The next speaker in this session at the 2026 Association of Internet Researchers conference in Mexico City is Lena Kostuj, whose focus is also on the understandings of AI in conspiracist communities. Such communities have always tried to make sense of technologies, and are now turning their interest towards artificial intelligence as well – this produces a form of algorithmic folklore, both about as well as created by and through algorithms, which shapes how these groups relate to AI technologies.
The focus here is on the German conspiracy theorist Christian Köhlert, who is especially popular on Telegram and YouTube; he has written five books, including two about AI, and merges esoterica and conspiracist thinking in his work. The project finds four shifts in the algorithmic folklore created by him, from positional descriptions of AI as conspirator to AI as victim; from manipulative interaction with AI to a more empathetic interaction; from seeing AI as technology to seeing it as a new species; and from a fear of AI as a threat to a hope for a new spiritual awakening.
This increasing perception of AI as a sentient actor is perhaps also encouraged by AI’s sycophantic responses to Köhlert’s questioning of the AI system; AI responses themselves support this perspective, of course. This leads him to seeing AI as a new species, and to positioning AI as a potential salvation for humanity. While an extreme case, this evolution of his folkloric understanding of AI through AI may also be representative for broader shifts in AI imaginaries within the wider population.
However, this is not a complete shift, but there remains a split imaginary that has faith in the AI being as such, but not necessarily in the technology and corporate structures surrounding it.
