Help Wanted: Humans Need Not Apply

By Gordon Hopkins “I want to be a writer.” - CL-123X So it has finally come to pass. Well, we can't say we weren't warned.In the posthumously published short story collection, “Gold,” generally considered to be the last science fiction book by the legendary Isaac Asimov, there is a story called “Cal.” It is the tale of a robot named CL-123X, dubbed Cal by it's owner. Cal's master is a writer and, for a lark, tries to teach Cal how to write. He programs him with a dictionary, gives him a few of his own books to read and then sets him loose.So Cal tries to write a mystery. The result is so ludicrously bad that if a three-year-old had written it, you'd take that kid to be diagnosed.Another problem Cal has is the Three Laws of Robotics, perhaps Asimov's most famous contribution to science fiction. The number one law is that robots can't hurt humans or, through, inaction, let humans come to harm. No matter how much they may deserve it. That rule is so ingrained into Cal's electronic psyche that he can't even kill a fictional person.Still, the writer (it has been so long since I read this story that I can't remember if he has a name or not) is intrigued by the possibilities. He works with Cal and, after a number of still bad but increasingly better stories, Cal actually became a pretty good writer.Too good, in fact.The inevitable happens. Cal's master panics, fearing his robot, a mere appliance, may actually become a better writer than him, maybe even put him out of business. So he calls the robot repair shop and makes an appointment to have Cal's literary abilities deleted.I won't go into details of what happens next but I don't think it is too spoilery to tell you things don't go well for the writer.Contrary to what some readers think, most science fiction writers aren't trying to predict the future. They are simply creating a hypothetical future to tell a story. If anything, they are warning us, trying to prevent that future.Still, I suspect even Asimov didn't realize how prescient he was with this trifle of a story.Cal was written in 1991. Flash forward 33 years. Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine was recently forced to close submissions as they are being inundated with stories written not by flesh and blood human beings, or even partially flesh and blood cyborgs, but generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence) programs, primarily one called ChatGPT.In January of this year, Clarkesworld, reportedly rejected 100 AI-created stories. By the end of February, that number had ballooned to more than 500.Interestingly enough, Clarkesworld editor Neil Clarke thinks the humans behind those submissions have no literary ambition, nor does he think it is a prank intending to create disruption for disruption's sake, as so much nonsense on the web proves to be. Instead, he thinks it is a money-making scheme. In an interview with The Guardian, Clarke said, “The people causing the problem are from outside the [science fiction and fantasy] community. Largely driven in by ‘side hustle’ experts making claims of easy money with ChatGPT.”Now let's be clear about something. ChatGPT is not actually writing anything. It is taking existing material written by flesh and blood humans (or possibly cyborgs, I don't know) stored in a database and “remixing” the material to create something that, if it makes any sense at all, is still hackneyed and cliched. The same thing is behind the recent outrage over AI-generated “art.” An AI like ChatGPT isn't creating anything new. It is taking bits and pieces of real artists' work and taking credit for it.In other words, robots are plagiarists.For many writers, the big fear isn't plagiarism, however. It is the same fear that coal miners and assembly line workers and all manner of people who make a living with physical labor have had for years. Now it has reached those of us who sit at a keyboard and type for a living.Am I about to be replaced by a machine?

Cold Comforts

Endicott Man Faces Multiple Drug Charges

Related Articles

The Real Problem with Fake News

Gage County Newsletter

Tree of Life

Playing The Shell Game