Well, there are any number of real-life historical cases of mass hysteria (in the literal sense), though we still don't reliably know what caused or causes the most absurd examples.
Re:The Last Invention of Man
by sundaysailor on Saturday October 07, 2017 @03:27AM
(#15422738)
Christopher Cherniak, The Riddle of the Universe and Its Solution (1978),
http://themindi.blogspot.in/2007/02/chapter-17-riddle-of-uni...
Re:The Last Invention of Man
by frankhorrigan on Friday October 06, 2017 @07:36PM
(#15421258)
Infinite Jest deals with this. Though I feel like it's a spoiler to say any more than that.
I wondered many times if an AI could invent something more viral than "cats", something maybe so viral that it causes your mind to melt (ie, you go insane by the cuteness or whatever)