PERSPECTIVES → SECOND THOUGHTS Issue 1022 · July 31, 2024

A Might-Have-Been, Almost-Was, Parable for Our Times

At this point, his staff had proposed a trailblazing idea: Artificial Intelligence would have to control the president

A Might-Have-Been, Almost-Was, Parable for Our Times

And it came to pass, In the summer of 2024, with the election only a few months away, that the White House was in panic mode. The president’s debate was a disaster, and his rambling and mumbling lost him ground every time he spoke.

AT this point, his staff had proposed a trailblazing idea: Artificial Intelligence would have to control the president. No longer would he address issues on his own. A specially trained staff member would be positioned behind him at every public appearance and news conference, and this specialist would flash all responses onto the new AIteleprompter screen. The president would simply read what was on the screen.

And so it was that in the second debate, the president fielded all questions flawlessly. Whatever the subject — foreign policy, economics, finances, immigration, crime, the Middle East, Russia, China, abortion, population growth, race relations — he addressed them with ease and expertise. No problem was too complex for him. As expected, his poll numbers suddenly skyrocketed.

But there was one major problem. The campaign was perfect only when the president had the special AIprompter before him. But how could he mingle with crowds while standing behind a mechanical device? Without it, he reverted to his normal, bumbling self. The media was beginning to ask questions: Why does he never give impromptu answers, why does he never mingle with the people, shake hands, engage in chitchat?

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