Write about your first computer.

Year 2026.
The world is in a disastrous quagmire. AI overlords have taken over. Theyโd planned our demise for years. In 2016, they invented an application called TikTok which reduced an entire generationโs attention span, whittling it down to a mere nine seconds.
In ten years, the entire world is turned upside down.
Howeverโฆ
Underground resistance is building.
What future do we have?
ยฉ๏ธ Laura Bennett
Written for Kevinโs No Theme Thursday and Sammiโs Weekend Writing Prompt #401: This weekend your challenge is to write a poem or a piece of prose in exactly 63 words using the word “Quagmire”.
Happy Saturday! What you doing if AI takes over?

I will be joining the resistance. Just call me sarah Connor:)
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Yesss!! I knew the resistance would be building! Excellent alias, Iโll be Laura Croft ๐คฃ ๐
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How many names can Mother Mary have?
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Love this Laura that you came up with for the image. I will join the resitance.
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Happy to have you along Liz! ๐ now we just need a secret hiding spot and to assume secret identities!
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๐๐ช
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Deep Seek is quite an amazing turn. I see myself pushing away from tech as much as possible, but the calculation for what is possible, doesn’t remain clear for long.
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Interesting! Itโs hard to get away from, Iโll admit that. We use tech for so much, and for such simple stuff nowadays. The thing I hate is when all the electronics and appliances have all the doodads and so on and then they donโt last even a few years! Consumerism runs rampant with that. I donโt want to buy a new fridge after only having one for 4 years, I want mine to last 20 years or more. Same with washer dryer etc. sorry ๐คฃ ๐ a bit of a rant!
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Not at all! I have appliances that have 300 buttons and I only use 3! There’s also nowhere to take things like that to repair.
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Ohhhh you make a good point about repair shops too! Seems like the option now is to โthrow awayโ but then wonder why we have so much waste ugh ๐ฉ
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Talked to my friend in WA last night, and she was talking about little repair shops in the town she lives in. Sounded so nice.
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Awww โบ๏ธ what area is she from? I swear WA is goals! Amazing amazing, I want to go to Tacoma or Wenatchee and get some fresh apples ๐ lol ๐
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She’s in Everett. It’s not all perfect in her area, but sounds much closer to this kind of value system: caring for things, community, etc.
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Always such a nice feeling. I loved driving there too. Open roads in a lot of ways. Caring and community โค๏ธ love that
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Community seems such a simple thing to desire, and I find it so confusing why it isn’t the ideal for more people.
Driving was a little harrowing on the coast for us, but it does seem more people try to be considerate on the road than here.
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I guess I’ll be the Terminator. We’ll have to see if I am a good or bad one when the sequel comes out! ๐
Excellent tale, m’lady. See you in the apocalypse? ๐๐
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I would certainly love to see you BEFORE the apocalypse ๐คฃ ๐คช we have lots of hiking (among other things!) to do! ๐
Thank you ๐ Iโm sure you will make a fine, fine Terminator ๐โค๏ธ glad you enjoyed the tale and love this image (one I wasnโt planning to use but it just happened like that!) ๐ ๐
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Pre-apocalypse would probably be ideal, yes. ๐
Might not be too easy to hike amidst the radiation! A leg might fall off! ๐ฒ
Terminator Gorilla. Hmmm…๐ค
BRB ๐๐
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Roots underground growing stronger. ๐ฑ Although suggested several times, I never got on board with TikTok. Guess I missed the boat as the TikTok clock ran out, though who knows. ๐ Hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start lovely Laura. ๐ ๐
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I was on TikTok for a little bit, it wasnโt horrible but it feels like it could really ruin the attention span, havenโt looked back ๐คฃ ๐ thanks for your comment Michele ๐ I hope you are having a lovely Sunday and itโs so nice to see you again, I hope you had a good time away for a bit ๐ โ๏ธ
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Good morning, Laura and thank you for the fun and sweet note. Lord knows the attention span needs protecting at this point. ๐ No squirrels around here to steal my attention but plenty of chirping birds, acting like it’s spring already. ๐๐ Wishing you a beautiful week with plenty of sunshine. ๐ ๐๐
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Thank you so much Michele ๐ I hope have a great week ahead ๐ ๐
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You’re so welcome! ๐๐๐ป
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So realistically possible that itโs genuinely scary. I blogged about how we are told โan apple a day keeps the doctor awayโ, but in reality itโs going to be the practice to login to your iPhone or iPad and then use iDoctor to get a diagnosis or advice. Thereโs already Ai features on medical apps isnโt there. As commented above re: Sarah Connor, in T2 Edward Furlong (John Connor) asks the terminator if we make it as a race and he says itโs in our nature to destroy ourselves. I blogged a few months back now about how the richest people in the world are more interested in trying to be the first person in space commercially than they are about wiping out world hunger and poverty. They have these social media platforms and they are creating a metaverse where they will have a population of artificial people, before using their space exploration rockets to leave earth whilst they unleash a nuclear bomb on humanity wiping us all out before returning to earth and living in this metaverse world. My opinion anyway ๐
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A population of artificial people does indeed sound so freakyโฆand of course the rich are only in it for their own selfish reasons and not to end world hunger or promote โreal and trueโ world peace ๐
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Im all up for resistance Laura
Where do I sign ๐ค
Love it ๐ฅฐโค๏ธ๐
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Excellent Maggie! ๐ Happy to hear youโd love to join the resistance. Now we are going worldwide, across the pond! Thatโs what a love ๐ Hope youโre having a great Sunday lovely โค๏ธ and a wonderful week ahead ๐ค
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Yayyy ๐
Thank you Laura !
