@Let’s be clear. The planet is not in jeopardy. WE are in jeopardy. We haven’t got the power to destroy the planet—or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves.”
I completely agree! In my experience, most books don’t translate well to film. I love Stephen King’s stories, but the movie versions don’t work for me. I think Michael Crichton’s work adapts well for the screen. I believe the main difference is that Crichton was not only an accomplished author of fiction but also a skilled screenwriter and filmmaker.
A.I. is every T-Rex and velociraptor rolled up into a string of 1’s and 0’s in the imaginary, binary “cloud” that, at the push of few buttons of input, from the wrong people (who are alive today and planning just this), will make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like a bad day at Disneyland—let alone a jeep tour gone wrong during a storm at Jurassic Park.
LOL! Well, as was said…”welcome to Jurassic Park.” I haven’t slept since the day before the November 2024 election. But THAT’s another T-rex I don’t want to talk about.
Thank you Kert. This essay is magnificent! Witty, funny and definitely food for thoughts. I came across a quantum physics engineer a few months ago who told me that what we call Artificial Intelligence is not intelligence at all but merely a super calculator with access to an immense ocean of datas and I agree with that but, for there is a but very much in agreement with your post: My 12 years old daughter uses ChatGPT a lot, not for her homework but to have counseling upon what she should do with her life or with any given situation. Though I tell her again and again that she’s putting her decisions into the hands of a machine and that she and we, as her parents, are better equipped for guidance, she sees AI as a kind of playful best friend who knows everything about life, the Universe and everything. I think that’s where the danger really lies for now, the way our children relate to AI as if it were a caring sentient being. Lots of love.
OMG you are SO spot on! And that’s one of the most powerful ways we humans are in danger—how future generations are becoming incapable of critically evaluating the impact of allowing technologies into our lives! I love that perspective Geraldine. Our youth are being brought up in this ecosystem of virtually seamless integration of technology with our biology. We’ve almost already lost them to screens—that deep sadness is in the way unguided children relate to entities that are not flesh and blood, mistaking them for someone with wisdom and who will give friendship. It’s a one-sided relationship. AI can’t knock on her door and ask her to “come outside and play.” As an aside, have you seen either the movie “Her” with Joaquin Phoenix, or the Netflix docuseries “The Social Dilemma”? (As a former teacher and principal, I’d ask that every parent, or person who loves kids, would watch that and take note.) I’d bet you and your daughter would have great conversations should you both watch it together. (And girls especially should take note!). ~ Sorry, that was the teacher in me coming out. You do you!!! And thanks again for an amazing comment. You might want to consider writing more about this topic yourself! You’ve got the seeds of a pretty great essay there.
Thank you for your kind words, Kert. I will definitely watch both documentary and movie if they are available on my side of the planet and let you know what I think of them. Parents’ role are so important in how kids relate to screens and technology but lots of them use the screens exactly the same way as their kids so it’s hard for them to put limitations. I talk to my daughter when she is open to it, which is not a lot for she is 12, but I know she hears me and might take in account what I’m telling her later on. As you said, I think we mustn’t demonize technology in itself for it is very useful in so many areas of our lives but be mindful in how we use it, not to isolate and individualize ourselves a little more, but to connect and learn just as with Substack. Lots of love.
Really great writing, as you know Paulette, allows the reader to make great connections to their own life. Crichton no doubt had genetic engineering on his mind—taking it to its inevitable and highly destructive consequence. But with that, and because “science” is incapable of “learning from the past” thereby doomed to always repeat it, (scientists argue it’s not their job to learn from the past!), Jurassic Park works as a metaphor for so much in the scientific realm. The variable in all the science equations is the fallible human mind…and ego. I think it is the height of irony to come to know those of us who live the highest quality of life are those who are eliminating as much technology from their lives as possible. I know that is true for me at least.
Yes, isn't it beautiful how we, the readers, make our connections to the writer's words? I remember when I thought I'd never succumb to texting!
Speaking of connecting with the writer's words. Kert, I finished Die Wise. I borrowed it from the library and then purchased my own copy. I want to reread it so I can mark it up. You asked me to share my thoughts after reading, but where do I begin?
I’m almost ready to begin my fourth reading of it. His way of using language needs to seep deeply—I very much look forward to a conversation with you about this book. It is unlike virtually any other I’ve read on topics such as grief, suffering, dying, compassion, relationship, and, of course, death. I used portions and excerpts of this work when I helped steward my staff and a couple families through the deaths of loved ones—the latest being a sixth grade girl with a glioblastoma during our Covid year. Talk about profound! And then Die Wise was VITAL in helping shepherd my dad and my own family through his dying. I credit this book as one of the prime motivators for me becoming a hospice volunteer. So, needless to say, it means a lot to me.
