Leave it to us humans to take advances in technology and twist them into manipulation tactics. How many of those comments in your social media posts are from actual, real people? What percentage of accounts are sock puppets and bots? Are the rage-baiters and gas lighters real, physical humans, or are they just fake AI accounts and autoresponders out there just stirring up the pot? Foreign governments trying to manipulate our emotions and get us all worked up? Can we trust that the videos posted on YouTube are real and not just AI software trying to fool us?
Graphics technology, motion capture, and AI now work so seamlessly that we just can’t be sure if those images and videos are real or simply deepfakes. Was that really Barack Obama? Good thing they explained it, otherwise I wouldn’t have known. We’re at a point now where we have to question literally EVERYTHING we see online. All that research and fact checking and source querying can be exhausting, not to mention wasteful with all the time we lose trying to verify the truth. Assuming you are, in fact, taking the time to verify the truth. You are, right? Because a third of our population couldn’t care less about the truth. But I’m sure you’re not one of those.
I’ve certainly felt the stress and anxiety of living in a world where I have to second guess everything I come across in the news and online. There have been so many times when I’ve thrown my hands up in the air and pulled my hair out in defeated exasperation. It can be tempting to give up and give in. That’s exactly what Barnes & Noble did. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” right?
Wrong.
It is possible to take all that stress and anxiety and channel it into something productive, something that doesn’t require our giving in to the rise of the machines or engaging in social media wars. One of the wonderful things I love about writing fiction is the pure escapism of the thing, not only reading it but also writing it. Don’t like what’s happening in the present-day real world? Close your eyes and throw yourself a couple hundred years into the future. What does that future or alternate universe look like? If we take current trends in technology, with all the issues we currently face, what path does that lead us down? Assuming of course that humanity will continue to misuse these advances in technology which, if I’m being honest, isn’t such a far-fetched theory. Here are some ideas of how we can use these advances and trends in our writing:
Alternate Realities
It’s already hard enough to tell truth from fiction in the news and everyday life. Every syndicate has their own slant on the truth, with many not even remotely interested in telling the truth at all. What about a story character who struggles with truth? Could be in the real world, but that idea could also take place in a virtual world. The Matrix did an amazing job making us question our own reality. Does the real world exist, or are we just living in a computer-generated simulation? How many obstacles could you throw in front of your character to make him question what’s real? (Thinking of Peeta Mallark here. “Real or not real?”) How could you make him question his own existence?
False Memories
What if a child was raised by a pair of simulated, deep fake parents? What if this child grew up and learned his whole life had been a lie? Or, on the contrary, what if growing up like this was considered the norm? What if everyone just accepted this was “just the way it is?” What if something happened to them later in life that made them question everything?
AI Sock Puppets
People already fear that AI and automation will take over their jobs and render them obsolete. What if people gave in to that and embraced it? Video games are already addicting. Advances in virtual reality technology are already creating breathtaking landscapes and experiences. What if people were more than happy to stay inside their virtual reality bubbles? What if all their relationships were AI? What if they CHOSE AI relationships over real relationships with real people? What are the advantages and disadvantages to creating your own AI companions?
Ethics of Truth
Isn’t truth really just an agreed-upon narrative accepted by society? Isn’t history only written by the victors? Who decides what is true and what is not? How much can we trust the history that’s been written? How many times have you read or heard someone online saying, “I have to speak my truth!” Does everyone get to decide what their own personal truth is? Is there such a thing as absolute truth? The US Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” Is truth really self-evident? Or is it simply a matter of your own personal interpretation? Who gets to decide what is true?
I’ve spent a ton of time and energy this year being angry about what I see happening around me and feeling totally lost and helpless and hopeless about the direction I see our future moving. Maybe you have too. It’s worse when we realize we have no real control over what’s happening. Sure, we can all make our own decisions and choose better options. Perhaps collectively that might add up to some positive changes. I wish I could make AI go away. I wish people chose to engage meaningfully and productively online. I wish foreign governments stopped meddling in people’s lives. But these things aren’t changing, because human nature itself isn’t changing. Like the saying goes, “Never underestimate the amount of damage that can be done by stupid people in large groups.” There are a lot of stupid people out there, and we’re not evolving to be any smarter, kinder, or more advanced as a society.
But there’s another useful saying, one I’ve been thinking about more and more lately. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” And let’s face it, there’s a lot of wasteful garbage out there, which means there’s a whole lot of potentially valuable material for stories. But only if we can channel it in the right direction.
What’s something that’s really pissing you off these days that you could use for fuel to light your story fire? Let me know in the comments.
