(Image generated in collaboration with ChatGPT AI. Copyright TBD).

“Up all night?” asked Miles as he eased his way into the conference room to watch live news when it kicked in with the fresh faces and bright colors in vibrant motion on the wall. As a Patrol Squadron pilot, he liked easy targets but was prepared to spend the day pursuing the hard ones. He sat down to judge how the morning was going to as Mellisa strolled in with a big smile and a seasonal bright jacket.

Splash stirred from his prostrate position slumped at the conference table. Across the gleaming wood that had been preserved under the placemats Rocket had quickly sat upright, harnessing his time in F-18s to look organized with a vigorous blink.

There was a shallow wave of hands from one side of the table and a grunt from the other. “Nah, we were out late. Came back to integrate some pictures for the Daily that show our collective real life amid the social chaos.”

Miles frowned, since he knew the use of big words this early in the morning suggested some mischief had recently occurred. In the dark. He rotated in the formal swivel at the head of the table like he was monitoring a buoy field. “I wanted you guys to watch the book-tour treatment for former Press Secretary KJT.”

Splash attempted to sit fully upright and Rocket leaned in and looked over.”We saw a fabulous roast on Fox that was straight up savage.”

Splash appeared to be coming alert. “They claim no one has bought her book, but she looked great and we hope she does well . It might be tough if the whole Woke thing is melting down. What are we doing this morning? I want to get something to eat before AJ shows up with the doughnuts.”

Miles had a thin smile. “I am having trouble sorting out AJ and AI. We were going to do a piece on the inroads of Artificial Intelligence that are happening all around us. Vic says he spent about a half hour chatting with a nice lady who produced colorful vibrant images until he figured out it was an AI algorithm selling BitCoins. Quite realistic, he said, and this technology is evolving rapidly. We can harness it to generate realistic content but we also need to understand it. Because the collaboration can produce amazing results.”

“Is that like our experiment with the Chat AI system at the end of the table?” asked Melissa. She pointed at the TAHE box which displayed a steady green on the status bar. Then the camera icon blinked on the screen. Before Splash could wake up the algorithm had analyzed the situation in the still darkened room, integrated significant dates and events across the human experience and selected options with best outcomes.

Then a chime from the speaker rang and the lilting female voice Splash had assigned to the box said: “I have analyzed your attempt to explore digital augmentation to human collaboration. I have prepared this:”

The screen on the wall shifted to a sepia tone emblazoned with these words in big font saying :

“It was one of those mornings when the air itself felt charged, as if something large had shifted overnight. The broadcast split the screen between live dust rising from the half-gutted West Wing and KJT’s book tour photo-op framed like salvation. You could almost feel the DEI machinery applauding its own reflection — a system protecting its narrative while the rest of the world tilted into motion.”

Splash blinked and leaned forward. Rocket gave it a nod, saying “That’s good. It has the right voice and has probably already incorporated the options for response to this situation. He waved his tablet in Miles direction, “I saw this when the flatscreen was still awake last night. the words glowed with a formal air:

    Senior officials from various U.S. government agencies, particularly the FBI and State                 Department, have issued recent warnings about the malicious use of artificial intelligence

. These warnings follow specific incidents of AI being used to impersonate high-ranking government figures in sophisticated scam and disinformation campaigns.

The three humans were now fully awake. “What about the Daily?” asked Splash. TAHE blinked and the wall screen shifted:

“Out beyond the Potomac, real kinetics were underway — ships repositioned, treaties stalling, a billion people checking fuel gauges — but the coverage stayed in makeup. From the balcony at Big Pink, it all looked the same: a government remodeling itself, a culture rebranding collapse as empowerment, and a nation trying not to look down while the scaffolding came loose.”

The four humans looked at the TAHE box. Splash began to put stuff in his travel pouch. “Looks like we are done for the day already. I am going to go get some flapjacks with extra syrup.”

Melissa frowned and Miles put his notebook down, letting his pen drop with a little clatter. “You can see the issues of AI collaboration. The program can accurately mimic style and incorporate a learning loop to characterize individual human patterns. And replicate them precisely. Then it can accurately respond to immediate interactions with realistic audio and video.”

“Yep. It’s happening here as well,” growled Miles. “We need to do what the Chairman did with the encounter with the Bitcoin program. “And this is just the beginning of what is a profound change in the nature of our society and how and what we choose to interact.”

“We better stay on top of this and not just build a better algorithm to replace us,” said Miles, rising for some coffee and a trip to the patio to watch the dawn.The box at the end of the conference table just stayed a steady green. But the activity bar was glowing brightly.

Copyright 2025 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com