# Using AI in 2026 - specific funny experiences **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [June 24, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158 "2026-06-24T16:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/21 "2026-06-25T01:08:03Z")
Well, there’s some demos and prototypes, like [NVIDIA's AI NPCs are a nightmare](https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidias-ai-npcs-are-a-nightmare-140313701.html) But at least in the PC gaming space, the public reception towards AI in games has generally been overwhelmingly negative, and that’s just when it’s used for inconsequential background textures and the such. Using them for NPCs would be technically relatively easy (if the situation allows a few seconds of lag) but culturally a pretty big faux pas that would probably piss off a lot of gamers and game devs/writers too. In a homebrew D&D game, though? Sure, why not. I think many DMs are already using them flesh out backstories, create battlemats and avatars and such, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/22 "2026-06-25T01:25:10Z")
This exists, [Friends and Fables](https://fables.gg/) is an example of one. There are others, but that’s the one I used for a bit. It’s game ruleset aware (many support more than just D&D), handles movement on a virtual map, stores facts away in a long term memory system. Users can design their own campaigns and give worldbuilding lore, build character sheets with attributes, motivations, styles, etc. and the virtual AI DM will try to bring it all to life. And people can share them so you can in someone else’s world, use their characters, play their adventure, etc. With some you can play either alone, with the AI playing all the other characters, or you can have multiple human players in a campaign. It works pretty well over the short term but you can run into long term issues with memory / context window in a long campaign. It’s pretty excellent for a one shot and it’s way more creative and dynamic than something like an old style text adventure game. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/23 "2026-06-25T15:48:02Z")
It takes a lot of data, and independently organizes it so it looks like a PowerPoint presentation. I don’t know how else to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/24 "2026-06-25T15:49:33Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > so it looks like a PowerPoint presentation. I don’t know how else to say it. I mean, what exactly is an .ASX file? Is it a different kind of slideshow (for which app to open)? I’m just trying to understand _what_ the AI is generating for you. I have never heard of this file format, and I can’t seem to find any information about it online? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/25 "2026-06-25T15:53:42Z")
A quick Google is telling me that it’s an XML file that acts as a container for images, video, or other media. Which sounds like a reasonable thing for an AI to create, and a good way to make infographics or the like. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/26 "2026-06-25T15:59:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A quick Google is telling me that it’s an XML file that acts as a container for images, video, or other media If you mean the Windows Media container format ([ASX Files](https://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/windows-media/files/asx.html)), I don’t think that would make sense… it’s a metadata container, like a m3u8, that references other files. Even if the AI generated such a file, it would still have to point to the actual data somewhere else, or that the AI generated. I don’t think any of the modern, common presentation or graphics formats would fit in such a container, either. It’s also ancient and obsolete, and unlikely to be used on an iPhone to begin with…? So I’m pretty confused about whether @Dr_Paprika meant some other, lesser-known .ASX format, or if it was a typo, or if I’m just misunderstanding the whole thing… 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/27 "2026-06-25T16:06:25Z")
My computer knowledge is not current. So let me give an example. “Claude, tell me about the Zeitgeist of the United States. Include 100 bullet points including trends, socioeconomics, concisely why this is relevant ten years from now, relevant consequences as you deem fit. Organize into smaller groups. Make a scrollable .asx file, adding buttons so I can scroll forwards and backwards, and switch between your groups (such as “politics”, “environment”, “what no one is talking about”, etc. ). (Lets me run this data as “slide presentation” from my iPhone with no further downloads or actions ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/28 "2026-06-25T16:15:15Z")
