  Public debate about AI is dominated by Frankenstein Syndrome, the fear that
AI will become superhuman and escape human control. Although superintelligence
is certainly a possibility, the interest it excites can distract the public
from a more imminent concern: the rise of Artificial Stupidity (AS). This
article discusses the roots of Frankenstein Syndrome in Mary Shelley's famous
novel of 1818. It then provides a philosophical framework for analysing the
stupidity of artificial agents, demonstrating that modern intelligent systems
can be seen to suffer from 'stupidity of judgement'. Finally it identifies an
alternative literary tradition that exposes the perils and benefits of AS. In
the writings of Edmund Spenser, Jonathan Swift and E.T.A. Hoffmann, ASs
replace, oppress or seduce their human users. More optimistically, Joseph
Furphy and Laurence Sterne imagine ASs that can serve human intellect as maps
or as pipes. These writers provide a strong counternarrative to the myths that
currently drive the AI debate. They identify ways in which even stupid
artificial agents can evade human control, for instance by appealing to
stereotypes or distancing us from reality. And they underscore the continuing
importance of the literary imagination in an increasingly automated society.
