A Hong Kong philosopher has taken the world by storm by writing a book critiquing Elon Musk and Donald Trump of using Utopian promises and hollow rhetoric.

In the book, Xu wrote about how the "Trump regime" is manipulating the collective consciousness of the mass through algorithmic modulation instead of censorship.

It also critiqued Musk's unfulfiled techno-utopian promises and how President has used repetitive rhetoric as tool for reshaping public perception and colonizing unconscious desires.

The book also described both Musk and Trump as "high priests" of the digital world, and how they leverage technology to manipulate the desires and perceptions of the people. The book also claims that this system numbs critical thinking by overwhelming individuals with stimuli, blending reality with simulation.

The real author revealed

This book had initially received praise from many world prominent leaders. Former French President Emmanuel Macron had previously expressed his appreciation for Xun's writings. Earlier in February, a roundtable at the World AI Cannes Festival also extensively discussed Xun's ideas.

But then there were also some who noticed some inconsistency. According to its previous bio, Xun described himself as a Hong-kong born cultural analyst and philosopher who studies at Dublin University.

But the way the author inverted the Chinese order of his name by putting his name in front of his first name immediately raised red flags.

Netizens later dug into the school where Xun had initially studied in, and realised that they never had a student by the name of "Jianwei Xun".

So who is the real author behind the book? Following an investigative report from L'Espresso, the real author of the book finally revealed himself.

The real author of the book was an Italian publisher called Andrea Colamedici. And more shockingly, the Colamedici admitted that the book was written with the help of two AI tools-Claude from Anthropic and ChatGPT from OpenAI.

Colamedici later admitted that he created Xun as an exercise in ontological engineering. He adds that he wanted to write this book to help people see the way power manifests itself in today's world.

Mass criticism of the book

When the truth behind the book came to light, it received mass criticism. Some pointed towards the European Union's AI act, which considers the failure to label AI-generated content a serious violation.

But Colamedici defended himself, saying he deliberately left clues behind to those who were willing to question and investigate. He also stated that the revelation was predetermined.

Colamedici said:

"We actually did everything possible to make Xun's non-existence evident to anyone with even minimally inquisitive eyes."

Another main criticism surrounds how the book was written by AI. But Colamedici has denied those claims, claiming Claude and ChatGPT only served as interlocutors.