Years ago, I was a bit scornful of a story that had a very advanced AI that could essentially assume control over humans with only a few electronic transmissions. I thought it sounded too fanciful even for space opera sf.
Folks, I was wrong. It’s happening now. Sure, not every human, but most of them. Not all of the time, but a lot of the time. As per usual, reality is stranger and more varied than any story. Humans have no defenses at all against the onslaught of bogus information disgorged in such monstrous quantities, with no check on quality and no standards of evidence both on the broadcast or reception side.
It didn’t take an advanced AI to assume control of humanity — merely a Harvard sociopath and some other lesser nutty buddies to do it.