PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Janelle Shane

Janelle Shane is a writer and speaker whose AI Weirdness blog and book use humor to explain machine learning. Her electrical engineering degree from Michigan State University came in 2007, and in 2008 she began graduate work on ultra-fast nanoscale optics at UC San Diego. The AI Weirdness blog began in 2016, and her book You Look Like a Thing and I Love You came out in November 2019. She was a 2019 TED Fellow, and in 2022 she began as the first Futurist in Residence at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. As of October 2026, she is a blogger, speaker and writer who lives near Boulder, Colorado, and is working on her next book.

Timeline

  1. 2007

    An electrical engineering degree

    She studies electrical engineering at Michigan State University, where she starts working on AI as a freshman, and graduates in 2007.

  2. 2008

    Ultra-fast optics research

    In 2008 she joins the University of California, San Diego, as a graduate student working on ultra-fast nanoscale optics.

  3. 2016

    The AI Weirdness blog

    She starts the AI Weirdness blog in 2016 and trains neural networks on quirky data sets.

  4. 2019

    A 2019 TED Fellow

    She becomes a 2019 TED Fellow, and her TED talk is titled “The danger of AI is weirder than you think.”

  5. November 2019

    Publishing You Look Like a Thing

    She publishes You Look Like a Thing and I Love You in November 2019, a book that mixes absurd humor with real explanations of machine learning.

  6. 2022

    First Futurist in Residence

    In 2022 she begins as the first Futurist in Residence at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building.

  7. As of October 2026

    Blogger, speaker and writer

    She still runs the AI Weirdness blog, which posts its 2026 Botober drawing prompts. She lives near Boulder, Colorado, where she is working on her next book. Audible also lists her laser book, Pew! Pew! Pew!

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Janelle Shane yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Janelle Shane - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. So Smart It's Stupid: The Weirdness of AI | Spartan Magazine | Michigan State University spartan.msu.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. The Blogger Behind “AI Weirdness” Thinks Today’s AI Is Dumb and Dangerous - IEEE Spectrum spectrum.ieee.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Janelle Shane janelleshane.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Janelle Shane: The danger of AI is weirder than you think | TED Talk ted.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. New Years Resolutions generated by AI aiweirdness.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Giddy up, it's Botober 2026 aiweirdness.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Keynote Speaker Janelle Shane Speaking Fee and Information bigspeak.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. Pew! Pew! Pew! by Janelle Shane - Audiobook - Audible.com.au audible.com.au. Checked 14 October 2026.