So, weighing up the pros and cons, how do you feel about AI? Seriously, now ...

To answer this question, I decided to ask an imaginary friend, who I decided to name Deborah. Deborah hasn’t been around for long, in fact I only made her up as I started typing, so she hasn’t had much time to get her head around AI.

I explained to Deborah that AI is an artificial replica of the human brain, a human creation, which has been gifted with the ability to think for itself.

Deborah said that sounds a lot like her, and when I explained that I find AI a bit creepy, she said she finds herself to be a bit creepy and that I have every right to be as creeped out about her as I am about AI. After all, can any other species dream up a Deborah? Even by taking the various permutations of evolution into consideration, this ability does seem a bit weird.

I asked Deborah if she could help me cope with AI and she told me that AI, like a tsunami, is a curious spectacle that will engulf and overwhelm the unprepared. When I told her that wasn’t an answer, she replied that I had better get ready because AI is inevitable, but if it makes me feel any better, that she would still be there for me in the aftermath, if I want her to be, that is.

Wondering out loud if there was a danger that AI would try to take Deborah away from me, I was reassured when she said that could only happen if AI somehow removed my right to imagine.

My response was that as a writer, that right is fundamental and non-negotiable.

While she agreed, she said that if I was going to make her stand out from all those AI generated Deborahs, I was going to have to be prepared to fight for her.

So that’s how I feel about AI, as if I’m embroiled in a battle to dream up my future Deborahs, and to make sure they don’t get lost in the crowd.

Robert Carrick

Copyright: text: Robert Carrick; photos: Wix.

Posts on this SSOA blog are published to showcase the work of emerging writers who meet weekly to workshop stories. The posts comprise some of the responses written in just 10 minutes.

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