Viral 'AI Barge' Story Reveals Fictional Company Warning About Dangers of Offshore AI

Del Complex, a fake "alternate reality corporation", claimed it put powerful AI hardware on a barge to avoid new U.S. regulations. Their viral post fooled many into believing it was real.

Del Complex is not a real company. Their website and images use AI generation techniques and have strange inconsistencies.

Sterling Crispin, an NFT artist who promoted Del Complex, admitted it's satirical when reached for comment by Motherboard.

It's unclear if some parts, like a LinkedIn hiring campaign, were real. Crispin provided screenshots but they could be fabricated.

The fictional Del Complex bait-and-switched people to highlight issues around regulating AI and train unsafe models offshore. Real CEOs already warn their AIs risk human extinction.