The following is a fictional short story set sometime in the very near future. All AI featured in the story is real. The main character is not me. All unlabeled quotations come from the narrator.
“Alexa, snooze.”
A half-hour later I begin my morning routine: scrolling Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok to wake up my brain and eyes. Then on to the important tasks like checking my emails.
“Alexa, read my emails.”
More than 20 minutes later, Alexa has finally gotten to the important emails.
Alexa: “From John: Dale, per our conversation on the course earlier today. I’ll need your top research person to create the twins presentation.”
Thus begun a 25 email thread that started late last night. I never saw it. Time to switch over to my phone to really pay attention to this.
“Hey Google, summarize this email thread for me.”
I walk to my car as Google Gemini gets to work.
“Dale and John want you to create a well-researched presentation about the risks of illnesses shared amongst twins. It should include recommendations for clients on how to implement the new research. And they want you to present it to Dale at 10 AM this morning.”
Oh no. I do not have enough time to both research and build a presentation by 10 AM.
But Dale is not a forgiving man. And his boss John is even worse. I cannot ask for an extension.
Thank Google for AI.
Now I can get this all done while I commute to work.
“Hey Google, create a well-research, detailed presentation about, uh, the twin illnesses thing. Make it 15 slides for the presentation but include lots of notes and research in an appendix.”
I need coffee.
“Hey Siri, order me a Tall Blonde Roast from Starbucks.”
I pull right up to the store and grab my coffee as I rush to the office. It’s 9:15 AM. I rush to my cubicle to start working on the presentation.
But thanks to Google Gemini it’s already done. It’s a beast. It has 50 slides, not 15, and more than 75 pages of notes and citations. I guess I didn’t say 15 clearly enough, but that’s fine, I look like I over prepared. If Dale and John want well-researched I’m going to give them well-researched.
My wife texts me: “Hey you rushed out this morning and didn’t make any coffee. Everything alright?”
I’m so busy trying to read through this presentation I don’t have time to respond.
“Hey Siri, tell Wifey it’s fine I had a meeting to rush to but I grabbed a Tall Blonde on the way.
Siri: “Ok sending to Wifey: It’s fine, I had a meeting with a tall blonde that I grabbed this morning.”
Wifey: “What?”
I’m already walking to the meeting room with my computer and I don’t see my wife’s text. I haven’t even read through half of the slides. Dale isn’t there when I arrive so I pull up my Google Calendar. There’s a Google Meet link. He must be off site. I open the link and he’s not on camera either. He shoots me a message to tell me that he won’t make it today but he’s sending Krisp, his AI notetaker in his place.
So, I begin my 50 slide presentation to Krisp. It’s a disaster. I don’t know any of the terms I’m reading and I fly through the presentation to make up for my lack of knowledge. I speak in jumbled sentences to try and trip up Krisp, but it just stares blankly back at me, seeing and hearing everything from behind a black screen.
When the meeting ends, I send my boss a message that I did the presentation. I’m glad Krisp doesn’t have opinions, but I know it’s going to make it obvious how bad I was. Dale says to send the presentation to him in an email and he’ll read the Krisp transcript when he gets a chance.
But he never gets that chance. Instead he asks Google to summarize the presentation and the transcript. After glancing over them, he forwards the summaries to John. He then finishes out another three-putt.
John has Google read the summaries to him out loud while he’s on an earnings call with investors.
John: “Sorry guys I thought I was on mute. Please carry on.”
I know the presentation was weird. Some of the research in the slides seemed wrong, but it was so detailed and heavily sourced it would take me too long to determine the accuracy of each slide.
While I wait nervously to hear back, I can’t decide what I want for lunch, so I ask Siri for the best food for delivery. It takes me to the Wikipedia page about food delivery. Frustrated and starving I ask ChatGPT to design me the best possible Chipotle bowl. It keeps giving me a bowl that balances nutrition and taste. I have only had a Tall Blonde for sustenance today, I don’t want nutrition. I tell ChatGPT to ignore health implications and design me the biggest and best Chipotle order. Finally it obliges. I DoorDash it. My triple carnitas bowl with a side of barbacoa and two large scoops of guacamole costs me $65.
My wife texts me asking how my day has been. I have guac all over my hands so I can’t respond. I tell Siri to say “stressful” then I tell Apple’s new Apple Intelligence generative AI to “elaborate” on that. It’s a great new feature that saves me so much time.
