I’m reading a very interesting book by Jeff Jarvis, ‘The Gutenberg Parenthesis’. It’s a fascinating analysis of the world before print, the impact of print and the potential of the internet and AI to take us back closer to the way the world was before print.
In the world we are entering, “Everyone can be connected. One-to-many is replaced by any-to-any and any-to-many”.
Jarvis’ argument (backed up by legions of other scholars) is that print created a linear world in contrast to the more fluid, non-linear, more conversational world before Gutenberg. The tradition of the ancient Greek Philosophers was based on “conversations as a tool of friendship, learning and ultimately democracy”. In the new world the ability to converse dynamically and globally can create amazing new possibilities for the advancement of society although undoubtedly there will be some big bumps along the way.
Anyway, this got me thinking. With AI and its access to everything that is on the internet the very idea of a book can be reinvented as more of a conversation. You can read it whilst also helping to write it. So, I gave it a go using, ironically, Bard AI.
I started the story off and we went backwards and forwards until we had written a completed short story. It is not , I must acknowledge, a very good story but then it took less than 10 minutes.
This is how I started the story off:-
Ronny comes home late from work and walks into his house. There is nothing and nobody there, the house is entirely empty. Not only are his wife and kids nowhere to be seen, there is literally nothing in the house, it was as bare as the day it was built.
I’ll show the ‘to and fro’ at the end but here is the story we came up with. For a bit of fun, I asked Bard to write the completed short story in two different styles, Ian Fleming and Shakespeare.
The Spy Who Saved His Family
Ronny was a brilliant scientist who worked for a government agency. He was also a kind and gentle man, devoted to his family.
One day, Ronny came home from work to find his house empty. His wife and kids were gone, and everything had been taken. The police were unable to find any clues, and they suspected that Ronny’s wife had left him and taken the children with her.
Ronny was devastated. He didn’t know what to do. He started to investigate on his own, and eventually he learned that his family had been kidnapped by terrorists. The terrorists were demanding a ransom of $10 million, and they threatened to kill Ronny’s family if he didn’t pay it.
Ronny didn’t have $10 million, but he knew that he had to do something to save his family. He tracked down the terrorists and confronted them. He told them that he didn’t have the ransom money, but he offered them a trade. He would give them something even more valuable: information.
Ronny told the terrorists about all of the classified information that he had access to. He told them about government secrets, military plans, and everything else he knew. The terrorists were impressed. They agreed to release Ronny’s family in exchange for the information.
Ronny’s family was safe, but they were changed. They had been through a lot, and they would never be the same. Ronny was also changed. He had learned that the world was a dangerous place, and that he could never take anything for granted.
Ronny continued to work for the government, but he was more careful now. He knew that there were people who would do anything to get their hands on the information he had access to. But he was also more determined than ever to protect his family and his country.
The End
The Tragedy of Ronny
Ronny was a man of science, A brilliant mind, a gentle heart. He loved his wife and children well, And they were his life’s true start.
But one day, a tragedy did strike, His family was taken by force. The terrorists demanded a ransom, But Ronny had no such source.
He was distraught, he knew not what to do, He could not bear to lose his loved ones too. But then, an idea came to him, A plan that just might work, if he were keen.
He would give the terrorists what they wanted, But not in the way that they thought. He would give them information, The most valuable information he had.
The terrorists were impressed, They agreed to release his family in exchange. Ronny’s family was safe, But they were changed forever.
Ronny was changed too, He had learned that the world was a dangerous place. But he was also determined, To protect his family and his country, With all of his heart and soul.
The End
As I say, not that great but we are at the beginning of this new technology and new world. Contrary to what most people are predicting, Jarvis maintains that the impact of technology is much slower than we think. He sees us as being right at the beginning of the recreation (re-establishment) of a world that will take pretty much as long as it did for Gutenberg’s printing press to determine (and constrain) the world we are leaving. My perspective is this, we’ve had mobile phones since the early 1980’s. It has taken over 40 years for them to progress from an unwieldy brick-like contraption with very limited reach and functionality to the sleek smart phones we have now. In terms of AI we are right at the beginning, but think where we could be in a decade or two.
We could have fully interactive, non-linear books and films – that anyone could read/watch and write/create at the same time. Print levelled the playing field, it gave Martin Luther the opportunity to challenge the mighty Roman Church in his native German and not Latin, the language of the elite and powerful. Jarvis and many others point out that it was print’s ability to standardise language that created the foundation for nations drawn along different lines. AI can make knowledge, information and reach accessible to all (well almost all) and that too might create a very different looking world.
If you are interested, this is the longer version of the ‘to and fro’ I had with Bard to get to the short Ronny story.
Ronny stood in the doorway, stunned. He couldn’t believe his eyes. His house was empty. All of his belongings were gone. His wife and kids were nowhere to be seen. He felt a wave of panic wash over him. What had happened?