But I don’t think it’s for everyone—not everyone could read it. If you did, and are going back for a second helping with your own copy now, you are, for sure, my anam cara and soul kin. I can’t read any book without marking it up—which is why I don’t own a library card.
I thought about you while reading, Kert. And I remembered how we met here, through the comments on one of Diamond-Michael's posts. You wrote something about your journey with your dad that touched me and brought to mind the path I walked with both my folks.
I'd appreciate a conversation with you about the reading of this seminal book and its impact.
"Who benefits? What are the costs (for there are always costs)? What is the best that could happen with this? What is the worst that could happen with this? Who will get hurt and how? Who controls access? Is there an ‘off’ button? Who’s in control of that button? Who’s ahead of ‘us’ in development? (And who is ‘us’ anyway?) What protections and/or guardrails need to be in place? Can those be held sacred by everyone? How will we know?" AND who has the answers to these questions?
Here is an ancient folk tale for our time.
High in the Himalayan mountains lived a wise old man.
A few young boys from the village decided to play a joke on the wise old man and discredit his special abilities.
The boys devised a plan.
They would catch a bird and ask the old man if the bird was dead or alive. If the wise man said the bird was alive, the boy would crush the bird in his hands, so that when he opened his hands the bird would be dead; if the wise man said the bird was dead, the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly free. So no matter what the old man said, the boys would prove the old man a fraud.
The boys walked up to the wise old man and asked, " Old man, old man, tell us, is the bird alive or is it dead?"
The wise old man looked at the boys and said, "The answer is in your hands, as you choose it to be.”
I’ve always loved that parable. Even now, the challenge always seems to be whether we can discover the agency we always possess, or allow societal winds to carry us along in futility.
As the wise man says: “it’s as we choose it to be.”
Great, love this quote
@Let’s be clear. The planet is not in jeopardy. WE are in jeopardy. We haven’t got the power to destroy the planet—or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves.”
I completely agree! In my experience, most books don’t translate well to film. I love Stephen King’s stories, but the movie versions don’t work for me. I think Michael Crichton’s work adapts well for the screen. I believe the main difference is that Crichton was not only an accomplished author of fiction but also a skilled screenwriter and filmmaker.
Excellent essay Kert!
Thanks Charlotte! I love your comments.
How do you feel about AI?
Whew. You said it, man. Well done bit of writing, too, my friend!
That’s high praise for me, my friend. Thank you!
This analogy had me laughing, Kert:
A.I. is every T-Rex and velociraptor rolled up into a string of 1’s and 0’s in the imaginary, binary “cloud” that, at the push of few buttons of input, from the wrong people (who are alive today and planning just this), will make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like a bad day at Disneyland—let alone a jeep tour gone wrong during a storm at Jurassic Park.
I was laughing and crying at the same time writing it.
Upset I read this before bed 😂
LOL! Well, as was said…”welcome to Jurassic Park.” I haven’t slept since the day before the November 2024 election. But THAT’s another T-rex I don’t want to talk about.
Thank you Kert. This essay is magnificent! Witty, funny and definitely food for thoughts. I came across a quantum physics engineer a few months ago who told me that what we call Artificial Intelligence is not intelligence at all but merely a super calculator with access to an immense ocean of datas and I agree with that but, for there is a but very much in agreement with your post: My 12 years old daughter uses ChatGPT a lot, not for her homework but to have counseling upon what she should do with her life or with any given situation. Though I tell her again and again that she’s putting her decisions into the hands of a machine and that she and we, as her parents, are better equipped for guidance, she sees AI as a kind of playful best friend who knows everything about life, the Universe and everything. I think that’s where the danger really lies for now, the way our children relate to AI as if it were a caring sentient being. Lots of love.
OMG you are SO spot on! And that’s one of the most powerful ways we humans are in danger—how future generations are becoming incapable of critically evaluating the impact of allowing technologies into our lives! I love that perspective Geraldine. Our youth are being brought up in this ecosystem of virtually seamless integration of technology with our biology. We’ve almost already lost them to screens—that deep sadness is in the way unguided children relate to entities that are not flesh and blood, mistaking them for someone with wisdom and who will give friendship. It’s a one-sided relationship. AI can’t knock on her door and ask her to “come outside and play.” As an aside, have you seen either the movie “Her” with Joaquin Phoenix, or the Netflix docuseries “The Social Dilemma”? (As a former teacher and principal, I’d ask that every parent, or person who loves kids, would watch that and take note.) I’d bet you and your daughter would have great conversations should you both watch it together. (And girls especially should take note!). ~ Sorry, that was the teacher in me coming out. You do you!!! And thanks again for an amazing comment. You might want to consider writing more about this topic yourself! You’ve got the seeds of a pretty great essay there.
