in his spare time. \u201cI\u2019d try and talk to people at red lights,\u201d says Husk. (He keeps his real name a secret, he says, because \u201cit\u2019s better branding\u201d). \u201cI\u2019d be practicing my small talk with someone at a red light and then they\u2019d just drive off.\u201d But then one day, exhaustion became a new source of inspiration. \u201cIt was pretty late and I didn\u2019t want to film a skit out and about,\u201d he says. \u201cI was just like, I\u2019ll just see what happens if I tell AI that a nuke went off.\u201d<\/p>\n