A click of the mouse was all it took to reveal that thinking is no longer needed. Henceforth I can safely leave such a stressful activity in the efficient hands of AI.

With Artificial Intelligence taking care of my thought processes I can stop creasing my brow and pacing the room in frustration as I attempt some creative assignment.

This shadowy presence will do it all – and immediately, in minutes if not in seconds.

No subject, no genre, no point of view presents any sort of obstacle to its all knowing capability.

The dreaded writer’s block will be brushed aside without hesitation.

Bliss!

I can pour a glass, lay back and while away the hours bingeing on Netflix. Or, better still, delve into one of the bedside pile of ‘to-be-read’ tomes that lack of time has prevented me from tackling.

Among them is “a captivating literary work that skilfully weaves together a compelling plot and well-developed characters.”

Apparently the author’s writing style “is elegant and immersive, effortlessly transporting readers into the richly imagined world of the story. This thought-provoking and emotionally resonant book is highly recommended for those seeking a meaningful reading experience.”

Definitely a work worth spending time on.

And with all this spare time to wallow in there will be numerous such opportunities for indulging in this and other interests and pursuits.

Maybe even diligently follow the many intricate processes needed to produce one of those “simple” meals celebrity chefs (is there any other kind?) urge upon us – and then see hours of labour devoured in minutes.

Or perhaps set up the easel and set loose my artistic yearnings.

A whole new world awaits.

Maybe it will bring a feeling of release such as when an au pair is installed to enable the household to ignore the chores and tedious tasks that gobble up what is laughingly labelled as free, or leisure, time.

This blissful new era seems to have arrived almost overnight. One day we were straining the brain; the next we were free of such stress.

As writers, a lifetime of refining and rephrasing our prose is no longer our concern. Le mot juste will be located and inserted without bothering our little grey cells. Get the credit with none of the toil.

Will anyone care whether the words they read originate from a human being or technological contrivance?

How will we be able to differentiate? Or verify the statements being made, especially as queries will be answered by the robotic source.

This is shown at the most basic level by the bots that so many companies have installed in place of what were laughingly called Help lines but which, with perseverance, could at least evenutally be bypassed to join the queues to talk to a living person.

These bots have a limited vocabulary. Their “knowledge” is restricted to a half dozen or so basic issues. This ensures callers inevitably surrender to frustration and pull the plug.

And the business has one less troublesome customer to deal with.

These are but minor irritations brought about by the advent of AI. All part of the daily grind we have come to expect when dealing with the world of commerce. A world where the customer is rarely right and in which the biggest lie is “we value your opinion”. 

It is in the wider world that AI is seen at its scariest and most menacing. Pernicous and dangerous.

Already there are numerous  instances of newspapers and other media delegating writings tasks to AI.

For once, the rantings of the Trump about “fake news” are hard to dismiss. He has a point.

Academic papers and examination answers have been unmasked as barely touched by human hand – or thought.

Media releases can be even more cleverly crafted to present a partisan or distorted view.

A would-be author with no writing skills can “create” an entire novel by feeding AT with a few character names, basis plot outline, genre and setting. 

Upload the result to Amazon, enlist the aid of those pesky social media marketeers and . . . Bingo!  One more piece of dubious fiction is added to the thousands uploaded daily.

And sure to be devoured by a voracious horde of indiscriminate readers. 

No doubt many would succumb to the praise expressed in the review quoted earlier. But please don’t ask for further details.  Neither book nor author exist.

This was merely AI’s response when I asked it to write a book review.  And gave no more information.

Maybe not up to TLS standards but it would probably pass muster among the Goodreads fanatics.

Which makes it all the more ominous. frightening and ultra scary.  And there are no guardians at the gate.

**This post was written by human endeavour