I came across a fascinating read on BBC.com about fake newspaper companies in the US, which are owned and operated out of Russia; their objective? To spread misinformation. Yes, nothing new here, but read between the lines, where Sci-Fi Writers gather their ideas and see the future in the rear-view mirror.
“In the year 2224, the world is a place where truth and fiction have become indistinguishable, where society has been nursed for a century on fabricated posts, altered histories, and manipulated facts.
Every aspect of one’s life is dictated by the “Feed,” a global entity of tailored information to each individual, creating personalized realities. People live in isolated bubbles of perception, their beliefs shaped by an algorithm designed to maximize engagement rather than truth.
Enter O, who stumbles upon a hidden cache of unaltered records from the 21st century. As O delves deeper into these relics of the past, he begins to see the stark contrast between then and now. Driven by a desire to uncover the truth, O forms a clandestine group called “VeriFire” who are determined to burn down the Feed through its own memes.”
The other morning I was invited by a friend, who each Monday he and a crew finds a quiet little breakfast place to catch up and solve the worlds problems.
What I noticed among the facts presented to support a statement or argument came from posts presented on their smartphones: unquestioned, unvetted, untrue…. We have all seen this among among our own friends and family, but I can no longer keep up on their education of seeking out the truth before propagation begins.
If this is where we are now, how can A.I. prevent the speed of false information if A.I. is the source?
For every mousetrap their exists a smarter mouse.
But there just might be a profound effect when we approach the fork in the road. Will the weight of disinformation become so heavy that humanity will sink beneath its own wisdom or will a primitive allele, a safety mechanism for survival, be awakened where the truth will prevail and the Feed is reduced to ashes? DNA might be slow to replicate in comparison to algorithms, but genes passing the baton to their memes is a cleaver one. While the Algorithms are focusing on their Adversary (DNA), the memes will be flying under the radar.
Start by awakening your friends and family to unveil the truth before propagation.
I recently gave a talk on writing and a section of that talk was dedicated to tools of writing of which A.I. was one of those tools.
When mentioning the use of A.I. for writers, some immediately think, Cheating! Yes and No. If I am using A.I. to cut and paste into something I call my own, then I have gained nothing and I would not consider myself to be a writer. If I use A.I. as a tool (muse), then yes, I am a writer. I see using A.I. no differently than observing people on the streets or in a cafe to flesh out my characters or working on ideas with a spouse, partner, relative or friend, paid editor or agent. The way I use A.I. is to ask questions, feed in twists, elaborate on characters, solicit feedback and we go back and forth until ideas emerge. I take bits and pieces–mostly concepts and write from there.
Every profession requires practice to get good at something. I often practice writing treatments of fictitious novels I may or may not ever revisit. I do this to hone my writing skills and the use of A.I. has been a nice tool for improving my writing, without losing my voice. This is one of those treatments.
While at sea on a cruise steaming towards Singapore on calm seas with mysterious islands that slip by, I had an idea for a plot. What if our ship became disabled and ran aground on reef, far, far away from populated areas? And what if the surrounding waters were not what it appeared to be–somehow, by something alien… a sentient presence?
Text to image creation using Canva.com – DALL-E A.I. image generator
I needed an image to start with and from that image the words would flow. Using the (free) platform Canva.com, which in turn uses DALL-E as the text-2-image generator, I fed into it: A disabled cruise ship on a reef, rusted and encrusted with barnacles.
The image was a little bit worse for ware, but it will do. I could have taken more time getting the image I needed, but for this exercise it was a good start.
Now I had an image to work with, so scooting over to chatGPT I asked: “Please elaborate on this plot: A disabled drifting cruise ship wrecks on a reef three mile from an uninhabited island. Passengers are in high spirits knowing help will arrive. Volunteer officers, crew and passengers set out to reach the island. Days slip by and no help arrives. But before chaos sets in, an alien presence in the surrounding waters is discovered.” [Return].
I would love to have shown you the text chatGTP spits out and the new directives I command, but it would fill volumes.
Think of this plot as “Lord Of The Flies” meets “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”
We chatted back and forth on ideas for a good hour. When using a platform like this, you get better at syntax, for example: “be brief” or “rework that idea” or “replace that idea for this one: …… ” or “my protagonist is a marine biologist, slightly on the spectrum, and the antagonist is a lecturer onboard.
After awhile I forget I am using a machine and begin to believe there really is someone on a keyboard far away conversing with me.
Anyway, this is what we agreed upon as a treatment and not the result of a cut and paste. A.I. is good, but you begin to recognize the voice as not your own and the same for everything it spits out. There are clever parts to sentences and phrases I might use–no different as to what my editors suggest– but the concept and writing remain my own.
So here we go:
When a luxurious cruise ship becomes disabled by an unknown and mysterious origin, wrecking on a treacherous reef just three miles from an uninhabited island, initial optimism reigns among the passengers. With seemingly endless supplies of food, drink, and entertainment, the passengers and crew rally together, their situation as if merely on a prolonged vacation as festive as any hurricane party can be.
Days slip by without word from the scouting officers and crew who set out for the neighboring island and those days turn into weeks and months. Despite the lack of communication, the passengers maintain their optimism but as time drags on and no help arrives, the atmosphere aboard ship begins to ebb.
With resources squandered and basic amenities like electricity and plumbing rendered useless, factions form and individuals begin to vie for control and access to remaining supplies.
Just when it seems that the passengers and staff are on the brink of turning against one another, a new threat emerges from the surrounding waters. The presence of sentient lifeforms seemingly capable of feeling positive and negative feelings grip the remaining passengers and crew. Are they friend or foe?
As credit to chatGPT, I let it write out the synopsis of my treatment entirely on its own. It even came up with a catchy title I think I would use.
“Sentient Waters” is a thrilling tale of survival, exploring the fragility of human nature in the face of adversity and the unknown. As the passengers grapple with internal strife and external threats, they must band together to unravel the mysteries that lurk beneath the waves.”
David Nadas 