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Saturday, March 2, 2024

programs


by a thoughtful citizen



deep blue defeated gary kasparov in may 1997, now almost thirty years ago. deep blue was a program designed specifically to play chess and not considered “artificial intelligence”.

since then it has become taken for granted that humans have no chance against programs, “a i” or otherwise, in playing chess. i remember reading a statement by kasparov himself that “for a few dollars anyone can now purchase a program that can crush a grandmaster”. kasparov’s thoughts on the subject are readily available online. more recently, i read something to the effect that the biggest problem facing anyone trying to design computer chess games today was producing something that a human could beat.

here in the year 2024, it seems that a i , in producing “creative work” of any kind, and superseding human producers, might be at the same tipping point as deep blue was against kasparov in 1997. the time may not be long before a i programs can leave human “creators” as far back in the dust as chess programs have left human chess players.

in the last year or so, kindle direct publishing, amazon’s service for self-publishing, has added a question as to whether a i programing has been used by the author to produce the work being submitted. i do not know if a “yes” answer prevents kdp from accepting the work. probably not - at this point, they may just want the information for statistics,

thrillers, romance novels, fantasy novels, and screenplays (excepting the most arty) would seem the first in the line of fire. it may not be long before - the time may already be here - when an a i program can not only produce smoother, more palatable products of this sort but produce them instantaneously. recently hollywood screenwriters went on strike, and eventually settled with the studios, the studios apparently agreeing - for now - that they “needed” the writers. but for how long? it seemed to me that the writers were rushing into the fiery furnace and provoking the studios into speeding up the process of replacing them with a i.

what about “serious” writing? what about programs duplicating famous authors of the past - shakespeare, jane austen, dickens, whoever? in these cases i think it would depend on the audience’s acceptance. some shakespeare or jane austen buffs might welcome convincing pastiches of these old favorites. books of this sort are already produced, with no subterfuge, of authors both in the public domain and authorized by the authors’s estates. conan doyle is the most obvious example.

but as you get closer to the present it seems less likely that any audience would accept this sort of thing. the readers of “serious” writing want to identify with the author and apparently want to feel they “know“ them. one evidence of this is the concern so many readers now have with “problematic” authors - authors whose opinions on political or social matters, or actions in their real lives, the readers view with horror or disapproval or contempt. would these readers have any interest in “serious” writing by a i? my guess is that they would not. theoretically, publishers could invent “authors” for these works, but would it be worth their while, given the relatively low sales of such works, and the risk of backlash if they were caught out?

so - a likely foreseeable future is one in which most writing is produced by a i programs, but a small amount of non-genre writing - the kind of writing that wins prizes like booker prizes and national book awards - will be produced by humans - most or all of it by graduates of creative writing programs.



Sunday, February 18, 2024

waterfall


by bofa xesjum



the world is obsolete

the mighty seek salvation

an obnoxious clown walked down a dusty road toward a sparkling waterfall

the old world still has its expectations

but there is victory in despair

the obnoxious clown recalled the sinful dancer

terror is not mysterious

only infinity is mysterious

the mysterious woman said hello to the crestfallen clown

salvation was out of reach for the mysterious wanderer

beside the waterfall with the clown

in their despair, they avoided all mention of the —

the world thanked them and said goodbye

and thought there might still be a chance for —



Saturday, February 17, 2024

brain


by so so johnson



my brain is a road
i walk down every night

past the old house
the old empty house

they say it is empty
but is it?

i should go up
and knock on the door

but i never do
the windows are dark

so it must be empty
but you never know

someone might answer
if i only knock

maybe george washington lives there
or al capone

or charles lindbergh or joan of arc
or my grandmother

you get the idea
but somehow i never do

as i walk on
night after night

in my brain
across the long moon



Tuesday, February 13, 2024

sixteen candles


by so so johnson



the most important thing in the world is to care

the biggest problem in the world is greed

every human being has a right to a decent life

every living creature has a right to a decent life

no human has the right to tell another human being what to do

life should be fair

the only true religion is love

next to greed, the biggest problem in the world is power

religion and capitalism seek power by pitting groups of people against each other

religion created capitalism, and capitalism created war

the first priests created religion to drive people apart into separate tribes and enslave them

all people should be free to love any way they want

the priests and capitalists are against love because they want to hold on to power

all power should be abolished so that people can love and be free

the personal is the political

society should be completely torn down and restructured



Friday, February 9, 2024

clouds


by bofa xesjum



the highway can be a surprise

it is raining somewhere

i knew a man who was always doing something

i like to go for walks, especially on streets

the day will come

every cloud has its sky

it takes a big boy to shine big shoes

take the third exit

i think the street likes me

i hate french fries with a passion

especially on the side of the highway

it just goes on and on, doesn’t it?

the girl looked in the window

and the old woman tapped her on the shoulder



Thursday, February 8, 2024

pilgrim


by bofa xesjum



life is a highway

the exit is the exit

the girl believes in love

night is the exit

love is in the street

the night tells a joke

the car turns on to the highway

the car passes another car

the street comes to life.

a cloud floats over the door

it starts to rain as omar comes out the door

the rain came from the cloud

the rain means death

i forgot about that



Tuesday, February 6, 2024

jailhouse blues


by horace p sternwall



down in the boondocks
out in the yard
amanda had a billy goat
billy had a pard

the pard’s name was jesse
he robbed the mail
he told the same jokes every night
but they never got stale

i wish i was back there
instead of in this cell
eve climbed the apple tree
but poor adam fell

i have never seen a country road
a possum, or a bear
but i have these dreams so curious
that i feel compelled to share

omar was a sultan
as wide as he was wise
salome danced the hoochie koo
as herod rolled his eyes

the moon is a rattlesnake
the sun never comes up
i wish i had a pillow
and some whiskey in my cup

the world is not an apple pie
not that i have found
i would tell the sheriff my sad tale
but he never comes around