Thank you for your kind words, Kert. I will definitely watch both documentary and movie if they are available on my side of the planet and let you know what I think of them. Parents’ role are so important in how kids relate to screens and technology but lots of them use the screens exactly the same way as their kids so it’s hard for them to put limitations. I talk to my daughter when she is open to it, which is not a lot for she is 12, but I know she hears me and might take in account what I’m telling her later on. As you said, I think we mustn’t demonize technology in itself for it is very useful in so many areas of our lives but be mindful in how we use it, not to isolate and individualize ourselves a little more, but to connect and learn just as with Substack. Lots of love.
I never saw the metaphor between Jurassic Park and AI. Wow. This is so well-written and scary as hell!
Really great writing, as you know Paulette, allows the reader to make great connections to their own life. Crichton no doubt had genetic engineering on his mind—taking it to its inevitable and highly destructive consequence. But with that, and because “science” is incapable of “learning from the past” thereby doomed to always repeat it, (scientists argue it’s not their job to learn from the past!), Jurassic Park works as a metaphor for so much in the scientific realm. The variable in all the science equations is the fallible human mind…and ego. I think it is the height of irony to come to know those of us who live the highest quality of life are those who are eliminating as much technology from their lives as possible. I know that is true for me at least.
Yes, isn't it beautiful how we, the readers, make our connections to the writer's words? I remember when I thought I'd never succumb to texting!
Speaking of connecting with the writer's words. Kert, I finished Die Wise. I borrowed it from the library and then purchased my own copy. I want to reread it so I can mark it up. You asked me to share my thoughts after reading, but where do I begin?
I’m almost ready to begin my fourth reading of it. His way of using language needs to seep deeply—I very much look forward to a conversation with you about this book. It is unlike virtually any other I’ve read on topics such as grief, suffering, dying, compassion, relationship, and, of course, death. I used portions and excerpts of this work when I helped steward my staff and a couple families through the deaths of loved ones—the latest being a sixth grade girl with a glioblastoma during our Covid year. Talk about profound! And then Die Wise was VITAL in helping shepherd my dad and my own family through his dying. I credit this book as one of the prime motivators for me becoming a hospice volunteer. So, needless to say, it means a lot to me.
But I don’t think it’s for everyone—not everyone could read it. If you did, and are going back for a second helping with your own copy now, you are, for sure, my anam cara and soul kin. I can’t read any book without marking it up—which is why I don’t own a library card.
I thought about you while reading, Kert. And I remembered how we met here, through the comments on one of Diamond-Michael's posts. You wrote something about your journey with your dad that touched me and brought to mind the path I walked with both my folks.
I'd appreciate a conversation with you about the reading of this seminal book and its impact.
"Who benefits? What are the costs (for there are always costs)? What is the best that could happen with this? What is the worst that could happen with this? Who will get hurt and how? Who controls access? Is there an ‘off’ button? Who’s in control of that button? Who’s ahead of ‘us’ in development? (And who is ‘us’ anyway?) What protections and/or guardrails need to be in place? Can those be held sacred by everyone? How will we know?" AND who has the answers to these questions?
Here is an ancient folk tale for our time.
High in the Himalayan mountains lived a wise old man.
A few young boys from the village decided to play a joke on the wise old man and discredit his special abilities.
The boys devised a plan.
They would catch a bird and ask the old man if the bird was dead or alive. If the wise man said the bird was alive, the boy would crush the bird in his hands, so that when he opened his hands the bird would be dead; if the wise man said the bird was dead, the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly free. So no matter what the old man said, the boys would prove the old man a fraud.
The boys walked up to the wise old man and asked, " Old man, old man, tell us, is the bird alive or is it dead?"
The wise old man looked at the boys and said, "The answer is in your hands, as you choose it to be.”
I’ve always loved that parable. Even now, the challenge always seems to be whether we can discover the agency we always possess, or allow societal winds to carry us along in futility.
As the wise man says: “it’s as we choose it to be.”
We live in fascinating times.