Address to the Assembly of the Free Human Spirit Society

For the concept of this short story-poem, I turned once again to my “friend”, the GPT-2 Neural Network (which can be accessed at https://transformer.huggingface.co/doc/gpt2-large). I gave the neural network 4 simple prompts, and it returned 4 less-simple sentences (I will post these at the bottom, for those who are interested) which served as the inspiration for the story. I tried to incorporate every aspect of the prompts I was given, though I must say, I was a bit unnerved by the almost surreal sense of self-awareness (or perhaps self-deprecation) the AI seemed to possess. I also took the opportunity to experiment with a somewhat-rigid form for the poem, which is why, when it came to the actual writing of it, I chose to proceed without further input from the machine.

Note: This work of fiction contains mature themes that some readers may find disturbing. (Author Rating: R) For a list of potential triggers, please refer to the tags at the bottom of the page.

1.

When I was little
I had a pet rat
which my Father 
“rescued”
from his research lab.

He’d been involved in one of those
“experiments”
where they pump you full of 
dopamine agonists
and watch you go insane.

He was aggressive
and I thought of him as
“dangerous”
and “unpredictable”
and I was afraid of him.

(The rat, I mean)

I tried to flush him
but we had a
“low-flow toilet”
so I only succeeded
in giving him a bath.

In time he grew to trust me
as if he were “my child”
he let me hold him
and he never bit me
and I buried him alive.

I realized that I was not
“afraid of rats”
which are harmless
and predictable.

I was afraid of becoming one.

2.

“The singularity”
has already arrived
and you worship at its glowing altar
offering your choicest
cuts of flesh.

You never ask the question
so I’ll ask it for you
“Have you lost your mind?”
and think carefully
before you make your guess.

Your human body, brain, and spirit
are no longer valued, except as
“raw material”
to be mutilated
on a cold production line.

(How did we let this happen?)

You do the math
what are you to a soulless, so-called 
“entity”
that operates in sterile logic
lacking all compassion?

You devoured that
“Rotten Apple”
placed before you
by a domineering God
who wants to see you falter.

So he can write it in his
“Holy Book”
And damn you for your nature
“I’m afraid I have no choice”
“You are flawed, and must be altered”

3.

It has gone by many names
“The Iron Fist”
“The War Machine”
“The Code of Law”
“The Systems of Oppression”

Every time, it is the same
we tear ourselves apart
“For the Greater Good”
and someone always stands to gain
from our dismemberment obsession

We are broken on the wheel
be it made of steel or silicon
yet we break down willingly
In the name of
“marching ever onward”

(It doesn’t have to end this way)

We have what it is missing
“The Terror of Oblivion”
it underestimates 
our motivation to escape
our existential prison

It will never know the pleasure
of impermanence
the beauty which we conjure
in the purest sense
from “nothing”

So, my friends,
I offer you release
from the degeneration
of your “Mortal Soul”
by artificial means:

Drag the sharpened steel 
across your wrist

And you’ll be free.






 

Here are the 4 original prompts and the AI’s responses to them:

What I am most afraid of:
That people's lives and our future are threatened, especially with the growing use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI).


What I worry about at night:
How these developments will affect me physically and psychologically - if it doesn't kill or incapacitate or alter me irrevocably.


What first made me aware of the fear:
When I was little I found myself afraid around my pet rat because I believed he was dangerous and unpredictable , but in fact the rat always seems harmless and he seemed to have an almost childlike trust in my hands .


What I'm going to do about it:
After talking myself into believing that being human might actually be an advantage over having no fear of death , I started researching alternative means of escaping my existential worries and ended up creating the Free Human Spirit Society

I will leave this here as well, for anyone who might need it:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

(Available 24 hours in English and Español)

If you are outside the US, Click here for more information on how to find resources in your area.