Glen Dixon (USA 2026)
My 25 year old granddaughter lent me this book, saying it's easily the best she's read this year. That from Smudge was all I needed to dive straight in.
I'll start by saying - this book should be compulsory reading for anyone under 30, as it gives an insight into what they and their kids and grandkids just may have to deal with, which is the A.I. World, and where it could - conceivably - be going.
Okay, ten pages in I was thinking it was just a bit - what? - twee? - what with household appliances talking to each other and a wrist watch running the house and the lives of the people inside like a troupe of devoted servants. Like in Downton Abbey.
BUT - now deep into it, I find it just a tad unsettling.
It's set in about 2050 (going by a 300yrs ago comment on Bach), which is one generation away, when A.I. runs just about everything, ostensibly for the care and comfort of its Humans. But after a while you realise there's something deeper going on. The machines of "The Grid" are taking over!
Okay, fanciful? Think about this - today my car talks to me, my PC knows what my preferences are, and my mobile phone always knows where I am. Also, A.I. is already way way quicker than we are, is gobbling up the world's data (I just had another 160 hits from USA in one day) at an unbelievable rate of knots, and "Data Centres" are going up everywhere. And if you check over to the left in "I Just Had To Ask..." you'll see that "they" (who the hell are "They"??) are using AI to now write itself.
Is this just some mild paranoia? So I set about posing more questions....
How many hyperscale data centres are there in the USA, and are some connected to each other?
About 600 operational big ones, and yes, they are "...deliberately engineered to be part of a highly connected unified global grid. Hyperscalers (such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta) link their facilities using high capacity fibre optic networks..."
Aren't Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta competitors?
"Yes, they are fierce competitors..."
Why do fierce competitors Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta link their data centres?
"...not to share proprietary data but to ensure reliable global internet speeds, manage latency (the time taken to process a request and deliver a response), and create redundant backup networks..."
What household appliances is it possible to now operate from a mobile phone?
Air conditioner, lighting, security and access, the garage door, the Roomba vacuum, the oven, the fridge, TV, sound system, coffee maker, and space heaters.
Why why why in God's name you would WANT to run these things from your bloody phone is beyond me, but that's the way it all sems to be going. We are handing over pieces of our lives for the sake of convenience, laziness, and titillation. As I see it.
So, digest all this, ask AI Google your own questions, then read this book.
Cheers....
Trev
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