People Are Pretending To “Program” Strangers IRL -- And It All Started With This One TikTok Creator

6 days ago 9

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About

Computer, Turn X into Y or Computer Guy, also known as Computa Guy or Computa, Make This Guy X, refers to a series of viral videos posted to TikTok by user Julius Mondragon (@okjuskiii) starting in January 2026. The video skits and pranks are notably filmed using the Ray-Ban Camera Glasses.

The videos typically involve Mondragon approaching random people in Chicago and invoking his "computa" to perform various "programming" instructions aimed at the person, following a "command line" prompting the target to do or become something, such as, "‘Computa, make this girl have a smile on her face,” or "Computa, make this man gay." The catchphrase came to be widely used in content posted by other users on TikTok in early 2026 as his quotes and delivery style became a meme format.

Origin

TikTok user @okjuskiii, real name Julius Mondragon, began posting videos in this format in early January 2026, with the first being posted on January 10th, 2026. In the skit, Mondragon approaches a stranger in Chicago and announces, "Computer, activate CBT" to the prank's target. The video did not receive high engagement, receiving about 19,000 views and 980 likes in about two months.

@okjuskiii #fyp #explore #comedy #prank ♬ original sound – okjuskiii

Mondragon continued posting prank videos in this format over the course of the month, with one video posted on January 19th, 2026, receiving over 621,900 views and 118,200 likes in less than two months, becoming among the first to garner viral attention.

In the video, Mondragon compels his computer to turn various customers in a supermarket gay, which would become a common theme in his earlier videos.

@okjuskiii #fyp #explore #admin #theprogrammer #computa ♬ original sound – okjuskiii

Spread

On January 20th, 2026, Mondragon posted a video approaching customers in a cafe with computer commands like "activate rapid-fire typing" and "computer, activate intense focus session." Notably, the computer "programs" Mondragon employs in the video take on a much lighter, friendly tone, rather than the trolling and rage-baiting prominently featured before (though this element remained present in following videos). The video received over 2.9 million views and 430,000 likes in less than two months.

@okjuskiii #fyp #explore #funny #computa #theprogrammer ♬ original sound – okjuskiii

Two days later, on January 22nd, 2026, Mondragon posted another video, this time approaching strangers and apologizing before asking his computer to "de-materialize this man's balls" and similar commands. The video received over 3.5 million views and 464,200 in less than two months.

@okjuskiii #fyp #explore #computa #theprogrammer #funny ♬ original sound – okjuskiii

Videos in this format continued to be posted on a daily basis by Mondragon. On January 26th, 2026, the TikTok user, now branded as the "Computer/Computa Guy" by other users on the platform, posted another video commanding his computer to improve the lives of others, this time on a commuter train. In the video, Mondragon prompts the computer to "activate infinite joy programming" to ensure other riders feel "infinite joy for the rest of their life," before asking his computer to "activate hair follicle reactivation" for a bald rider. The video received 4.4 million views and 457,400 likes in less than two months.

@okjuskiii #fyp #explore ♬ original sound – okjuskiii

Mondragon's videos continued to perform well on TikTok, with many reaching over a million views. As the videos continued to be made at a near-daily frequency, in addition to their newfound virality, many Chicago residents began to recognize (and actively avoid) the Computer Guy, who had become somewhat of a local legend in the area. In a profile piece for the Chicago Tribune, Christopher Borrelli Mondragon writes that Mondragon is "often talked about with a faux-folksy solemnity -- as if he were an urban legend, or Bigfoot." Mondragon also commented on the effectiveness of trolling vs being positive to prank targets, stating: "The joy-based (videos) do better. People like them more, I think, as corny as that sounds."

As Mondragon's videos became popular on TikTok, other users began using the format to make similar videos. For example, TikTok user @urmomsajoe69 posted a video on March 8th, 2026, asking his computer to "turn random straight guys super gay for eachother," which received over 255,000 views and 49,200 likes in just one day.

@urmomsajoe69 ts frying me cause i came into my college halls crazy as hell 😭 i LOVE that video cause it was camp omg but this one kinda got dicey like why was i about to get hit COMPUTA??? 💀 #gay #college #prank #omega #fyp ♬ original sound – urmomsajoe69