Questions Only VIII: Quizzical Quizzes

[RJDiogenes]

One that jumps to mind is Tales of the Gold Monkey. It was kind of a Pulpish, Saturday Matinee, South Seas Adventure-type show that made it on the air in the wake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but only lasted one season. It was top notch in terms of casting, writing, and production, but now is almost completely forgotten. Another one is Planet of the Apes, which premiered the same night as Night Stalker and also only lasted one season-- it was a pretty standard adventure show, but it was enjoyable and a lot better than other things that lasted longer. And speaking of Night Stalker, there was a show called FreakyLinks back in the early days of the Internet which was about (fictional) paranormal investigators who used a website to solicit tips from the public, when that sort of thing was avant garde.

What's on your list?

[scottydog]

Well, The Night Stalker comes to mind. You and I loved it but most of my same-age friends have never heard of it

Also, now that it looks like The Orville isn't returning, you could argue that it was an underrated, shortlived series.

Should the TV studios cave in to the writers' demands that AI not be used in place of writers?

[RJDiogenes]

Well, The Night Stalker comes to mind. You and I loved it but most of my same-age friends have never heard of it

That's a little surprising, considering how influential it was. For example, the guy who created X-Files credited Night Stalker as his inspiration.

Also, now that it looks like The Orville isn't returning, you could argue that it was an underrated, shortlived series.

I'm still holding out hope for more Orville.

Should the TV studios cave in to the writers' demands that AI not be used in place of writers?

That's an interesting question, because what's to stop the writers themselves from using AI to increase their own output? And how can a studio really use an AI in place of a writer? Somebody's got to give commands to the AI, and polish it up even if the AI comes up with something resembling a usable script. I suppose they really should be using union writers to deliver the finished product.

Is the use of AI by writers any different from the use of CGI by special effects artists?

[scottydog]

Well, the thing about ChatGPT and generative AI is that it creates content -- literally! It's not just a tool for getting stuff done. It's the stuff itself.

So while CGI is a tool for, say, making furniture, it's not the furniture itself. So I'd say it's different from ChatGPT.

Are you worried at all about AI being so good, smart, and creative that it dummifies us? Can it take the place of thinking and creating to such an extent that our brains will atrophy?

[RJDiogenes]

Well, the thing about ChatGPT and generative AI is that it creates content -- literally! It's not just a tool for getting stuff done. It's the stuff itself.

Maybe, but it doesn't create usable content-- at least not yet. Humans are still needed to finalize it.

Are you worried at all about AI being so good, smart, and creative that it dummifies us? Can it take the place of thinking and creating to such an extent that our brains will atrophy?

Yes, I think that's inevitable. Just as TV and gaming hurts literacy, AI will hurt creativity. But then there will always be those people who take it as a challenge and do what they can to compete with it.

Do you think it's possible that AI will be able to write stories so compellingly inspirational that they will inspire humans to better themselves rather than atrophy?

[scottydog]

I think that the better AI becomes at storytelling, the more demoralizing it will be for aspiring writers. Kind of like human athletes knowing they can't be stronger or faster than artificial beings.

Are there any ways that humans can remain superior to technological beings?

[RJDiogenes]

I think that the better AI becomes at storytelling, the more demoralizing it will be for aspiring writers. Kind of like human athletes knowing they can't be stronger or faster than artificial beings.

I don't think it will be demoralizing. Humans have always used technology to extend their artistic reach. Are piano players demoralized because their vocal cords can't make noises like a piano?

Are there any ways that humans can remain superior to technological beings?

Sure. By becoming Transhuman.

Do you think someday somebody will have their vocal cords replaced with a bionic implant that can imitate a grand piano?

[scottydog]

Well that's pretty much the strangest thing you've ever suggested



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The answer, of course, is yes. If something bizarre can be done, there will be a human being who will do it.

If it could be done, I'd have a computer chip implanted in my vocal cords giving me William Shatner's voice from 1967.

Whose voice would you want?

[RJDiogenes]

Bing images had trouble with this one

I guess that answers the question of whether humans will be able to keep ahead of AI.

