Is AI taking over the world?

On my soapbox today.

You see the stories everywhere. Is AI safe? Will it take over the world? Will computers finally replace humans on the planet?

There are very few applications for AI that I think are necessary. One person's opinion. Already, computers are doing things for us that diminish our ability to think and create and process information. I used to know the phone numbers of all my friends and family. Now, I hit a button. If you asked me for one of those numbers, I'd have to look it up. I do NOT think that is a step in the right direction. What if I don't have my phone with me and I'm in trouble? What if I need someone to call my family for help? I can't tell them the phone numbers, because I don't use them anymore. A computer does it for me.

Yes, I believe computers can be helpful tools, but they have gone so far beyond helpful. Now they are intrusive to the point where we don't always know what the truth is (because AI is so convincing) and people don't have to think for themselves. We NEED to think for ourselves.

With all that being said, I don't want to be left behind and ignore progress. I will NOT use AI to write my stories for me. It's my imagination, after all. But recently I was given the opportunity to have AI read one of my books into audio format. Why not? I mean, it was worth checking out, right? So I did. The narration of Heart for Rent, With an Option isn't horrible, although I'll admit I haven't listened to the whole darn thing. It's only available on Apple, but you're welcome to give it a listen. I'm not an audiobook kind of person, personally, and of the handful of audiobooks I've attempted, I've only actually enjoyed one of them--and that one was read by an actress who was VERY engaging. We're talking some of my favorite books, and I was only able to stay awake through the one.

Here's the link

So where does that leave me? It was an experiment. I can't see myself using AI for the rest of my books. Where is the artistic control? I really should listen to the whole thing to see if they were able to pronounce some of the French in the story, or if they emphasized words in the right places. While the voice isn't "flat," it doesn't carry the same engagement. It's someone reading the story to me. I'd rather have someone acting it out.

What do you think? Is AI going one step too far? Is it useful in some scenarios? Or are we moving into an Isaac Asimov story where AI takes over the world?

Ghosts in the Sidewalk

While I was "out and about" the other day, I came across handprints in the sidewalk. Not unusual, really, but it took me back to a time when I was very young, when I imagined all sorts of macabre things.

There was a house on the corner, a big, old house with an apron under the porch that had a hatch for access. Heck, our house had a hatch, too, but I never imagined what my parents might keep under there, although it made for excellent storage (my parents didn't use it for anything other than access to the addition on the back of the house). I probably only saw the hatch on our house open once or twice in my entire life. But that house on the corner...

The family had two sons, both older than me and my sisters (or maybe as old as at least one of my sisters, although I don't remember for sure. I only remember they were much older than me). The one son, Doug, had long hair, and for whatever reason, I can remember watching him dry it in front of a fan. Keep in mind, this is back in the days of the song from Hair about "long-haired, freaky people," so he was a bit of an anomaly. Nice enough guy, as much as I remember. What does all this have to do with handprints in the sidewalk?

In the sidewalk that ran beside their house, their older son had carved his name in the wet cement. Because we're talking so many years ago, I can't recall if there was also a handprint, but I remember seeing the name and asking the people who lived there, as an inquisitive young child might do, whose name it was. Turns out Doug had an older brother, one who'd died, forever memorialized by his name in the cement of the sidewalk. Other than that small piece of information, no one ever told me anything more. I don't suppose there was more to the tragic story. I remember tracing the letters he'd left in the wet cement and trying to conjure him. In my vivid imagination, I imagined all sorts of things, starting with the hatch under the porch. Was he buried in there? This idea probably came from watching the old Peter Cushing / Christopher Lee Dracula movies. I can't imagine why else I would have dreamed up such a thing, and yet the idea stuck with me. For years.

That family moved out, and another family moved in. I grew up and became the babysitter for the new owners' tribe of children. Few things made my uneasy growing up - I wasn't easily spooked - but once I'd decided the older son was buried under the porch, I never moved past wondering who was buried behind the hatch under the front porch. Even when I knew better. I'm quite sure I even saw that hatch opened a time or two, but guess who stayed far away from it?

This author.

"Normal" people see handprints in the sidewalk, or other markings people leave in wet cement and see them for what they are. Vandalism. Hah. Well, maybe, but most people see them as remembrances. Or ways to mark their territory. Like taking chalk to create hopscotch, only more permanent. *Sigh* I suppose I was never normal.

Applying What You Learn

Thanks for touring around Spain with me these past several weeks (you can see the Spain posts here: Well I've never Been to Spain). I saw SO MUCH, and really had the best time. Since we've been home, I've been trying to capture much of the experience into the new book--the locations, the food, the atmosphere. And most of all, one of the ghost stories I heard.

I spent so much time absorbing everything that I didn't even consider the new story until I got home. Well, that's not entirely true. I did take the Paranormal Tour with the intention of finding inspiration (and I did). But for the rest of the trip, instead of taking copious notes like a good author, I chose to live the experience, to be present. Then, on the last night, we were walking past a storefront (one we'd passed every day while we were there, but apparently not at night), and I saw something that screamed (take a picture!). What was inside was unexpected. It wasn't a store, per se, more of a storeroom with a glass window. Aside from the ghost story I was clinging to, it was the only thing that caught me off guard enough to take notice. I'm hoping to use that photo for the cover of the new book, but we'll see if/how I can incorporate it.

I managed to write all the Spain blog posts shortly after we returned home, and then I buckled in to begin work on the new story, which is coming along great, thanks for asking. I'm about 20k words into it, and dreaming up all kinds of trouble for Elle and Laine and the other people in their lives. I'm also reliving my trip through their eyes, and borrowing experiences from some of the other people who also took the trip to throw at Elle. I've created a Pinterest board to refer back to. Many of the references are in Spanish, but with the magic of the Internet, those pages are easily translated. Not all of the pins will make it into the new book, but they were all things I wanted to know more about after I'd seen them.

Am I using the story I heard while I was in Sevilla? Yes and no. All good stories have to start somewhere, and while I was inspired by some of the things I learned, I've put my own spin on the places I visited and the history that goes with them. Expanded on a theme, you might say. The funny part is that while I'm doing research, I forget the "my own spin" part. While chasing the "real" story, I suddenly find I want to stick to just the facts, ma'am. The research took me to Granada, which is one place we didn't visit. Then I remind myself that the story is loosely based on the legend. I don't have to reference Granada. I can have my characters go someplace I went while they chase leads, like Ronda, for instance. I'm an author. I get to take artistic license. I get to make things up! This isn't something anyone else is going to know and scold me for getting wrong (as opposed to facts that can be verified and checked). It's Fiction.

So back to work, and next week maybe I'll share a snippet with you. In the meantime, if you haven't already read Horned Owl Hollow, get acquainted with Elle Barclay and her ability to see those spirits whose energy remains in this realm! (And don't forget to let me know how you liked it!)