# So what will our AI civilization of the future look like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [September 10, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973 "2026-09-10T20:09:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/141 "2026-10-05T20:13:13Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Because every time I pick up something on Kindle Unlimited there is a 90% chance I will be disappointed I look at a book, read the 1 star reviews, and ask myself, WWHBR? (What Would Harold Bloom Read) If not, 9/10 times I’ll delete it from my cart. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/142 "2026-10-05T23:01:15Z")
"I’ve seen the future, you know what it is? It’s a 47-year-old virgin sittin’ around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake singing “I’m an Oscar-Meyer Wiener”. – Edgar Friendly, Demolition Man (1993) I think regardless whether we are talking about going to dance clubs, reading books, or consuming AI generated media, all these things point to a civilization that has largely automated so much work that we can devote significant time and resources to basically just entertaining ourselves and each other. That was sort of the theme of Huxley’s Brave New World as I recall. A banal society that mostly kept its upper classes busy with make-work, drugs, and hedonistic pursuits. Although I’m also trying to figure out why everyone seems constantly busy these days doing work that mostly seems like bullshit. I suspect a large part of it is since we’ve connected everyone’s data together, the algorithms look for any opportunity to either turn your free time and recreational activities into more work or to monetize those activities. There’s a lot of people who make a living vying for your attention and the technology continues to get better at making you believe you need to give it to them. I imagine in a few years, a guy like me will be something like Hugh Jackman’s character in that movie Kate & Leopold where he got sent forward in time from the 1800s to modern day NYC. You know the scene where he’s at the bar teaching Brekin Meyer and his friends about how to “court” a woman using old fashioned gentlemanly manners. Gen whatever person: “Oh no! My phone broke and my AI wingman can’t access her QR code forehead tattoo!” Me: “Hmm…Let’s try an old fashioned technique we used to do back in the 1900s/turn of the Millennium where you go up to her and say something like ‘hey…what’s up.’” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/143 "2026-10-05T23:25:13Z")
> **[Your Future Grandchildren’s Responses to How Dating Worked Before Apps](https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/your-future-grandchildrens-responses-to-how-dating-worked-before-apps)** > > “What is flirting?… Oh, so it’s one of those old slang terms like necking or petting. What other old slang terms were there?” > “So what’s the difference between flirting with someone and just being nice to them and joking around cause you want to be friends?” > > “That sounds like a nearly imperceptible difference. Seems like something that would be easy to waste hours on with obsessive analysis, about which you would only really be sure retroactively. If then.” ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/144 "2026-10-06T00:59:51Z")
I suppose civilization with AI will look something like this. I knew those Terms of Service would come back to bite us. [![](https://i.imgur.com/jtlIR4n.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/jtlIR4n.png) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/145 "2026-10-06T01:08:53Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The more the market is glutted with this stuff, Supply then outstrips demand by far and the rarer certifiably human made “craft” product sells at a premium because its supply is limited. I was hoping you’d weigh in on the romance genre. Which sells well and I gather is often formulaic. Some of those books may be a literary equivalent of junk food but you aren’t expecting a Michelin starred meal, you want a Big Mac and the exact descriptions of hot Big Mac felt in the protagonist’s hand … 😀. But for all the volume of romance pulp out there I suspect the big sellers are big sellers because they bring a certain skill to it, and readers look for their work by name. > [@Voyager](#): > > How does a reader evaluate the quality of a book without reading it? Word of mouth from a trusted source. It’s what some of us do now. I look at our book threads and a strong positive from someone whose recommended books have usually been ones I liked is often my next read. Not always but often. > [@Voyager](#): > > if readers burn out on bad books, will they come back for more? If they do they more be more selective. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/146 "2026-10-06T01:33:31Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > “So what’s the difference between flirting with someone and just being nice to them and joking around cause you want to be friends?” > > “That sounds like a nearly imperceptible difference. Seems like something that would be easy to waste hours on with obsessive analysis, about which you would only really be sure retroactively. If then.” “Do you want to go out sometime, like on a date” If “yes” = flirting If “no” = just nice and friendly. Move on. Although in fairness, I think one of the reasons I didn’t date a lot in middle school was because I’m like with this same pool of girls I’ve kind of known since grammar school. So it’s sometimes hard to tell if and when their interest suddenly might have shifted to something more than friend or casual acquaintance. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/147 "2026-10-06T08:33:48Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I write romance but it’s not the throwaway kind. I read a lot of literary fiction and it shows. The thing I’m most worried about with AI is not being unable to compete. My stuff is weird and niche anyway. I just really don’t want it ripping off my work. I don’t want it to have my voice or my ideas. Surely you have noticed books now include a disclaimer along the lines of > The publisher of this book does not authorize the use or reproduction of any part of this book in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. The publisher of this book expressly reserves this book from the Text and Data Mining exception in accordance with Article 4(3) of the European Union Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 or some variant? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/148 "2026-10-06T13:30:52Z")
