Issue 95 — My emotional support robot is not returning my calls
Welcome to 500 Words, a letter about indie publishing, artificial intelligence, and the creative process.
Though I write about AI, I’m not an AI fanboy. I’m interested in interrogating IA, which means I’m going to question all of its basic assumptions. The reason for this is that I am a recovering early adopter, meaning that once I was an enthusiastic grabber and tester of all new technology. But I’ve become more skeptical of the bright, shiny tech object, and I question the motives of the people who are pushing all the new tech on us. If that viewpoint works for you, consider subscribing. Every issue of 500 Words is free. You can also support my work with an optional paid monthly subscription, if you wish, or just buy me a coffee.
INTERROGATING AI
This must have sounded good back in April 2020: A robot named Moxie for kids. It was marketed as a safe and engaging animate companion, designed to promote social, emotional, and cognitive development. Do you have a warm spot growing in your heart? Sorry, you’ll have to do something about that in the next paragraph.
Last week, Embodied, the company that made Moxie, decided to stop supporting the software. They bricked Moxie, as the term of art has it. Warm, friendly Moxie will soon be a simple hunk of plastic. The kids who trusted Moxie might be crying, but their parents will be crying harder. They paid $800 for Moxie, and no refunds will be offered by the company.
Some smart devices have turned out to be pretty dumb, especially when bricked. The AeroGarden indoor gardening system, and the Snoo, a $2000 software-enhanced bassinet, are two more examples in the genre.
My rule for myself is not to become too attached to any AI tool I may use today, because what seems indispensable now might be bricked tomorrow.
But wait! Some AI is okay, and we’re still learning about what it can do. I’ve used Apple’s photo-AI to take out an unsightly heating vent from my Zoom background. I’ve read about AI enthusiasts who have offered decades-worth of health records to a chatbot and asked it to look for health irregularities and suggest medication changes.
It’s always worth approaching the latest AI miracle, however, with a pinch of digital salt, to mangle an old expression. Here is one smart way of looking at AI. When asked the question, what are the main differences between big tech and previous incarnations of big business? Marietje Schaake, a former Dutch member of the European parliament and AI expert, said:
The difference is the role that these tech companies play in so many aspects of people’s lives: in the state, the economy, geopolitics. So while previous monopolists amassed a lot of capital and significant positions, they were usually in one sector, like oil or car production. These tech companies are like octopuses with tentacles in so many different directions. They have so much data, location data, search, communications, critical infrastructure, and now AI can be built on top of all that assembled power, which makes these companies very different animals to what we’ve seen in the past.
INTERVIEWED
I discussed AI and the writing process recently in my interview on The Grendhill Chronicles Podcast.
ARE YOU A BETA READER?
I’m in the final stretch of editing Liberation, the third novel in my Utopia Engine Trilogy. Soon I’ll reach a critical phase: offering the book to beta readers to comment on and help me make it better.
I’m taking some big chances in the story, including having some sentient whales talk to humans. As a beta reader, you’ll be able to tell me if these ideas thrill you or … not. You’ll get a big thanks in the acknowledgements of the book, when it’s published next year, and I’ll send you an autographed copy of the finished book with my eternal thanks.
As a beta reader, you’re not reading a perfect book. Some things might be wonderful and lovable, while other parts might not connect for you. That’s okay! It’s the way it works at this stage. You’ll get to experience the book in a (at times weird) early form. If you’ve been following along with the first two books, you’ll see the characters meet their destiny in this third, and final, installment.
If you’d like to be a beta reader, let me know by hitting reply to this newsletter. I’ll send you an ebook version of Liberation or a printout of the early manuscript in January.
Thanks for reading,
Lee
SOURCES
Startup Will Brick $800 Emotional Support Robot For Kids Without Refunds
The Grendhill Chronicles Podcast Episode S3E34: AI Overlords and Climate Change with Author Lee Schneider
