A wolf for man

At the end of 2025, the planet became enthusiastic about a two and a half minute cartoon advertising a French supermarket brand: more than a billion views on social networks. In this Christmas story, an unloved wolf learns to cook fresh vegetables and catch fish. He thus stops threatening the inhabitants of the forest, and provided with a nice quiche, can sit down with them at the New Year’s Eve table.

In my eyes, the most surprising thing about this fable is that Internet users praised it because its creation did not use generative artificial intelligence (AI). So, when the brand wanted to ride on the success by teaming up with Photomaton to offer people the opportunity to pose with the wolf using AI, the reactions were so hostile… that they had to give it up! I then wondered if the success of this little Christmas wolf was not driven by nostalgia for a world as pure as childhood, where human creation would still be preserved from the deception of artificial intelligence.

Whether the latter makes it possible to improve medical diagnoses or predict the weather, so be it; but whether it serves to nourish our imagination is another story. Not content with blurring the boundary between machines and the human mind, it requires immense data centers whose supercomputers devour our vital resources: the energy to run them and the water to cool them. In 2026, vigilance is required. Let’s not let AI become a wolf to man.

→ To be found, alternating with Dominique Lang, on RCF and Radio Notre-Dame every Saturday at 8:33 a.m. and in podcast on rcf.fr