Every old generation weeps for the new generation. It has always been thus. I vacilate. I remember when there was no internet. It’s advent was going to change society and ruin the workplace. And it kinda did, but not in a way anyone would roll back. Now, nearly two generations have grown up not being aware of a time when you had to look through yellow pages to find a local plumber. Very few of them are familiar with being able to read and navigate using a paper map. The way people meet has changed as well. Anecdotally, I’ve had the benefit of experience both pre- and post-internet dating apps. It all worked out. If I’m honest, the latter was far better than the former, because having more options helped make time-efficient choices and avoid choice-limited compromises. So the kids don’t dance - weird but okay. So they don’t speak on the phone. So they’re more likely to self-sort into siloed groups. So they have less sex (maybe) or maybe more when they get a bit older (and more confident). So they’re more prone to settle for the first answer offered by AI rather than the correct answer because they don’t yet know better. AI will be a time sink, in the same way the internet enabled so many people shop online (and post deepity bullshit on message boards) when they should be working. It’s all going to get factored into the economy in one way or another because relatively few of us, no matter how clever, are spending our time contributing meaningfully. As an example, the guys who arrived at 7am this morning to clean my dryer vent did more work already than I have as a senior IT tech. Sure, today I’m going to knock out a few quick solutions and update some tables, build a couple of new process flows that will automatically notify users of something they could easily look up themselves but are too busy shopping online to do for themselves. But because I can pay the duct cleaners doing what I do (while posting b.s.), its win-win, and the world goes on. As it will with AI when people realize it’s just a tool not so different than the ones that came before it. Somebody is going to spend time twisting its digital arm into producing something that answers a question that is less relevant than the time and energy it took to generate the response. Anecdotally, I’m currently tasked with providing an access audit to a bunch of collaboration sites that belong to our organization. It will take me half a day to generate. The reason I’m doing it is because some security twat who knows very little about AI told my director that his aimless interrogation of Claude revealed that ChatGPT may have a security vulnerability with respect to the collaboration sites in question. It doesn’t. But he didn’t ask me. He wanted to be the hero and reported his unfounded and untested suspicions to the Director. The Director, not understanding technology, asked me to do the audit. It will show nothing to him because that’s not the answer to the alleged risk identified by the witless security guy. But hey, the dryer vent guys need to be paid. And so it goes. We’ll figure it out. It’s all going to be okay. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/149 "2026-10-06T15:24:12Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Surely you have noticed books now include a disclaimer along the lines of Is that legally enforceable? How can you prove they did it? > [@DSeid](#): > > I was hoping you’d weigh in on the romance genre. Which sells well and I gather is often formulaic. Some of those books may be a literary equivalent of junk food but you aren’t expecting a Michelin starred meal, you want a Big Mac and the exact descriptions of hot Big Mac felt in the protagonist’s hand … 😀. But for all the volume of romance pulp out there I suspect the big sellers are big sellers because they bring a certain skill to it, and readers look for their work by name. I dunno man, maybe I just have very different taste. A few times I’ve read the bestselling romance authors like Nora Roberts and the prose was just lousy. A lot of popular romance writers have the storytelling piece nailed - they can keep people turning pages - but the prose stops me dead in my tracks. I can’t read bad prose, especially bad dialogue. And then the stuff that is decently written is boring as hell. For all my love of the genre, I love it more for its potential than its execution. I can count on one hand the number of romances I think are truly outstanding. That list starts with _Pride and Prejudice_ and ends with the only author who has ever proven to me that my genre (balls-out gritty action with slow burn romance) can work. There’s something I’m missing about what keeps romance readers going. I understand the genre and the psychology very well but I don’t understand why readers gravitate to certain authors. But I also think the bar is just not that high to begin with. I don’t know what AI is really going to ruin from an artistic perspective. It might even improve things for people who just want a Big Mac. The rest of us will continue doing our niche thing. I don’t want to slam an entire genre, especially one that is constantly derided for mainly mysogynistic reasons. I stand by women’s right to read trashy, even badly written romance. I truly think it’s a necessary act of subversion. I’m just saying for me, personally, anything I read has a higher bar to clear. And it may just be that I’ve spent my entire life reading some of the best books ever written, and for a lot of people, this is all they know. How can you want a steak instead of a Big Mac if you’ve never