Our imaginary friends

A substitute in each and every way 

Oh, the ersatz neuronal pathway! 

Electrons firing across the gaps 

Replacement dendrites, false synapse

In digital brains that buck the trend 

we place our trust - our imagined friends 

Google Now, let’s see what’s what 

Cortana says when something’s hot 

Siri, what is the state of play? 

Alexa hears each word you say 

We’re bonding with imaginary friends 

in a servitude that never ends

[If/then] AI fails to adapt 

expect some catastrophic mishaps 

[For/next] the algorithm fails 

Caught in a loop, the program bales 

Autonomous vehicles block our way 

on the digitally rendered fake highway 

Alexa, I asked for a coffee .... 

What the.... 

Steve Wheeler © 5 July, 2021

Image from the film Metropolis (1927)

The world, reset

The world hung in a blue screen

suspended functionality 

Keyboard dead, flashing red 

no hope, no possibility

A planet silent running

its connection not detected

The world a broken terminal

its program mass infected

Then came a vital reset 

The manufacturer appeared

The world was placed in quarantine

its hardware re-engineered

He died and He was buried

and the planet was shut down

But he rose up from the grave

and Earth rebooted back again

'cos he dealt with every virus

that had invaded our system

He deleted the infection

that was holding us to ransom

He emptied out this planet

of the things beyond our control

and offered us a vaccine

to the virus in our souls

There's now a simpler algorithm

to improve our spiritual health:

Love God with all your strength and soul

and your brother as yourself

Steve Wheeler © 3 April, 2021

image source