Greetings, readers, writers, and thinkers. Today’s note is a little different from normal. First up is a new, exciting collaboration with Erica. Next is a real-world report from a recent digital conference. I tend to leave sci-fi alone in my writing, as it’s fast becoming a reality in my day job (I’m an online marketer). However, I know A.I. is loved and loathed on Substack, and I thought you would like to hear what some of the best minds in the industry have to say about it.
As always, all of your comments will get a response.
Eat, pray, love? Nah. Write, pray and publish.
As some of you know, I co-author Serial Hour with Erica Drayton. We started with a videocast, discussing our separate stories and the challenges of serialising on Substack. It was fun, but it also felt slightly self-indulgent and hollow. Something was missing.
At the same time, we were having immense fun bouncing ideas off each other.
Yes, we decided to write a book together. I thought it would be a tame affair in Scrivener or Google Docs - something to be relished in the after-hours behind closed doors. Instead, Erica proposed something new.
Public collaboration, world-building, characters, creative disagreements - and the actual story - will be posted on Serial Hour. It’s the Substack equivalent of reality TV, where you bake a cake without a recipe card or scales on-screen.
I told Erica I would have to think about it. She countered with EPIC SKY BATTLES. Small fireworks burst in my head, and my five-year-old inner diva applauded.
The sensible bit of me spoke up. What happens if we drive into a plot dead-end or our characters end up as dumb as a half-brick?
Erica pointed out that we could have animals as the villains, not the sidekicks. Dumb characters could get eaten, neatly driving the plot forward.
That shattered my resistance.
You can sign up below if you want to watch it in action.
Meet Ameca
Last week, I was in London, watching some of the best and brightest marketing minds discuss A.I. They are adamant that the future is not only here but smacking us in the face. Ameca (the one that looks like an extra from I, Robot) responded directly to questions from the speakers and audience, offering statistics, speculation, its own definition of a robot, a poem, and a dance.
However…every question was met with a processing delay and sometimes a completely wrong answer. Ameca was hooked up to a very high-powered version of ChatGPT that was incredibly versatile and also very passive. When the robot was not answering questions, it moved, blinked and gazed like a human, shifting its focus every few seconds.
After the first ninety seconds, the real-life humans were more interesting than Ameca. John runs his own company and CEO podcast. Mo specialises in human happiness and warns about the dangers of A.I., and Nina is an A.I. enthusiast. They’ve been thinking about the machine revolution for a long time, and what they offered was a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
What we know today
A.I. is smart or dumb, depending on its data input. The institutional knowledge given to it (especially on custom-made bots) is crucial.
A.I. is not really one thing. It’s a meta-technology, in the same way the internet is, or the printing press.
In the past, we have industrialised farming, manufacturing, and knowledge. With A.I, we’ve done the same to intelligence.
Unlike past revolutions, there are few access barriers and no gatekeepers to A.I. You needed land to farm or capital to build a factory. ChatGPT is available to download in seconds on your phone.
Because it’s so widely available, AI will be profoundly disruptive. We’ve already tasted the effects, from deep fakes and scams to A.I.-generated games, books, and music. AI is now being used to decode genetic medicine, discover cancer cells in patients, and guide drones in war.
What will happen in the future?
By 2025, the bulk of the internet will be AI-generated content.
Most of this content will be tripe.
The provenance of art, news, and information will become important (especially given its impact on democracy).
Trust will become all-important. The human connection will matter as much, if not more, than before.
Human community with healthy information habits will be as necessary as exercise or clean eating to prevent overwhelm.
We can expect massive leaps in personalised medicine, learning, building design, warfare, food and art.
What will happen to work?
A.I. will not take your job. However, a human using AI will do so, especially if you are in sales, marketing, design, or one of the creative industries.
Example: GoogleX ran an ad competition between a group of graphic designers and A.I. using public interest to judge the results. It was evenly split between the humans and machines, then beaten by two renegade designers who used A.I. The renegades were disqualified from the competition and given a job.
Thanks to AI and data analysis, marketing will become hyper-personalised.
Every company will have an in-house custom-built AI designed to remove friction from information search and processing. This will be closer to the talking computer in Star Trek than the walking computer in The Terminator.
There’s a good chance you are using AI already. It’s the autofill sentence in your emails, the voice assistant on your phone, that meeting summary on Zoom or your traffic app with real-time updates.
Could we build The Terminator and blow up the world?
(This is my takeaway from the talk, rather than the speakers.)
Not yet. This version of A.I. does not think for itself, and its reliance on human prompts means it’s more likely to mess up your pizza order than press the nuclear button. If we ever make a sentient machine, it’s likely to be insane because humans don’t run on logic. We run on emotions and exceptions.
Take one picture…
My latest quick story.
I stepped back so the President could examine the tree. It dominated the conservatory, the twisted truck rising from the warm pool, high enough to brush its leaves against the glass ceiling.
The atmosphere was hot and humid. I was amused to see the sweat break out on the President’s neck under the fine silk scarf she insisted on wearing. She bent over to stare at the striking discus fish I kept in the pool. They bobbed up to the surface, hoping to be fed.
“They are very large,” she grumbled.
“They are no threat to the other wildlife,” I said soothingly. “Their mouths are too small for anything except bloodworms and fish food. This is a controlled atmosphere. Much safer than rehab or prison, with none of the publicity. I guarantee complete anonymity.”
She straightened and stared at me. “And you will turn him back?”
“Of course,” I said. “You’ve already spoken to some of my former guests. No long-term effects, no ill will: a few even thanked me! Their time here really brought their life into perspective. It’s a pity that we can’t use it as part of the prison system. I think my method is much more humane than locking people up for most of the day.”
She glanced up, and I followed her gaze. Hugh had just jumped sideways, followed by Blaise, both button-eyed and slick with moisture. They were the healthiest they had ever been in their lives.
“Very well,” the President sighed. She fidgeted with the scarf draped around her neck. “He is yours. Only until after the election, mind you. I will need him back for Davos.”
I nodded, smiling. “Is he in the car?” I enquired.
“Yes. You will need to hide the car. He drove it here, himself. He thinks this is a counselling session.”
My smile broadened. “In a way, it is, Your Excellency.”
She nodded uncertainly and walked out.
My assistant, Richard, padded in after her. I may have twisted the truth (just a little) about the long-term effects. Richard had refused to go home when I had turned him back. He also preferred to walk around the place barefoot.
“A new guest?” he asked.
“Yes. Poor sod. She won’t want him back after a few weeks of peace.”
Richard shrugged. “There are worse things than being your guest, Ma’am. Do you want me to bring him in?”
“Yes. Settle him with tea in the front room and drive the car to the second garage.”
“It’s a Ferrari, Ma’am. Manual gearbox.”
“Your sneakers are by the front door. Use the pedals.”
He growled under his breath.
“Richard!”
He ducked his head, dog-like, and hurried away.
“A poison tree frog,” I said aloud to myself. “He will be the prettiest little thing in the world.”
*
See you all next week.
I really appreciated these nuanced comments on AI!!
What you said about human community becoming as important as exercising is so interesting… it makes me wonder if AI will actually help us escape the vacuous world of social media. People are craving community, and AI could help them understand their need for it even more.