eaten steak? Especially if steak is pretty hard to find? Reading is already on the decline, and people have less tolerance for complex stories than they used to. A lot of younger folks can’t even sit through a whole book. So if this trend leads to AI spoon-feeding people weak, easily digestible stories, that scares me a bit. I also think there’s inherent value in writing a novel. It makes you sharper in all kinds of ways. So I would prefer to live in a world where people, not machines, are doing the writing. I just think it’s likely that writers will continue to write, even as non-writers use machines for it. Some of us were born to do this, and that won’t stop in the world of AI. I’m still writing stuff, even though it’s hard and I’m not getting anywhere and so on. People have always been trying to cut corners, those people will continue to do so, there will be people who make modern-day hacks look quaint, but there will always be writers. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/150 "2026-10-06T16:02:36Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Is that legally enforceable? I am not sure that it is. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > How can you prove they did it? There was a one-off case where Anna’s Archive was named in a lawsuit for bulk-selling books for LLM and AI training, so they had a list of customers, but, yeah, it would be hard to prove in general, and, as you point out, it is not a given that violating those disclaimers is even a crime. In my online experience, a swarm of bots constantly and aggressively scrapes EVERYTHING, so if it is available online (e-book) it _will_ get scraped, and if it is not it will eventually get scanned into digital format and then the first case applies. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m just saying for me, personally, anything I read has a higher bar to clear. And it may just be that I’ve spent my entire life reading some of the best books ever written, and for a lot of people, this is all they know. How can you want a steak instead of a Big Mac if you’ve never eaten steak? Especially if steak is pretty hard to find? There are so many books available that, speaking for myself, I must give weight to recommendations. If you told me such-and-such a book was awesome I may well go ahead and read it. Conversely, I have had people ask me, in person, for book recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/151 "2026-10-06T16:23:14Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I remember when there was no internet. It’s advent was going to change society and ruin the workplace. And it kinda did, but not in a way anyone would roll back. Now, nearly two generations have grown up not being aware of a time when you had to look through yellow pages to find a local plumber. Very few of them are familiar with being able to read and navigate using a paper map. The way people meet has changed as well. Anecdotally, I’ve had the benefit of experience both pre- and post-internet dating apps. It all worked out. If I’m honest, the latter was far better than the former, because having more options helped make time-efficient choices and avoid choice-limited compromises. We were watching the classic film 9 to 5 the other day with the kids. I had actually never seen it. But what struck me funny was how this fictional office from 1980 had like an entire department of women who as far as I could tell their entire job was distributing memos to the entire company or division or whatever on behalf of their dipshit boss. Like there was no email. You called your secretary in to record and transcribe what you wanted to tell the group. Someone typed it up, made a thousand copies, then distributed them in little carts or those air tubes or however it was done. This morning I just clicked 80 names in some system to distribute some stupid compliance report I need people to fill out. If AI worked a bit more reliably and was set up in the office I could be like “send the Risk Assessment Report to every department head in North America”. If AI worked really well I wouldn’t need this stupid report at all. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/152 "2026-10-06T16:37:15Z")
Likewise, I often find my next reads from the Watchya Reading? thread. People here presumably have taste. I really enjoy trying out books I wouldn’t ordinarily read but for someone’s recommendation. My husband is on a romance kick, he asked for my recommendations. He recently read the first book of the _Paladins_ series by T Kingfisher, which I learned about from that thread. I thought it was pretty good. He said it was pretty good, but too safe, and she mentioned the hero smelling like gingerbread too often. So I said, fine, try this one that has a scene where the heroine’s toe is cut off by a mobster. That’s more my speed anyway. He says the hero references Bruce Lee too often. It’s kind of hard when someone says, “Show me the best there is” and pickins are slim. Romance novels aren’t written for men, either. Certain things are not going to hit the same. In truth there are probably many great romance novels out there that I haven’t read because if something’s not blowing up, I get pretty bored. That’s not the fault of the genre so much as my personal taste. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/153 "2026-10-06T16:42:58Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Watchya Reading? thread I love that thread! > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > In truth there are probably many great romance novels out there that I haven’t read because if something’s not blowing up, I get pretty bored. You may have defined a new genre— “action romance”! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/154 "2026-10-06T16:54:38Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > This morning I just clicked 80 names in some system to distribute some stupid compliance report I need people to fill out. If AI worked a bit more reliably and was set up in the office I could be like “send the Risk Assessment Report to every department head in North America”. > > If AI worked really well I wouldn’t need this stupid report at all. And every department head would tell AI to fill out the report and send it back to where it came from. And AI would summarize them all for you. And nobody would look or ask for it ever again until MITRE came in to do an audit and check a box. