Skip to content

Quiz: Unicorn Spotting

Test your ability to distinguish between things that are true, things that are false, and things that are technically true in a way designed to mislead.

1. Deadpan delivery achieves its satirical effect through which mechanism?

  1. Exaggerated facial expressions and theatrical gestures
  2. The gap between a completely serious tone and absurd content
  3. Explicitly labeling every joke with "(this is satire)"
  4. Using ALL CAPS and multiple exclamation marks to signal humor
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Deadpan delivery presents absurd content with total seriousness — no winking, no laughter, no indication that the speaker recognizes the absurdity. The humor comes entirely from the gap between tone and content. The chapter notes that the technology industry already speaks in deadpan — press releases announce "revolutionary" products with total sincerity — making the industry's own communication style indistinguishable from satire.

Concept Tested: Deadpan Delivery

2. The chapter presents six statements and challenges the reader to identify which are real technology quotes and which are invented. This difficulty demonstrates what?

  1. That the author is an unreliable narrator
  2. That AI-generated text is always indistinguishable from human text
  3. That actual technology claims and satirical inventions have become indistinguishable
  4. That fact-checking is impossible in the digital age
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Real claims by technology leaders ("We are on the cusp of creating intelligence that rivals our own") sound as implausible as invented ones ("Our product uses quantum-encrypted blockchain to verify unicorn sightings"). This convergence is "the product of an industry whose communication strategy has made reality and fantasy indistinguishable." The satirist's job is merely to present the reality without comment.

Concept Tested: Fact vs Fiction

3. Source evaluation requires assessing which of the following about the person making a claim?

  1. Their follower count on social media platforms
  2. Their incentives, credentials, and track record
  3. Whether they have appeared on a TED stage
  4. The graphic design quality of their slide deck
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. A claim is more trustworthy when made by "a credentialed person with no financial stake in the outcome, using transparent methodology, subject to independent review." The chapter provides a framework rating sources from company press releases (low reliability) to peer-reviewed papers (moderate to high) to social media thought leaders (low — "anecdotes presented as data, unfalsifiable predictions").

Concept Tested: Source Evaluation

4. Which logical fallacy assumes that something is better simply because it is newer?

  1. Appeal to authority
  2. False dichotomy
  3. Appeal to novelty
  4. Post hoc fallacy
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. The appeal to novelty is the assumption that newer means better — the foundational argument of technology marketing. "Version 4.0 changes everything. Version 3.0 also changed everything. Version 2.0 changed everything before that. The total amount of change should, by now, be approximately everything cubed." The fallacy drives product cycles where devices become obsolete not because they stop working but because the new one has a differently shaped notch.

Concept Tested: Logical Fallacy

5. Confirmation bias in AI evaluation causes which of the following?

  1. Both AI optimists and AI pessimists to selectively process information
  2. Only AI pessimists to dismiss genuine achievements
  3. Only AI optimists to overlook limitations
  4. Investors to make perfectly rational decisions based on complete data
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Confirmation bias affects everyone: optimists dismiss failures as edge cases, pessimists dismiss successes as cherry-picked, investors call negative articles "FUD," and displaced workers experience every capability as a personal threat. The antidote is not objectivity — humans are not objective. The antidote is awareness: "Knowing that you have a bias allows you to compensate for it."

Concept Tested: Confirmation Bias

6. In the claim verification process, what is the first question to ask?

  1. "Has the result been replicated by independent researchers?"
  2. "Is the claim specific and falsifiable?"
  3. "How much venture capital has been invested in this technology?"
  4. "Does the claim appear on a reputable LinkedIn thought leader's profile?"
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. If the claim is not specific and falsifiable, it is not a claim — it is marketing. "Our AI is transformative" is not a claim; it is a mood. "Our AI reduces customer churn by 40%" is a claim that can be verified. The decision tree leads from specificity to evidence, to independent confirmation, to replication, to limitations disclosure — each step filtering out progressively more noise.

Concept Tested: Claim Verification

7. The bandwagon fallacy in AI discourse takes which form?

  1. "Everyone is adopting AI, so we should too"
  2. "This is new, therefore it is better"
  3. "A famous CEO said it, so it must be true"
  4. "Either we embrace AI fully or we fall behind"
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. The bandwagon fallacy argues that popularity equals suitability. The chapter notes: "Everyone once adopted fax machines. The popularity of a technology is not evidence of its suitability for your specific context." Option B is the appeal to novelty, C is the appeal to authority, and D is the false dichotomy — each a distinct logical fallacy commonly deployed in AI discourse.

Concept Tested: Logical Fallacy

8. The Unicorn Test, referenced in the Unicorn Spotter's Checklist, involves doing what?

  1. Checking whether the product has achieved a $1 billion valuation
  2. Verifying that the product's horn is made of genuine alicorn
  3. Replacing the product name with "unicorn" and checking if the sentence still makes equal sense
  4. Comparing the product's demo to its production performance
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. If you can substitute "unicorn" for the product name and the sentence still makes equal sense, the product may not exist. "A transformative force of unprecedented purity, accessible only to those deemed worthy" describes a medieval unicorn, a blockchain startup, and a new AI model with equal accuracy. The test exploits the structural similarity between mythology and marketing.

Concept Tested: Claim Verification

9. Biting satire is distinguished from gentle satire by which test?

  1. Whether it uses more than three literary devices per paragraph
  2. Whether it makes someone in power uncomfortable
  3. Whether it has been reviewed by a committee of mythical beasts
  4. Whether it contains footnotes with citations to fictional studies
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Biting satire causes discomfort — it makes the target feel targeted, makes the audience wince as well as laugh, and lands on a truth everyone knows but nobody says. "If nobody is offended, the satire isn't working." The chapter targets the AI hype industry, education's refusal to adapt, technology fantasy culture, and job displacement denial — each selected because it involves people in power failing people without it.

Concept Tested: Biting Satire

10. The most reliable sign of confirmation bias, according to Sparkle, is which of the following?

  1. Uncertainty about whether AI will succeed or fail
  2. A willingness to change one's mind when presented with new evidence
  3. Certainty — being completely sure that AI will change everything, or completely sure it will change nothing
  4. A moderate, evidence-based assessment of both capabilities and limitations
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Sparkle observes: "If you are completely sure that AI will change everything, or completely sure that it will change nothing, you have stopped evaluating evidence and started defending a position. The evidence does not care about your position." Certainty in either direction is the diagnostic signal that confirmation bias has replaced analysis.

Concept Tested: Confirmation Bias