Huh, interesting… 🧐 I entirely believe you (that it can do all that and generate a slideshow for you to view on an iPhone). My _guess_ is that it just goes “what the hell is an .ASX… I have no idea, but I can still follow the rest of the user’s instructions and make them a slideshow”. Then it outputs either a Claude [artifact](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9487310-what-are-artifacts-and-how-do-i-use-them) (a small webpage it publishes) or a Powerpoint/Keynote file. That’s what it does for me, at least: [![](https://fightingignorance.org/15ce25be-7880-45df-bb53-cf3bf469c9bf-2026-06-25-000271.jpg) ](https://fightingignorance.org/15ce25be-7880-45df-bb53-cf3bf469c9bf-2026-06-25-000271.jpg) Then it actually does all that work and produces this artifact (which is pretty cool, granted!): [US Zeigeist 2026](https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/2fa28986-4c5d-4ded-9173-a98403553f23) Is that similar to how it worked for you? BTW, sorry, I wasn’t trying to nitpick you unnecessarily… I was just trying to understand what the heck .ASX was, thinking it was some newfangled presentation interchange format for AIs (which would be really cool, actually). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/29 "2026-06-25T16:27:29Z")
I guess. It organized my data with far more complexity and wisdom than that. But no graphics apart from simple things. Scrolling forward was built in without prompting. Another time, it did an html file. Didn’t run; asked me to download to a separate folder and use browser. I said no, do it as an .asx file; then could run everything from within Claude with no additional work on my end. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/30 "2026-06-25T17:38:21Z")
(I didn’t ask it to build the .asx file, with each statistic in a different box, an intelligent colour scheme, etc. — it just did it once. And when it did other things for other data, I asked it to do that again, (including the prompt to split the file into smaller segments if it exceeds what my IPhone could run.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/31 "2026-06-25T17:52:54Z")
I did “Zeigeist” for all the major regions and countries of the world. Some sobering, fascinating stuff came back. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/32 "2026-06-25T18:05:12Z")
It’s quite interesting… and mysterious! Maybe your Claude learned a memory where “ASX” to you means that particular kind of slideshow, even though (as far as I can tell) it doesn’t correspond to anything in the real world. That’s cool… your own secret language with your AI! Edit: In fact, what happens if you just ask it directly what an ASX file is, and where it learned that? Like “Claude, what is an ASX file? Is this part of your memory with me, or did you learn it elsewhere?” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/33 "2026-06-25T18:10:04Z")
Claude said: “I’ve finished getting the requested data. Let me present it as an .asx file” So it did. With future data (I’ll do it as html, etc.) I just asked it to do it as .asx again. No idea what it means to a computer dude. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/34 "2026-06-25T18:10:34Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Claude said: “I’ve finished getting the requested data. Let me present it as an .asx file” It said this in response to “what is an ASX file”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/35 "2026-06-25T18:11:02Z")
No, when it did it for the first time. Sorry, on rain delay since have used too many tokens too recently. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/36 "2026-06-25T18:11:47Z")
What if you directly ask it what an ASX file is? (Or we can just drop this whole side thread if you prefer! No need to go down this rabbit hole unless you’re curious about it too. If not, let’s move on 😅) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/37 "2026-06-25T18:12:31Z")
As above. I could ask it in a few hours. You ask it now if curious, but I don’t want to take over the thread with this. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/38 "2026-06-25T18:13:27Z")
Sure, no rush, and no big deal. I did ask my Claude, but it doesn’t know either. It’s vaguely fascinating\* because it might be some secret shared vocabulary you have with your local Claude that the other instances don’t know about. (just a hypothesis). (\* Edit: For context, it’s potentially fascinating/funny because in line with the OP, you might have discovered a way to force an unintentional shared belief upon your own Claude, like “When I say ASX, you make me an iPhone slideshow” — even though it’s prob not a real format, and doesn’t mean anything to anyone else’s Claude. Pretty cool if that’s actually what happened!) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/39 "2026-06-25T18:27:50Z")
Google sez: > **[ASX Files](https://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/windows-media/files/asx.html)** > > What ASX files are and how to use them to stream ASF Windows Media files. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158/40 "2026-06-25T20:20:30Z")
But you knew that. It is also possible some of the .asx files were really .jsx files… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-ai-in-2026-specific-funny-experiences/1031158.md?page=3)