The 1961 musical by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley told the story of Littlechap, who rails against his lot and at each setback demand that the world stop. By marrying the bosses' daughter he moves up in the world becoming rich and a politician. Only when faced with death does he realise that his values were misplaced. The possible death of his newly born grandson leads him, for the first time, to act altruistically. He gives himself to death in exchange for the baby's life.
In the 1960s young people had opportunity. Housing was affordable. Industry existed, and hard work ensured not just a job, but a decent lifestyle too. Today, the reverse is sadly true. Without a moment thought, it seems, business and politics have combined and conspired to destroy the future of today's generation and those to come. As A I take over the world and industry slowly becomes a fading museum afterthought what is left? Hairdresser, delivery driver, nail bar operative, waiter, cleaner?
The excited supporters of the new digital age claim it's going to be wonderful for all. How? Who is going to pay? A I Bots, ChatGPT? Apparently it's fine because Medics, Plumbers, Electricians, Brickies and other trades will all prosper. Bus, taxi and train drivers, lawyers and accounts will all be replaced by AI. Realistically, this is a return to the Middle Ages. An elite served by a huge population of serfs. The problem is that the serfs actually produced something worthwhile. Can the same be said for a graduate whose only hope is to work as a barista?
The Society of Authors has combined with its US counterpart the Authors Guild to launch 'Human Authored' a scheme which allows humans to identify the work they have written. A step necessary because of the increasing number of works spewed out by A I and published as if they are legitimate works.
A war rages in the Middle East, that although necessary in order to remove evil, seems to have been planned by A I. Epic Fury, Total Destruction, Complete Oblivion all buzz words from a computer war game. If humans had been involved in the planning, perhaps they might have noticed the Strait of Hormuz. They might have realised that, unlike computer games, the other side might actually do something. That maybe old-fashioned boots on the ground could be needed. When the dust settles, the A I used will be asked what went wrong and will reply "Don't blame me, I'm learning".
It is not (A) rtificial (I) gnorance that has got us into this mess. It is the stupidity of those who claim the right to rule. No one, it seems, has thought through the consequence of destroying the basis of society. No one has given a thought to how it's all going to be paid for. Not an idea how an increasingly large group (who can vote) of people who are happily dependent on the state for every aspect of their lives can be paid for.
Stopping the net-zero madness, drilling, fracking and producing cheap energy would help. So would tackling the mental health industry and linking benefits to work. There might be hope in three years for a radical change. However, bloc votes and benefit voters are almost certainly not going to vote for meaningful change. Whether there are still enough of the 'normal' members of society to do so remains to be seen.
The world has become mad and needs to stop and be rebooted. After a million years it's too awful to believe that human history is destined to end as slaves to A I. There is a way to stop the world and get them off, pull the plug out of the wall, before it's too late.