Siri: “Stressful. Stress can be bad for my mental and physical health. I can deal with stress by exercising, sleeping more, and eating healthy. I should also take small breaks throughout my work day to reduce my stress load.”
My wife is confused. She’s having a tough day with the kids. She says “Well the kids have been an absolute nightmare today.”
Before I can respond to my wife, my boss emails me. He says the presentation was great and that John also approved it. He wants me to turn it into a guide to send out to all of our teams as soon as possible.
Being a good husband, I don’t want to leave my wife hanging. But I also need to get this done. I ask Siri on my phone to respond to the text while I ask Google on my computer to create a detailed document with instructions on how to implement the research in my presentation.
“Hey Siri, text my wife, ‘That sucks about the nightmare kids.’ and then elaborate on that for 3-4 more sentences.”
Siri: “Ok sending to Wifey: Kids having nightmares is common. The best thing to do when they experience these nightmares, also known as night terrors, is to reassure them that everything is alright and that they are safe at home with their parents.”
“Hey Google, turn that Twins presentation into a detailed document with instructions on how to implement the research for our clients. Wait what are you sending Siri? No, decline. Stop. Deny. Deny. Decline. Cease.”
Siri: “Ok, what do you want me to say instead?”
Google Gemini: “Turning Twins presentation into a detailed document with instructions on implementing and denying for clients.”
“Siri, just say that’s no fun, but I’m sure they will be fine. Thanks GG, and make sure it looks really good too.”
Siri: “Ok sending to Wifey: That’s no fu”
“Yes just send.”
Google finishes up the document. It’s now 2:00 PM and my boss said this needs to be implemented today. So I have it sent to all relevant teams in our company with instructions from Dale to implement the findings for our clients.
Before 3 PM I’ve created a massive presentation full of deep research, met with my boss, had it approved by his boss, and then turned that presentation into a detailed document with instructions for the rest of the company. And now, the food coma from my triple carnitas bowl is fully setting in.
I doze off for about 15 minutes.
My Apple Watch starts buzzing. It’s my wife.
Wife: “Who is GiGi and why do you need her to look really good? Is she the tall blonde you met with this morning?”
I have no idea what this means. Before I can respond, I get a message from my boss.
Dale: “Hey Bud, can you meet me at 4:30 PM today?”
The calendar notification arrives in my inbox at the same time. There’s no Google Meet link. The location is in his office.
This is huge. We never meet in his office. I don’t know what this is about, but I think it’s about the amazing work I did today. Or, wait, maybe he actually read the presentation and there’s something incorrect in it.
Oh no. That has to be what this is about. I’m going to get fired for losing the company millions.
I forget all about my wife’s cryptic text. All I can do is worry.
I need to get in the right mindset before this meeting. I pull up the Headspace app to do some guided meditation at my desk.
My free trial has run out.
Instead I ask ChatGPT to lead me through a guided meditation. Instantly it writes me a great guide for meditation. But it’s not very helpful reading through a guided meditation on my computer screen.
Now I try YouTube. I’m halfway into a deep state of concentration when I’m jolted to consciousness by the bright colors and loud sounds of joyous people lowering their A1C. A Jardiance ad. They all look like they’re having a great time. I wish I was happy enough to dance in a farmer’s market right now.
It’s 4:25 PM. I head into my boss’s office. My head is all over the place. I should have just paid for the Headspace app. I know he’s mad at me. He doesn’t even look up from his computer when I walk in, he just nods his head in my direction.
He turns to me, but his eyes are darting at the computer. The tan line from his sunglasses makes his eye movements even more obvious.
Dale: “Hello, how are you? The weather today has been nice, 73 degrees with a slight southwesterly breeze.”
“I am doing well, I agree the weather has been pleasant. I want to first start by thanking you for the many opportunities you have given me at this company.”
Dale: “Well, yes, and…I want to say thank you for your hard work and dedication to making RSK.ai great.”
He keeps looking at his computer in between each sentence. Is he reading a script?
“Oh, well thank you. I would like to address the presentation from this morning. I must apologize for some of the information in the…”
He stops looking at the computer and looks right at me.
Dale: “Apologize? The new research just saved our customers tons of money. I just got off the phone with Orange Tree Insurance. Their AI-powered revenue projection models predict a $4 million increase in revenue due to their ability to act decisively when assessing patient insurance claims.”