The answer, of course, is yes. If something bizarre can be done, there will be a human being who will do it.

There could be a story seed in there somewhere.

Whose voice would you want?

Morgan Freeman, of course.

What other "novel" Transhuman enhancements can you think of?

[scottydog]

How about all the world's knowledge being implanted into a human brain? Could a person access that knowledge even if he had it?

[RJDiogenes]

I would love that. But you would need more than the pure knowledge. You'd also need some kind of cybernetic assistance to access it-- expanded memory to have any awareness of it, super fast sorting capability, et cetera. But that would be very cool.

If you were offered your own TV series, what would it be like?

[scottydog]

I've always wanted to star in my own series, as myself, playing the role of a Professor. There have been precious few TV series in this setting that is ripe for drama and comedy. Every week there would be the drama of students sleeping with professors (never happened to me), professors sleeping with each other (never happened to me), professors undermining each other (happens to everyone), students making idiotic comments in class, political correctness gone awry, and much much more.

I really should be writing screenplays based on real stories at the U of Richmond. Would you watch this series?

[RJDiogenes]

I've always wanted to star in my own series, as myself, playing the role of a Professor. There have been precious few TV series in this setting that is ripe for drama and comedy. Every week there would be the drama of students sleeping with professors (never happened to me), professors sleeping with each other (never happened to me), professors undermining each other (happens to everyone), students making idiotic comments in class, political correctness gone awry, and much much more.

The only TV series that I can recall set in a college or university was The Paper Chase, and it didn't last very long.

I really should be writing screenplays based on real stories at the U of Richmond. Would you watch this series?

Do you plan to spice it up with monsters and space aliens and stuff? Just kidding. Of course I'd watch it.

Would you watch a show about an amateur wine connoisseur who travels the world to sample local wines, but gets involved in some outlandish adventure every week?

[scottydog]

Do you plan to spice it up with monsters and space aliens and stuff? Just kidding. Of course I'd watch it.

It would have to be a comedy, of course. You'd hear me deliver a line of a lecture to a class, followed by a pause during which you hear me thinking things like, "I really need to pee," or "Is my fly open?" or "God I hate most of these kids," or "Did I ever spray'n wash that stain out of my pants?, or "After class should I eat a Reeses or a Snickers?" And all of these things would be actual things I've thought while teaching.

Would you watch a show about an amateur wine connoisseur who travels the world to sample local wines, but gets involved in some outlandish adventure every week?

You know, that's got a lot of potential. He could be this pampered, annoying, yet semi-lovable single guy who loves wine and only wants to focus on wine yet somehow each week gets caught up in murder schemes, organized crime, women problems, and legal problems.

How might you introduce a sci-fi or Twilight Zone element to it?

[RJDiogenes]

It would have to be a comedy, of course. You'd hear me deliver a line of a lecture to a class, followed by a pause during which you hear me thinking things like, "I really need to pee," or "Is my fly open?" or "God I hate most of these kids," or "Did I ever spray'n wash that stain out of my pants?, or "After class should I eat a Reeses or a Snickers?" And all of these things would be actual things I've thought while teaching.

Another great idea for your YouTube channel.

You know, that's got a lot of potential. He could be this pampered, annoying, yet semi-lovable single guy who loves wine and only wants to focus on wine yet somehow each week gets caught up in murder schemes, organized crime, women problems, and legal problems.

It could definitely work. Sort of a Nick Charles type of character-- always tipsy, yet somehow one step ahead of everyone else.

How might you introduce a sci-fi or Twilight Zone element to it?

For example, in the first episode, entitled "Terror in the Terroir," our hero, Merl Blanc, is visiting vineyards in New Zealand with a wine tour group, when one of the group attempts to kill the owner of the vineyard. This gets even weirder when another one makes an attempt, and then another. None of them have any memory of doing so. Merl manages to deduce that they all drank wine that came from the same vine, and further deduces that the owner killed his partner years ago and buried his body under that vine-- the victim's ghost now inhabits the wine and seeks revenge through anybody who drinks it.

What's your idea?