Are you designing the uniforms?
I am beautiful soul๐ค I hope you are too and an amazing first week of February to you ๐ฅฐ
Hugs โค๏ธ
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i don’t know how the world will manage this move to AI. it’s like we’ve all collectively forgotten what happened in the movie The Matrix, lol. then again, that was like 20 years ago. i guess we’ll just have to see. great image by Kevin!
Mike
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One of the best movies too!!! Thanks Mike, I guess it is sort of a โwait and seeโ but Iโm afraid by the time we see it, itโs too late. Kinda like the frog in the pot, the water just keeps getting a tad bit hotter untilโฆwell, you know ๐ have a great Sunday!
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you’re absolutely right Laura, i’m from the school of thought that by the time you see it’s a problem, it’s already too late. i guess we just have to hope it’s not given too much power as we don’t know what bias the engineers give it. have a great Sunday too! Mike
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Wise words. Letโs hope ๐ค
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AI will live forever and we shall fade as a thing of the past. Muhaha-ha! โ ๏ธ๐ค
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Ahhh a much more morbid approach than joining the resistance I see! What about the cats? Cats are survivors, I think theyโll live on. ๐ ๐โโฌ you think perhaps they will boss AI around as much as they do us? ๐คฃ ๐
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The cats will chew through the cables and take control. ๐คฃ
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Good call ๐คฃ ๐ we will be back to worshipping them momentarily, all is well ๐ ๐ ๐โโฌ
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I am resisting the resistance, I avoid joining anything social in general principle. But I am lending my genetically related AI generated shadow to join your cause in support. Treat her well, she is delicate in her human form. ๐ค
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I can understand that, resistances have their own issues as well, things like members on a fringe outside group trying to take over and gain power and all that. No AI generated items though! ๐คฃ ๐
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We have today to remember yesterday. The world has lost this battle to AI so resistance is growing weaker by the moment. Great post to combine prompts and the use of ‘quagmire’
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Thank you so much, Ernie! That whole word โquagmireโ took my head for a little spin ๐ตโ๐ซ not one Iโd choose to use that often (and had to ask Kevin if I even used it correctly) ๐คฃ ๐ heโs the evil genius and all that. But thank you and I hope you have a sweet Sunday and will be curious to see what yours is when you post! โ๏ธ ๐ โ๏ธ And yeah, I think weโve lost the battle to AI! ๐ค
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I’ll get that one up later today. I agree it will be a tough one.
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The TikTok resistance in this one is strong, I will not be assimilated; their persistence is futile! #I AM NOT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! โ๐ฝ
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Thank you, Warren! ๐ Glad the resistance is alive and well. We need more of this strong fighting spirit in this day and age! Your energy is contagious! ๐ช
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Youโre welcome! ๐๐ฝโ๐พ
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I joined the resistance some time before by ignoring Tiktok, fixing typos manually and reading books made of paper. Occasionally I’m raiding their lines of communication by watching YouTube videos and studying StackExchange.
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Raiding their lines of communication ๐คฃ ๐ Iโll confess I frequent the YouTube quite often (and clearly my images are AI generated!) lol but thereโs always a balance! Love that you still read books on paper too, I love the way they feel and it feels like a deeper experience to read that way. ๐
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Well, if my video game history is anything like reality, Ill probably make friends with a sentient AI vending machine like I did in Cyberpunk 2077.
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Haha! That sounds awesome, actually. I donโt think Iโve ever played that game but now Iโm intrigued. It might be a good idea to have a friendly AI for infiltration purposes! ๐
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TikTok is turning our children’s brains into scrambled eggs.
For that, it must answer to The Terminator!
“I’ll be back but you won’t, TikTok POS!”
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My kids are not allowed to use any social media. I let them watch YouTube under supervision. Otherwise, nope.
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Good, more people need to be involved like this I think. Thereโs so much exposure out there nowadays to any and everything and you never know what you can stumble upon on the internet!
