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The Mechanical Mirror

Anonymous

March 19, 2025

The Mechanical Mirror

This image was generated with Dream Studio AI.

Life in 2040 is unimaginably different to what I remember it being like 20 years ago! When I wake up every morning, my mechanical assistant delivers my breakfast and vitamins to my bedside locker, while informing me of today's news headlines. The robot declares in a monotone voice: 'Fatal accident occurred in the early hours of the morning when assistant driving machine malfunctions while driving a family at night, with no survivors. Man given a fine of €500 for using slur in social media groupnchat, that was detected by the well-acredited AI anti-hate software that was introduced by our Government nearly 5 years ago.' I sit up, staring at the wall in front of me, and then back at my wee robot. Both headlines moved me, even more so due to their succession of one another. These vessels of human perception and knowledge can be fantastical yet ominous. My mind will never be made up on whether these machines are "good" or "bad", because there simply isnt good or bad, which we learned long ago from our own species. Also, I don't want to get a fine.

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