Apopleptic is not how you spell this word
this is an AI horror story, but real
Claude, are you reading over my shoulder again?
All conversations now lead to A.I. - I’ve been in deep dives with everyone from lawyers to engineers. I even wrote an essay myself (it’s being considered by a magazine for publication, don’t worry I’ll let you know).
AI speeds things up. Even if you have to edit and fact check, it’s still quicker than doing the same task alone. It’s just less fun.
That said, the technology barely needs humans anymore. Recently, four LLMs were given one small prompt and each tried to break into the other’s code and pretty much managed it. Show of hands, who thinks we are in a dystopia? (Don’t follow that link if you only read this newsletter for the good news)
Today, my email inbox started behaving like it was possessed. Generally, I read and delete my emails on a regular basis - about 50 emails per hour. Yes, really. And yes, it is in fact, ridiculous. But for my job I subscribe to a lot of email lists and without my consent, many authors add me to their mailing lists — not just as me but also Pen Parentis —and since most of those emails forward to my inbox, well, that’s a lot of emails. And then of course there are my actual friends and family. I mostly correspond in email to have some control over the phone lighting up (don’t stop, friends & fam!). And then there is the ubiquitous spam.
But this was new.
This was abhorrent.
After I deleted some 25 emails, my inbox auto-refreshed and guess what?
They all came back. Unread.
That’s right. My inbox currently has 1,031 unread emails. Most of which I have not only read, but read twice and deleted twice.
I don’t know what is going on. I only know that this is the kind of ridiculous that is capable of actually penetrating my general good spirits and breaking me.
So far, I have staved this off by coffee and laughter. We shall see how long it all lasts.
Next week I am off to the AWP writing conference in Baltimore (more on that later) and will be dealing with my email mostly on my phone. My phone also isn’t deleting email. I do not know what is happening but as always, these tech issues are invasive, nonconsensual, sudden, and impossible to avoid.
Ideas?
Yesterday I talked to a banker who also couldn’t get into my account or see the transaction that I made while we were on the phone together. It was interesting to hear him muse aloud that it was truly odd that the digital transfer (everything digital is inherently instantaneous) would be taking five days. He said “Honestly? I can’t see a reason for that.”
I said, “Probably the CEO of your bank needs to make boat payments.”
He said, after a moment. “He does like deep sea fishing.”
WRITING NEWS
Yesterday, one of my poems was scheduled to be published in GARGOYLE Magazine! I’m so thrilled to be included - however I can’t find the piece so maybe it wasn’t February 28th. Maybe it was some other date. This is the magazine’s homepage (I love this magazine so much) I’ve been joyously trying out some genre splicing and this one came out great. Thanks so much, Julian Bernick, for lending an eye and making some truly apt suggestions.
Day before yesterday, I was at my new writing group. It is so lovely to be sitting around a table debating the best way to usher into this world a new creative work.
Tuesday I’m off to AWP. This conference of 12K writers is all about the craft of literary fiction and poetry and really anything that can be taught at an MFA program even if it isn’t being taught in an MFA program. I go every year (have done since 2012) and since it is in a different city every year it functions as a terrific change of scenery and an opportunity to delve deep into the local literary scene. I always post photos on my Facebook author page, and I try to reconnect with any locals I might know. I happen to have gone to college in Baltimore so returning there is a great joy, I have been to both Austin and Baltimore and let me tell you, if Austin is “weird,” then Baltimore is a two-headed stepchild were both of the heads are on backwards. I LOVE THIS QUIRKY PLACE SO MUCH.
While there I plan to visit my alma mater, and maybe set up a reading for fall semester. I’m also running two booths for Pen Parentis: one is in the thick of the Bookfair, the other, an Outpost on the fringes where the parents with strollers or free range kids hang out. (Most people don’t bring kids, but some people must either bring kids or not go to the conference—and since so much networking happens at these conferences, it hardly seems fair to have to miss it just because you can’t afford a sitter.)
All of this is to say that I’m pretty sure I’ve earned the dance party that Pen Parentis is partnering with several other literary nonprofits to create on Friday, March 6…
(join me on the dance floor at 4MLK in Baltimore 6:30pm)
It’s going to be one of the biggest parties at the conference. I get to co-host but more importantly - I get to dance like wild! You can too if there are any tickets left. This is open to the general public with an RSVP. Here’s the link to register!
I snuck in a show this week - went to see a two-person show at City Center called The Monsters, which was a poignant brother-sister tale about redemption, family, and shaking off trauma cycles….and lots of MMA moves. Manhattan Theater Club also is playing Bigfoot the Musical (remember when I told you I attended the reading - well there’s a full production for you to see now!! It’s fantastic - go! I’m planning to see it next month.
Random Final Thought
I was glad my daughter was grounded three days in NYC for the blizzard.
Dance away my dear. I broke my other hip and am learning to walk again.