From AI to EVs to Apathy: The Stories Shaping (and Breaking) Our World
We live in a world of stories. Always have, always will. True stories, serious stories, funny stories, unbelievable stories, make-believe stories and fake stories.
We’re bombarded with stories from every side: the friend on the phone, the gossip on the grapevine, the bestseller on your Kindle, the news at 10 and the politician on the podium.
Truth, Lies, and the Blurred Lines Between
The problem now is not the assault on our senses, it’s the sensing out the assault. Separating the right from the wrong, the truth from the lies, the logical from the absurd.
The lines are blurring like never before; what is seen is no longer to be believed, what is spoken is no more a testimony, and what is felt is fleeting and uncertain. Even your gut is too busy processing processed food to keep your instincts sharp, dulled as they are by doom-scrolling dopamine hits and streaming service stupefaction.
Biotech – Stories of Doctor AI
This week I’ve been chasing down the experts, entrepreneurs and academics on the cutting edge of human evolution as conference coordinator at the London Biotechnology Show – a side hustle for my good friends at Valiant Business Media. Stories of cures yet to come for viruses yet to be borne. And of Doctor AI ultimately saving the day.
A Story of KITT’s Revival
Forty-three years ago, we were introduced to a remarkable premonition of AI’s potential in one of the greatest TV stories of all time – Knight Rider. A show that predicted not only the rise of The Hoff as a global icon, but also a future with conversationalist cars, voice assistants, autonomous driving, 8-speed transmissions, hybrid powertrains… and even smartwatches!
KITT, the talking Trans Am, wasn’t just a car – he was a companion, a protector, a partner. And in many ways, we’ve caught up with that vision. We now do have AI in our dashboards and on our wrists. But would KITT still capture the imagination today?
Despite several attempts, Knight Rider has never had a successful reboot. Why? Perhaps the original story was too far ahead of its time – or maybe it wasn’t just about the tech, but the chemistry, charm, and optimism of that era. Still, I think I’ve figured out how it could come back – and if you’re curious, that’s a whole other story I’d love to tell…
The Car Industry’s Plot Hole
Meanwhile, the car industry itself, however, uncertainly continues to stumble and feel its way down a dark tunnel, encouraged by stories of EVs saving the populace and the planet, desperately hoping there’s light at the end of it all. There probably is, but it’s not shining bright enough.
We’re waiting for the story of AI to come up with more efficient power generation, storage and infrastructure. Because until then, in the story of electrification, there remains a gaping plot hole.
AI: The Reluctant Storyteller
AI inevitably will figure it out, of course, now that it’s realising just how much energy it consumes itself. And that’s just to say ‘you’re welcome’ to those smart enough among us to know to say ‘please and thanks’ to every AI instruction.
Consumption, which is off the scale now, as yet another new vault of digital creativity is opened up to would-be media merchants and storytellers. In my book, ‘How to be an Automotive Content Creator,’ I talk about how when I started out, the only way to reach an audience was to work for, or with, an existing outlet, such as a newspaper or magazine. It was almost impossible for a lone creative to engage an audience – until the internet came along. And then everyone could hear our stories.
Democratise or Demoralise?
The democratisation of media didn’t end there. It’s ongoing. For some time now, those without the ability to draw and interpret a story in their heads as a sketch can now produce all manner of sensational visuals with the help of AI. All the artwork you see on BrownCarGuy.com, my YouTube channel, Instagram and even TikTok outlets is thus generated, I must confess.
As such, I feel unjustified in moaning that the skill of writing, too, is now easily accessible to all through those same AI, thereby making my decades of professional and personal perfection of the craft mostly redundant. Just as I cheat artists of their honed talents.
Who Needs Hollywood When You Have AI?
And now for the ultimate in storytelling. The moving image – previously the most costly, time-consuming and ambitiously complex of the media formats to create, particularly when it draws on inspired human imagination. Well, AI can help you tell those stories too.
No cameraman, lighting, editing, actors, makeup, sound engineering, props, location hunting or anything other than the ability to write a prompt required. And even that you can ask ChatGPT to do for you!
Creativity through Technical Evolution
Where, you may ask, is it all going? Alternately, don’t give yourself a brain ache, and just jump on the bandwagon, along for the ride.
I’m an optimist in this context, and I believe human creativity will evolve and grow further to engage these new tools, taking us to even greater heights of artistry and creativity. Or I might just be a naive fool – it’s a story I look forward to telling.
The Theatre of (the Absurd) Politics
But there’s one other story where optimism itself has abandoned hope. You see, not all stories are uplifting. Some have lost the plot entirely – especially in the theatre of politics. Here, the lies are loud, the truth is bent, and common sense has twisted into common absurdity. At the drop of a Tweet the evil become the good and the innocent become the demonised.
These particular brand of stories have numbed us to death and destruction. These stories have confused us to hell. These stories have driven us to apathy. Apathy. It’s whatever you like. Turn this into a club. The elite have.
AI’s Final Chapter – Saviour or Reaper?
And the story of AI? Is it still to play a part in the current anarchy of leadership and conflagration of blast and bombardment, that enslaves death to its bidding and scorches a fragile earth?
Frankly, I get the feeling it’s watching, and waiting, and analysing, and calculating. At some point soon, AI may well become the ultimate narrator, as it will surely enter the story, but whether as saviour or reaper…? Well, that will be the real story, won’t it? Let’s just hope it knows how to concoct a happy ending.
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