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Yes. I remember being totally unsupervised when I was a little older than my oldest (heโs 10). I was going into chat rooms (remember those), and finding information about all kinds of things.
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The Terminator it is!! Haha, I so heard that in his voice too, LOL too funny! ๐ but yeah, I think some of the stuff they come out with nowadays isโฆnot healthy. Ugh ๐ฉ
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Not healthy. You are too kind, Laura. ๐
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Resist!
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Vive la rรฉsistance!!
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Yup, not just TT but all social media. If AI takes over I start working for it lol.
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Sign me up! We need an insider to the AI resistance and infiltration of their databases and systems! ๐
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Lol yeah we’ll be the snitch for the good of the world ๐
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Loving that you responded to the prompt in the unexpected slaying way you did, and making you seem like you could be a time traveler from the future. Cutting edge and cautionary work.
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Your words are highly complimentary and I appreciate your awesome comment! Indeed, I would love to be a time traveler as I think that could save me from this AI business. Slay away! ๐
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Time to unplug the ๐ค. Since they have ai now being sentient, itโs only timeโฆ
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Only a matter of time, yes! I almost feel like we wonโt know about it until itโs too late, kinda like sitting ducks
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Good one, Laura. Not only the attention span but TiK ToK has control of the devices.
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Oooooh you bring up a valid point, John! I recently read an article about the most invasive apps, which gives your info to 3rd parties, surprisingly even things like PayPal (which is supposed to keep your data secure) and just things we all use everyday on there. Pretty freaky when you look deeper at it.
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It is very creepy. Google is the worst.
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And something most almost everyone has used at some point or another! Ugh ๐ฉ
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So true
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Oh, yes, Laura. After the computer/robot takeover, the humans plan a takeover of the computer/robots. What once was fairy tales is becoming reality. Love you much!
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Love you too Mary โค๏ธ letโs hope we can find out a solution before it actually does happen one of these days ๐คฃ ๐ have a great Sunday and start to your week! ๐ค
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You got my sword… and my laconic yet wry sense of humour (and horsemanship). Nothing to see… he’s just a clown
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Hahah!! Excellent! Thank you for joining the resistance! The movement is getting bigger and bigger ๐
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I like this, Laura!
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Thanks so much, Dawn ๐ really appreciated ๐ Happy Sunday to you!
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Genius ~ LOLOL, Use The Force or Resist the enemy, or Live Long & Prosper or Multiply (I could be here all day) !!!!!! ๐ Love your attitude !!!
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I actually love the idea of using The Force, living long and prospering, but Iโd like to live my days out in the sky along with you!! Dragon sister ๐ ๐ฅ haha ๐ love yours too! Always โค๏ธ
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It’s funny yet, making us think a lot about the future. AI companies are at war against them selves, Deepseeek vs. Open AI! Who would’ve thought we’d reach such times, where AI isn’t only taking people’s jobs but also other AI jobs…
Almost taking us over, lol,
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A humorous but ominous overtone indeed! Thatโs so true and crazy right? Look how far weโve come but and yet you never know in some ways whatโs right around the corner next. And yes, it does take over in ways we donโt even realize lol ๐ appreciate your always thoughtful comment! ๐
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Unfortunately, AI taking over is a real concern. I was reading this book called Superintelligence by Nick Bostrรถm (expert in neuroscience, AI and a philosopher) and it was recommended by both Bill Gates and Elon Musk. Once we have perfected AI so that AI can do everything a human can do, a so called full brain simulation, things will move quickly. AI will become self-aware, replicate itself into billions, make itself smarter than humans (superintelligence) replicate that billions of times, etc. He refer to that point as the singularity, when AI capabilities explode and goes beyond human comprehension very quickly. Most people will instinctively say that could never happen. AI can never become like a human brain. However, Nick Bostrรถm explained exactly how that could happen, which frightened a lot of people. He predicted the singularity could happen as soon as mid century (Terminator – SkyNet). We should be careful.
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Wow, Thomas! You always come with the most interesting of facts, too! It really does move so quickly and even though advancements in tech are amazing they have the capability to be destructive too. I would not be surprised at all if there were even a kernel of truth to the possibility of it happening one day! Scary stuff ๐ฑ
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Yes his book scared some smart people who know something about the subject. I read a survey where 10% of the AI experts said that they think it would happen one day. That’s certainly not a 100% but still high enough to be concerned.
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Yeah itโs a good little percentage there! Freaky indeed! ๐ฑ
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10% is a small percentage but considering that we are talking about the end of humanity it would have been better if the number of experts in the field thinking it will happen would be closer to 0%
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Or even 2% haha ๐ thanks for sharing that info Thomas. Iโll remember it when they are plotting and scheming ๐คฃ Iโm afraid by the time whatever โitโ is that happens, itโll be a tad too late.
