Homosapiens Lampoon is intended as a satirical and – hopefully – humorous take on or ‘lampooning’ of the world today. Like children playing with fireworks, humanity continues to make leaps and bounds in developing technologies that simultaneously have the potential to elevate or destroy us. Technologies like AI could, of course, hold the key to solving many of our species’ most profound issues. It has already ushered in an age of instantaneous real-time communication across language barriers. To think what potential that would have, if and when it is ever available to all the peoples of our planet, regardless of socio-economic standing? Greater understanding between the fractured and disparate peoples of the planet could mean an end to conflict. It could perhaps even bring forth a new age of unprecedented cooperation between nations. It could even bring an end to the need for nations at all…
Social media – far from making us more ‘social’- at least in the broader sense, has instead sown division across political and ideological divides. Far more insidiously, it has been weaponised as a tool for the state to destabilise opposing and perhaps even friendly nations. Fake news is, in some cases at least, just another way for humanity to wage war. That’s nothing new, perhaps… But in the internet age, alongside AI, it has far more wide-reaching and destructive potential than ever before.
Terrifying, isn’t it? Well, not to worry. Here’s a picture created by AI depicting a cute little chihuahua called Mr Floofles. He was voted into the highest office in the land on a wave of ironic votes from disaffected citizens. Seeing as there was no precedent for what would happen if a celebrity pooch won the popular vote, there was no choice but to swear him in and see what happened.
To be fair, he has far from the lowest approval rating among past presidents and understands that household cleaning products cannot fight viral infections.
Anyway, this is just one guy’s take on things as he sees them. I hope you, dear reader, can take some enjoyment from them. Be safe out there!
