It’s true I have a penchant for robots … the clockwork ones in particular, but definitely not the crawler bots who’ve been visiting my site recently. You know who you are … or possibly you don’t, although I’ve heard bot ‘intelligence’ increases daily, or maybe minute by minute. Some of the more friendly ones live above my work desk.
Changes in AI and robotic activity are happening so fast it’s tricky to keep up. Last weekend I joined about 150 people at a Pull the Plug People’s assembly to discuss how Anthropic, ChatGPT, Palantir etc are affecting our lives. I was possibly one of the oldest people there, and a bit late to this discussion, as I’d been delayed at home with, erm, some tech issues.
A young man sitting next to me at our table of eight took notes about our exchanges – mostly considering the importance of education about the implications of using AI, the need for legislation, and the protection of jobs and copyright – all subjects undergoing discussion by the Society of Authors, the Association of Illustrators, the Royal Literary Fund, the Good Law Project and many others.
AI affects all of us authors and illustrators as well as my occasional role running writing workshops in Sixth Forms for the RLF. We discuss it certainly. Overall the feeling at this particular meeting was positive about the possibilities of effecting change. Long may that last!
A very low-tech robot features in one of my earliest children’s books, ‘Robotina Finds Out’, published by Faber.
Having travelled to Earth in a parcel, Robotina explores the Earth and meets some of its inhabitants.
Eventually she becomes homesick for her own planet, and sets off home. Understandable really. 