In trying to figure out how to warn our descendants about nuclear waste, even through a possible societal collapse, one of the more fun ideas is using cats that show a visible difference in the presence of nuclear radiation along with nursery rhymes/mythology that tell you to get the fuck out of dodge after your cat turns blue.
Similarly, our mythology about the fae lines up alright with current generative AI: it will tell you what you want to hear, but can’t be trusted; it looks like a person, but might have too many fingers or its eyes are made of stone; something’s just off.
To be clear: I don’t actually believe humans destroyed a previous society with “AI” at a similar sophistication level and coded cultural warnings against it into us, but it’s fun to think about.
I don’t think any hominin of floresiensis-like size emerged from Africa. Just floresiensis on Flores and luzonensis on nearish Luzon. They’re probably descended from erectus that shrank “on site” so to speak.
They are some aboriginal australian stories about two other kinds of people - tall thin good ones and short stocky bad ones. I’ve wondered if that’s describing neanderthal, denisovan or some other close but extinct branches of homo.