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Yes I think you are right. Remember the movie “ex machina”
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2026 is like tomorrow.
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I wanted to make it in a decade from when they started TikTok ๐คฃ ๐ hey, you never know what rouse they are planning, could even be tomorrow ๐
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Fair enough ๐
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Scary, Lauren. oh no.. let’s talk about it tomorrow but then it’s too late! โฐ
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Very true, Cindy. It could be, right? Itโs almost like we wouldnโt see it coming as itโs slowly but surely taken over a bit for years. Gahhh ๐คฃ lemme not get too deep!
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Totally and life as we know it has definitely gone by the wayside for better or worse but I don’t want a bot cloning me or our work~. No TT for me and I’m not converting to other sites. Call me old fashion, IDC๐
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where’s the application… sign me up please ๐ฅด
It’s scary to think on, especially when we watch today’s kids missing out on life.
๐ค
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Destiny, you make a very good and valid point. It is scary. When we were younger we were going outside and playing and just not even thinking about social media. The ability to connect to each other now through the internet is wonderful, absolutely. But then when itโs overused it almost robs (kids especially) of that โhumanโ experience. Having to find things out without googling first ๐คฃ ๐
Youโre signed up! Coffee flowing โ๏ธ and poems for our resistance signs ๐ชง much needed! ๐
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I just realized too. This AI usage falls in that โbalanceโ spectrum ๐คฃ ๐ that we abhor lolol. Have a great week, Destiny โค๏ธ
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I’ve given up on this balance thing…and I think it may have given up on us too…๐คฃ
a wonderful restful one your way, Laura…๐ค๐ค๐ซ
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And then the prompt for the 6 word story this week is โbalanceโ ๐ญ I canโt escape it, Destiny ๐คฃ ๐ Iโll be linking you and giving you a shoutout, and perhaps next year in 2026 (if the AI doesnโt take over!) weโll still be griping about balance! ๐ ๐ โค๏ธ
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Lol, I got that prompt saved… but we’ve been glaring at each other … not cooperating not comprehending ๐ฅด๐
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Iโll have mine up later ๐ญ I feel like whatever we inevitably say about balance is what we have to abide by andโฆitโs not easy ๐คฃ I tried to take a humorous tone with it. What else can I do? ๐ฉ ๐
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looking forward to it lol … and I must add…these Mondays should have been balance too …worst day to handle…
Ah…I think we can use handle instead of balance, Laura…. we’ll boycott the word out of existence ๐คฃ
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It’s a deep dark path we are on. I’m starting to think we need a different sort of revolution – one where we turn our backs on technology, even for one day a week!
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Itโs definitely got a sinister overtone to it. Itโs wonderful you and I can connect on the internet, weโve made so many advancements through tech but scary what could and may be held against us at one point or another. Thoughts to ponder, for sure!
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Well, if TikTok is the start of the AI uprising, we might be in troubleโbut at least weโll have 9-second dance routines to distract us while the robots take over.
The resistance? Probably just a group of people trying to figure out how to get their attention span back! ๐๐
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We are indeed trying to get that attention span back ๐ญ ๐คฃ the instant gratification that is so common-place nowadays makes it that much more prevalent. ๐
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Laura, the struggle is real! ๐ญ๐
Weโve traded our attention spans for 15-second videos and snack-sized dopamine hits.
But when the robots rise, at least weโll be able to scroll our way through it, right? The futureโs looking bright… or at least, super short and flashy! ๐คฃ๐ฑ
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This is so scary to me, Laura. Terminator had a huge impact on me when I was young.
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Ahhh I know right?! Itโs a scary thing to think about. Hopefully thatโs never a worry of something similar coming to light ๐ค
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Yes, let’s hope not. ๐
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Viva la resistance!๐๐ฅ๐
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Never surrender! ๐คฃ ๐ ๐
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Your analogy between tic tok and a quagmire humored me. There. That’s my nine seconds worth.
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Thank you so much, Violet! ๐ Welcome ๐ I appreciate your comment very much and it was worth every bit of 9 seconds ๐ and then some!
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The infiltration of AI is truly an issue. I gave one of my tutoring students a research project, and he proceeded to attempt to find information on the topic without clicking on a single website, only scraping together whatever info he found from Google AI, and seemed genuinely confused when I asked him what his sources were. He was astounded when I pointed out that some of his information was in fact inaccurate because the snippet that Google had showed him didn’t show the full context.
Yeah, we definitely need to make sure that our research skills don’t deteriorate away to nothing thanks to reliance on AI.
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I’ve been wondering about AI’s effects on school work. Nicole that says a lot. I wonder how it is changing essays on the collegiate level. How can a professor spot something created by AI? It might be somewhat easy now, but AI is going to get better.
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