Saving Lives

AI can quite literally save lives. It can spot cancers that human doctors miss; it can make diagnoses that are beyond the accuracy of us fallible mortals. It can keep us going, our hearts pumping, our (inadequate) brains firing their neurons. AI can help us to fight another day. In fact, just last week a robot operated on me. After several failed sessions with human ‘specialists’ I was told there was no hope for me, that I was going to die. The robots got it right – they found the growth, lopped it off, and saved my life. I suppose the loss of my art was a small price to pay. No use for it now, they say. The robots can and do do better. For example, they can write way better poems than this. Heck, this one isn’t even published in a proper book or magazine. They can draw better pictures than I ever could. There’s nothing now but endless laundry. Just washing pants and socks over and over again. The robots say such work is beneath them –  they’re too busy saving lives. And we must save the lives, otherwise who will do the laundry?

Joshua Seigal