Judgement Day: the AI goes rogue
Science fiction. Mostly.Forget chrome skeletons. The realistic version is quieter: scam calls in your mother’s cloned voice, deepfake videos of officials, and banks, telcos or the grid knocked offline. Prepare for that, and the movie version takes care of itself.
Before
- Agree a family safe word. Say it out loud, never type it. It defeats every voice-clone “Macau scam” call ever made.
- Keep an offline layer: printed phone list, this handbook on paper, cash, a physical key for every smart lock and gate.
- Back up photos and documents to an encrypted USB that never touches the internet.
During
- Verify before you trust. Urgent call or video from family asking for money or action? Hang up, call back on the number you know, ask the safe word.
- Viral clip of a minister announcing something wild? Check RTM radio and two official sources before you believe it or forward it.
- Banks, telcos or power down? That’s just the Blackout and Water Cut briefs wearing a leather jacket. Cash, radio, rally points.
- Smart devices behaving strangely: unplug them, router included. The toaster does not need Wi-Fi.
After
- Change passwords and turn on two-factor login, using an authenticator app rather than SMS where you can.
- Check every bank and e-wallet statement line by line.
- Be polite to your chatbot. Just in case.
This brief was written by an AI. Make of that what you will.