My eyes grow wide. Finally, I’ll be receiving the pay raise that I’ve been asking for the last six months.
Dale: “Actually, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have told you that.”
He eyes return to the script on his computer.
Dale: “Due to macroeconomic conditions and market forces beyond our control, we are currently undergoing a Reduction in Force and your entire department has been eliminated. At our company we take these kinds of things very seriously and know how frustrating this can be.”
“Eliminated? You just said I made the company a bunch of money.”
Dale: “No, I said ‘the new research’ saved the company a bunch of money.”
“The research that I did!”
Dale: “We understand how frustrating this can be. RSK.ai takes this very seriously. Your insurance will be paid for through the end of the month, and you will receive a generous severance package of one month.”
“That’s it? Insurance and a little severance?”
Dale: “We will also be providing all former RSK.ai family members with a three month subscription to the Headspace app.”
I’m absolutely fuming as I sit down in my car. I need another job ASAP. I pull out my phone and ask ChatGPT to create me a new resume. I use Sonara, an AI tool to apply to every open research position it finds.
Before I start the drive I ask Siri to tell my wife I’m on the way home, but I’m late because I was getting laid off. The road noise makes it hard for Siri to hear.
“I’m on the way home. Sorry for being late, I stayed at the office because I was getting laid.”
I arrive home with 300 emails in my inbox. I don’t have time to read them because my wife is waiting in the driveway. She seems upset.
A few hours later I finally lay my head down on the motel pillow. I ask for a summary of my 450 emails.
“Thank you so much for applying to our company. We received so many great applications like yours. We have decided to move forward with candidates whose experience better fits the role, but we will keep your resume on file in case there is a fit for someone with your unique set of skills in the future.”
In the morning I wake up itching with red sores all over my body. I use Google to take a photo of the sores.
Bed bugs.
I ask Google to direct me to the closest Urgent Care with at least 3.5 stars on Yelp. No results.
I ask Google to direct me to the closest Urgent Care.
They prescribe me a special new medicine for bed bugs.
“How expensive is this medicine gonna be, Doc?”
PA: “I said my name is Doug. With insurance it’s cheap, but without it’s very expensive.”
“I got laid off yesterday, but my company was generous enough to keep my insurance active until the end of the month.”
PA: “It’s the 27th so good thing you came in today.”
“Hah, yeah glad my wife didn’t send me to a motel 5 days from now.”
PA: “Uh, yeah. So is that where you got the bed bugs?”
“Yeah, freaking Motel 6 twin mattress.”
PA: “Hmm, ok.”
“Why’d you make a note?”
PA: “Oh, just updated policies. You can head to the check out desk in a few minutes.”
After checking out I drove to the nearest CVS to pick up my prescription.
CVS: “Hello sir. Unfortunately Orange Tree Insurance rejected this medicine so you’ll have to pay full price. It’s $800 per pill.”
“What do you mean rejected it? Why?”
CVS: “It is due to the fact that your bed bugs came from a twin mattress. It says their risk assessment tool determined that all prescriptions related to twin-related illnesses are to be denied coverage.”
“No no no that was not about twin mattresses, it was about twins. Like, you know, two people born at the same time? I work for that risk assessment company, I did that research.”
CVS: “Sir, I thought you were unemployed.”
“Ok, I worked for them literally yesterday. I know that’s not what the new research was about so please just approve this medicine so I can stop itching.”
CVS: “I’m sorry sir we have to deny you coverage. We have to do what the computer tells us to do.”
I walk into the lobby and look at their TV playing CNBC.
TV: “RSK.Ai stocks soar after slashing all research roles and replacing them with AI research tools. The move cuts spending by $2 million. This comes on the heels of yesterday’s big win for their top customer, Orange Tree Insurance, who announced an expected $4 million in savings due to updated risk assessment research from the firm.”
When I get back to the motel, I ask Google for the best at-home bed bug treatments.
“Hey Alexa, order me apple cider vinegar and essential oils.”
“Alexa!”
“Alexa!”
But Alexa is at home with my family.
Suddenly the realization of everything I’ve lost comes crashing down on me as I sit alone in this motel room. My entire life is back at my house. I had everything just yesterday and I lost it all.
My world is now bleak and dark. It’s nothing like the joyful, bright, happy world I experienced yesterday. I have to get back to that world.
“Hey Google, how can I get some Jardiance?”