2060+ ALL THINGS MUST PASS
AI is coming.
Alice Yu, New York, 2057
Here we are, back to the start of this series.
When I began The Paradise Factory I planned to pursue a traditional writing career—that is writing a novel, applying to an agent, getting two hundred rejections, then getting an agent and having to rewrite your novel, then sending it to ten publishers and getting ten rejections, and then finally getting accepted and having to rewrite your novel again. (For my last unpublished book, Mechanical, I had an agent say to me, “I really like Alice as a lead character, but can you rewrite her as a man? Only men read sci-fi.” (Yup, that actually happened.)
All of this for an advance of five thousand dollars...
Would Ellen Ripley be better as a man? No, and neither would Alice.
While I was editing the books, I read more about the traditional publishing industry, and realized what a change independent publishing had made over the ten years I’d been out of the business. The ability to write and publish books myself was incredibly attractive as I felt an urge to get on with it, and cut out all the endless applications.
As I write, I draw. I don’t know of other authors who illustrate their work like this (if you do, please let me know—I’d love to talk to them!) so it was a case of starting up and seeing where it went.
And this is my first drawing, done way back in 2015. I’ve discussed Alice’s appearance and all of her gear before, so all I will say is the criminal is Alex DeLarge, from Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange
Putting all of this extra content together (emails, free books, illustrations, this website) has been great fun, and I hope you have enjoyed them as well. However they have also taken up a huge amount of time, not only in writing the text, but in design and drawing. A time commitment I’m not sure if I can continue.
If you would like me to keep going I'd love to hear your thoughts, so send me an email and let me know! 😀
As for AI?
It is coming, and sooner than we expect. Whether it is used as a force for good or evil is up to the corporations that develop it, and their watchdogs (us). Traditional rule based work—lawyers, doctors etc.—are going away in the next twenty years so don’t suggest them to your kids 😐
The question that leaves us with is what will replace these jobs?
I’ve read everything I can on the subject and the consensus is clear: no one knows.
Keep your eyes open for detail in trade magazines and the press; don’t believe it all, but don’t ignore it either. It’s happening right now.
And finally: Why does Alice have blue hair? Just because it worked against the red background in that first drawing so now she has blue hair in everything. Go figure 😆