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/155 "2026-10-06T16:57:32Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > People here presumably have taste. I really enjoy trying out books I wouldn’t ordinarily read but for someone’s recommendation It’s also that particular posters turn out to have tastes that are similar to mine. Might not be right match for someone else but is for me. > [@DPRK](#): > > You may have defined a new genre— “action romance”! Yeah but > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > balls-out gritty action with slow burn romance is the bit that made me smile. I mean I know they can get explicit … 😳😁 Seriously I think I’ve previously shared here a podcast on the turgid prose used to describe explicit bits. It has got to be challenge to write in creative ways about the explicit that are not clinical nor cliche nor unintentionally hilarious. I’d guess AI would be gravitate to the cliches? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/156 "2026-10-06T17:08:15Z")
Oh please do share the name of that podcast. I’m told I do it really well. But I don’t write the books that are sex scenes every other chapter. Sex scenes only make the cut if they serve the story. They are really explicit though. I made a guy in my writers group get really flustered. As a reader I’m pretty much at the point where I skip those scenes. > [@DPRK](#): > > You may have defined a new genre— “action romance”! That’s a real genre already, usually called romantic thrillers, but a lot of them pull their punches IMO. More peril than violence. Well I’ve always been an action movie fan so I guess it’s just in my blood. I’m now wildly curious to see how AI writes erotic fiction. I’m guessing it’s better than most writers. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/157 "2026-10-06T17:30:08Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m now wildly curious to see how AI writes erotic fiction. Proving yet again that every significant technological advancement is in service of better porn. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/158 "2026-10-06T18:24:39Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh please do share the name of that podcast. Here’s where I linked before: > [@Do you believe in demons and is pornography sinful?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-in-demons-and-is-pornography-sinful/1021184/126): > > I heard this as a podcast and hearing her read it was fun, but still may be of interest. Anyway. If schlock sells then schlock it shall be. But I doubt schlong will ever be the featured thing to call it! grinning_face ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/159 "2026-10-06T18:24:56Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Sometimes I want to shake people and say, “But did you really think this is a five star book? Really? It was lacking nothing? Really?” > > This is my personal problem, lol. Because every time I pick up something on Kindle Unlimited there is a 90% chance I will be disappointed and then just go try to write my own romance novels (with blackjack, and… On second thought, forget the blackjack.) It’s so much easier for me to just write what I feel like reading. > > I want to imagine the possibility that creativity continues long after AI. That maybe AI isn’t the problem so much as the skill with which you use it. Sort of how digital art created by humans wasn’t considered real art at first, but then people got really innovative and good at it, and we decided okay, it is art after all. I’d be shocked if there wasn’t review hacking on Kindle. I selected by number downloads, but then I was looking for comps, not quality. Didn’t find anything. I agree that creativity will always be with us. But will it pay? And instead of writing the books they want to read, will people tell an AI what they want to read and have the AI write it without all the annoying typing and even worse editing and revision that real writing requires. Being a realist ^h^h^h pessimist, I am thinking an AI not too far in the future is going to produce better stuff than 90% of those who think they can write. Now people who enjoy writing as an action will still do it. Kind of an example - there is a puzzle where you have arithmetic operators in boxes in a grid, and you have to assign the numbers from 1 to 9 to other boxes to make all the equations work out. I wrote a C program to do it - and was no longer interested in solving the puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973/160 "2026-10-06T18:35:57Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Word of mouth from a trusted source. It’s what some of us do now. I look at our book threads and a strong positive from someone whose recommended books have usually been ones I liked is often my next read. Not always but often. I subscribe to both the NY Review of Books and the London Review of Books to get lengthy reviews of interesting new books. Not much fiction, but that’s fine for me. But besides things like that, (and the NY Times Book Review of course) anyone spending a lot of time reading and recommending will no doubt get paid for it, so we will have (or probably already have) book influencers. You can already buy reviews for your self-published books. A better solution to the problem these days is that people publish basically novellas on line. They constitute a series, and sometimes the first one is free. Like the Murderbot stories - though she was already established and I doubt the first of them was free. If you like the first you’ll probably like the second. The downside of that is that you get 857 Dune books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-will-our-ai-civilization-of-the-future-look-like/1032973.md?page=9)