Unreal

A few years back, this gnawing suspicion took hold of me, burrowing deep into my brain like some relentless, techno-parasite: The future of IT was teetering on the brink of obsolescence. I was tangled in this oddball exchange on LinkedIn with a recruiter claiming to be human.

She volleyed back and forth, with me, challenging her humanness. Perhaps I was ahead of the curve. Yet, the thought of that conversation, which she might have brushed off as ludicrous, now plays back in my mind with a tinge of prophecy.

The same year, a job advertisement  caught my eye – a call for a one-minute video interview monologue, judged not by humans but by an unfeeling algorithm, sorting aspirations and dreams into a neat dashboard for corporate perusal. I abstained, unwilling to be reduced to binary assessments.

Recent advances in AI have turned my world upside down. Voice cloning, audio dramas birthed from text alone, and photographs and videos animated to mimic life itself – these were not just innovations; they are harbingers of a reality unmoored from its anchors.

The authenticity of media, be it audio, video, or text, is now a question mark hanging over us, haunting every digital interaction. Everything will be overshadowed by the sheer power of conversational logic.

This past month, I’ve been a bundle of nerves, pacing relentlessly, haunted by the realization that everything I know about computers is fading into the backdrop of history. We are stepping into an era where interaction with machines is as natural as conversation, a vision once relegated to the realms of science fiction. The necessity for traditional programming is dissolving into a pastime.

I recall a scene from Star Trek, a quaint moment where advanced beings grapple with our primitive interfaces. Scotty, mistaking a mouse for a microphone. The graphical interface, once hailed as revolutionary, now pales in comparison to the simplicity of command by speech.

The dichotomy between manualists and conversationalists, between those who delve into the intricacies of the creation process  and those who wish to command through speech, underscores a fundamental shift. The intricate dance of logic and syntax and programming, once the domain of the few, is giving way to a more intuitive, human-centric approach.

As we stand on this precipice, it’s clear: Artificial Intelligence will shape our reality.

Ok now that I am here. Let’s get down to business.
In a world of lies and deception, where nothing seems real.

 Everybody in the world is now a programmer. This is the miracle of artificial intelligence. The people that understand how to solve a domain problem. Those people who understand domain expertise, now can utilize technology that is readily available to you. You now have a computer that will do what you tell it to do. It is vital that we upskill everyone. And the upskilling process, I believe, will be delightful, surprising.

The more we see television shows of news, the less real it becomes, rather then the opposite. You know, it used to be said if the people saw news reels.  If people saw a television  news and so on. That they would become aware of their world. I say no. It becomes more and more like a movie. And less and less like real life.

I say no. It becomes more and more like a movie. And less and less like real life. The area that I am talking about here, is the area of perception. How do we perceive reality? How do we perceive actuality?

Sorry Mary I left the apartment without my wallet and had to go back for it.
Wish I had your smile. That should pay for the most expensive break first in town.
Hmm lets see what’s good break first on such a cheerful morning.
Who is cheerful? I am. 
Just because I promised to meet you for break first.

Talk, you pig! I said talk, Rubira! Talk! No! No, I will tell you nothing! Nothing! Carlos. It is enough. But Señor Jimenez… If he will not talk, he will not talk. Not to you, Jimenez! Not to a traitor to Puerto Rico! To the United States! You are quite right, amigos. You will not talk to Pedro Jimenez. Not to anyone else.