He started to search the house, calling out for his family. But there was no answer. He checked every room, but they were all empty. He even went into the basement and the attic, but they were just as bare.
Ronny didn’t know what to do. He was starting to feel scared. He called the police, but they couldn’t find any clues. They told him that his family had probably been abducted.
Ronny was devastated. He couldn’t imagine his life without his wife and kids. He spent the next few days searching for them, but he never found them. He eventually gave up hope and moved out of the house.
Ronny knew that his work was classified, but he couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with his family’s disappearance. He worked for a government agency that dealt with sensitive information, and he often had to travel to dangerous places. He had always been careful, but he knew that there were people who would do anything to get their hands on the information he had access to.
Ronny started to do some digging on his own. He talked to old friends and colleagues, and he even hired a private investigator. But he couldn’t find any concrete evidence to support his suspicions.
One day, Ronny was approached by a man who claimed to know what had happened to his family. The man said that they had been kidnapped by a group of terrorists who were trying to get their hands on information from Ronny’s work.
Ronny didn’t know if he could trust the man, but he didn’t have any other leads. He agreed to meet with the man, and he learned that everything he had suspected was true.
Ronny’s family had been kidnapped by terrorists, and they were being held hostage in a remote location. The terrorists were demanding a ransom of $10 million, and they threatened to kill Ronny’s family if he didn’t pay it.
Ronny didn’t have $10 million, but he knew that he had to do something to save his family. He went to the police, but they refused to help him. They said that he was on his own.
Ronny was desperate. He didn’t know what to do. He thought about giving up, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. He had to save his family.
Ronny decided to take matters into his own hands. He tracked down the terrorists and confronted them. He told them that he didn’t have the ransom money, but he offered them a trade. He would give them something even more valuable: information.
Ronny told the terrorists about all of the classified information that he had access to. He told them about government secrets, military plans, and everything else he knew. The terrorists were impressed. They agreed to release Ronny’s family in exchange for the information.
Ronny’s family was safe, but they were changed. They had been through a lot, and they would never be the same. Ronny was also changed. He had learned that the world was a dangerous place, and that he could never take anything for granted.
Ronny still works for the government, but he is more careful now. He knows that there are people who would do anything to get their hands on the information he has access to. But he is also more determined than ever to protect his family and his country.
Ronny was a kind and gentle man. He was devoted to his family, and he would do anything to protect them. He was also a brilliant scientist, and he had a deep understanding of the world around him.
The terrorists were a group of extremists who were fighting for a radical ideology. They believed that they were justified in using violence to achieve their goals. Their aim was to overthrow the government and establish a new order based on their beliefs.
The terrorists had kidnapped Ronny’s family in order to get their hands on the information he had access to. They knew that he was a valuable asset, and they were hoping that he would be willing to trade information for his family’s safety.
Ronny was faced with a difficult decision. He knew that if he gave the terrorists the information they wanted, he could be putting his country at risk. But he also knew that he had to do whatever it took to save his family.
In the end, Ronny decided to give the terrorists the information they wanted. He knew that it was the only way to ensure his family’s safety. The terrorists were true to their word, and they released Ronny’s family unharmed.
Ronny’s family was safe, but they were changed. They had been through a lot, and they would never be the same. Ronny was also changed. He had learned that the world was a dangerous place, and that he could never take anything for granted.
Ronny tracked down the terrorists using a combination of old-fashioned detective work and cutting-edge technology.
He started by talking to his friends and colleagues, hoping to find someone who had seen something suspicious. He also hired a private investigator to look into the matter.
The private investigator was able to track down the man who had approached Ronny and claimed to know what had happened to his family. The man gave Ronny some information about the terrorists, but he wasn’t able to provide any specific details.
Ronny then turned to technology. He used his government contacts to access surveillance footage from the area where his family had been kidnapped. He also used facial recognition software to try to identify the terrorists.
After a long and difficult search, Ronny was finally able to track down the terrorists. He confronted them and told them that he knew what they had done. The terrorists were surprised that Ronny had been able to find them, but they eventually agreed to release his family in exchange for classified information.
Yes, some people found out that Ronny had given up secret information to save his family. However, his superiors decided to keep it a secret, as they believed that it would be too damaging to Ronny’s reputation and career if it were made public.
There were no formal consequences for Ronny, as his superiors understood the difficult decision he had made. However, he was placed on probation for a period of time, and he was required to undergo additional security training.
Ronny was grateful that his superiors had kept his secret. He knew that he had made the right decision to give up the information in order to save his family, and he was relieved that he would not be punished for it.
The experience had a profound impact on Ronny. He realized that the world was a dangerous place, and that he could never take his family for granted. He was also more determined than ever to protect his country from harm.
Ronny continued to work for the government, and he eventually rose to a position of high responsibility. He never forgot the sacrifice he had made to save his family, and he always used his position to protect the innocent and uphold the law.
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