This is a story, a brief dystopia. Over a hundred years ago E.M. Forster wrote The Machine Stops. This is a sort of sequel: though, since I lack the patience, I have not written it with the suspensions necessary to make it art. So it is also an essay.
I am not sure if you are aware that though life goes on as ever on the surface, everything is changing underneath. I know about the universities. Academics are asking how AI, or artificial intelligence, can be integrated into teaching and research. The students, as usual, are one step ahead. They consult ChatGPT and other AI systems to write essays, to compile bibliographies, and even, when teachers attempt to be wily (by offering only ‘in-class’ exams instead of ‘take-home’ essays), to ask what sort of questions the teachers are likely to ask, and to generate possible answers to those. AI will be used to finish sentences, and (the same thing) to offer inspiration and therapy when required. I know nothing, or almost nothing, about it. This is because AI, or ‘The Machine’, strikes me as simply demonic, on the one hand – intrinsically disastrous – and, on the other hand, almost inevitably likely to have bad consequences as everyone comes to first use and then depend on it. It is a dangerous instrument.
To read the rest of this article, you need to donate at least £5/month or £50/year to the Daily Sceptic, then create an account on this website. The easiest way to create an account after you’ve made a donation is to click on the ‘Log In’ button on the main menu bar, click ‘Register’ underneath the sign-in box, then create an account, making sure you enter the same email address as the one you used when making a donation. Once you’re logged in, you can then read all our paywalled content, including this article. Being a donor will also entitle you to comment below the line, discuss articles with our contributors and editors in a members-only Discord forum and access the premium content in the Sceptic, our weekly podcast. A one-off donation of at least £5 will also entitle you to the same benefits for one month. You can donate here.
There are more details about how to create an account, and a number of things you can try if you’re already a donor – and have an account – but cannot access the above perks on our Premium page.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.