11 pm. Grandma’s house. The faint buzz of her fridge.
The buzz used to be comforting
A soothing lullaby for sleep
But now it makes my ears bleed out memories of blissful silence
I could be triumphantly standing on a looming mountain with unforgiving, harsh landscapes, but there would still be the buzz of AI
I could be revelling in the midnight zone, bioluminescent reflections in my pupils, but there would still be the buzz of AI
I could be perched on a Ungurahui Tree observing the Piripkura who used to live contently without the midden of the outside world, but there would still be the buzz of AI
I miss when the buzz was the lazy bumblebees in daisy-filled fields
I miss when the buzz was cicadas accompanying the sand between my toes
I miss when the buzz was mosquitoes leaving me with the scars of Summer
But the unceasing buzz is the least of my worries.
AI used to be our tool.
When rumours would fly around school about Isabel using AI on the English assignment
When the clock read 00:28, and it was teaching me how to solve trigonometric equations
When everyone on TikTok was talking about saving $200 and using Chat GPT to do your colour analysis instead
But now 25 years later, unemployment is the new trend
A weed in everyone’s garden
First, it was receptionists and secretaries, off went Miss Ibrahim
Second, it was the bus drivers, I rather liked Henry
Third, it was retail workers, Emily always gave me her employee discount
Everything came crumbling down.
The glue holding families together came unstuck
The smog-filled sky streaked with riotous fires
The graveyard bursting at the seams
My walk to school became contaminated with pleading eyes, ashes, and makeshift graveyards
In a fever dream, I shut The Giver and laugh about the absurdity of dystopias
But then I wake up and hear the buzz.
Everyone is just obsolete now
Like the chair in Room 8 with no back
Like the dictionary on Mum’s bookshelf
Like the newspapers in the dairy’s backroom
I remember debating world issues at MUN
SOCHUM: Cultural Protection
UNEP: Climate Change
SPECPOL: Global Democracy
But there was never ECOSOC: AI-caused Unemployment
And if there was, no one cared
We used to laugh about AI being unable to draw hands
We used to laugh about how no one uses landlines anymore
But AI was eavesdropping, ready to tell us, you are no longer needed anymore
You are obsolete.