In Today’s Journal
* NB2.8—The AI Flu
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Note: The following was presented to me as a short story-ish article on how one writer views the influence of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Enjoy.
NB2.8
The AI Flu
a guest post by K.C. Riggs
I’ve never been paranoid about getting sick. Granted, I’m essentially healthy and I take normal precautions—normal like hand washing and using hand sanitizer when I’m out in public touching door handles and shopping carts—and I make sure I’m eating well and taking immune supporting supplements in the winter.
But other than that, I live my life. I do what I want. I don’t worry.
Until now.
Now that the AI Flu is spreading like wildfire, I’m worried that I’ll get infected. I have this urge to wash my mouth out with soap and scrub my hands with a metal bristled brush when I’ve accidently encountered an AI-assisted or -written piece on my computer.
But what about my eyes? It’s not like I can stare at the sun to erase the crap. Well I could, but I’m not anxious to go blind. What if what I’ve inadvertently seen seeps into my brain and even without consciously using the horrid stuff, it infects me and steals my voice, my ability to think and write for myself? Worrying about that keeps me up at night.
Paranoid? I wish I could be sure.
It’s an all out attack, and there’s no subtlety left. You don’t get to invite it in. You’ve got to kick it out of what should be your private domains.
I’ve had to figure out how to turn off the AI assistant in my Office programs, tell it to stop summarizing the emails I receive, tell it no thanks, I don’t need you to help me write my own emails, you soul-sucking piece of computer code.
And don’t get me started on Chat Bots. That’s a whole other story (literally).
What to do?
The prey—that’s us if you haven’t figured it out yet—has either got to be faster, stealthier, or smarter than the predator. Until humans, or unless you’re a honey badger, predators almost always had superior strength and size.
The AI behemoths still do, developed and growing on the immense wealth of the information giants, they are enormous, becoming omnipresent and apparently holding the keys to any locks that we have to keep them out.
So here’s my plan. It’s still a little rough and will take tweaking but the main components are
- Be vigilant, on the lookout for AI written articles, emails, books. If in doubt throw it out. Don’t read it, watch it, answer it. Same goes for videos, so-called photos and art.
- Inoculate yourself with real writing. Keep a stack of your favorite authors close by as an antidote when you’ve come in contact with AI germs. Preferably in paper and old enough editions to make sure they’re unadulterated, uncompromised. Read some Stephen King, or Terry Pratchett or Ray Bradbury or (your favorite here).
- Flush any contamination out of your system. I’ve found the best combination is some really good sipping mescal and some 90% dark chocolate. Not necessarily at the same time but don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.
- I’m not sure aluminum foil hats are effective, but I have put some copper grounding rods around the perimeter of my house. Can’t hurt.
- Here’s a hard one. Be prepared to watch people become infected and succumb, sometimes willingly(!) to the flu, giving up their authentic voice to the mind numbingly repetitive, sing-song cadence crap that the AI flu leaves behind.
Stay well, stay vigilant. Practice your authentic voice, keep it strong and put it out for others. We need all the life rings we can get.
# # #
Thanks, K.C.!
About the Author
K. C. Riggs was born in and has lived in many of the nooks and crannies of Arizona. She now lives in the beautiful wine country of southeast Arizona. She loves traveling and is working on getting the bucket list shorter than the been-there list.
She is the author of three novels and several short stories and works in several genres: suspense, humor and magic realism to name a few. She does NOT use AI for writing or art. You can find her work at your favorite online book seller, or ask your indie bookseller or library to get them.
If you hate Chat Bots as much as she does, check out her short story, Chat Bot Fever.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Timeless Female Authors Who Wrote Under Male Pen Names
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 70
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 70
Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX
Fiction for January………………………… XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for January.…………………… 13010
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 13010
2026 consumable words………………… 13010
2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29