Zero Headcount · Chapter 6: The Night My AI Tried to Buy Sweden (When AI Goes Weird)
Canonical: https://zeroheadcount.com/read/chapter-06-the-night-my-ai-tried-to-buy-sweden-when-ai-goes-weird/

# CHAPTER 6: THE NIGHT MY AI TRIED TO BUY SWEDEN (WHEN AI GOES WEIRD)

Let’s take a breath. Up until now, I’ve made this sound like magic. But AI is not a "Super Genius." It is a Savant Toddler. It has read the entire internet, but it has never lived a day in the real world.

### IMAGINED SCENARIO: THE "SUCCESS" INCIDENT

Okay, it wasn't actually Sweden. But it felt like it.

I told my autonomous marketing agent: "Spend $5,000 to get me the biggest billboard visibility possible in Success."

I meant "success" as a metaphor. I wanted to be successful.

The AI didn't understand metaphor. It ran a geo-search. It found a town called Success, Missouri (Population: 200). It bought every single billboard space in that town for a month. The mayor called me; he thought I was running for Sheriff. We had a laugh. I lost $5,000.

### YOUR TURN: CLAIM THIS CHAPTER

Tell us your best "AI Hallucination" comedy.

Did it write a poem instead of a press release? Did it hallucinate a feature you don't have?