Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
Please, turn off all cell phones. The test will begin promptly at omg-o’clock. You may not leave until the allotted time has elapsed. The Proctors will move freely about the room. Should you choose to leave for any reason, you waive all rights and indemnify the test company, it’s employees and anyone associated with this classroom.
Sound familiar?
ceayr and Our Miz jenne invite all those with sufficient confidence, reckless abandon and/or suicidal self-confidence to contribute a story. Using the photo below and not exceeding 250 words, join in the Unicorn Challenge.
No questions?
Good Luck
…begin
“No way.”
“Liam, you know the rules. No private texting. If you have something to say about this or any other exhibit, both audio and video modes must be enabled.” The border of the teacher tile on the screen glowed brightly. M. Grnby was held in high esteem by fellow teachers and parents alike for being non-confrontational with pupils in her Historical Appreciation class.
“It’s just that,” the boy appeared on the lower right of the screen, “There’s no way that thing could be stable. Yet the Museum Tour ‘bot just said it’s a human-powered vehicle.”
“That’s right,” M Grngy cued a supportive blue tint to the border of her tile on the class computer display.
“Where’s the battery or airbags or, for that matter, the control module?”
The collective murmurs of all seventy-five eighth-grade pupils was sprinkled with laughter.
“I like the flowers.” Olivia, who the educational AI had flagged at the beginning of the semester as nascent Influencer, smiled. She was unaware an educational subroutine that immediately softened the gain on the classroom audio and threw in a flurry of subliminal images; mostly of serenely beautiful babies and warmly-glowing kitchens.
A private text appeared on Liam’s phone, “I bet you could ride it.”
Looking up at the group screen, he saw the background hue in Olivia’s window darkened from cheerful pink to a strangely pleasing scarlet.
About clarkscottroger
Delighted to see that, in the future AI world, adolescents can still be adolescents – and flirt and blush.
There’s hope for humanity.
Again, a story beautifully carried by the simplicity of the carefully chosen words.
thanks, j
(I had to fight the impulse to get too involved, once the AI showed up in the story)
Cleverly terrifying, clark. Beam me up, Scotty. (Which of course Captain Kirk never said.)
lol no, no he did not!
thx
Educational AI… now that’s scary. Although it made me wonder what I might have been flagged as. The ending with Olivia’s window “blushing” was cute.
My first thought seeing the picture was, Mom, what are you upcycling this time?
Sometimes I wonder how we survived without helmets and pads everywhere
AI or not, the youths will be youths.
ikr?
not to mention riding double (if you welded a bicycle to the ground and surrounded it with memory foam mattresses I still could not sit either on the handle bars or worse, standing on the axle of the back wheel without an ambulance showing up in, like 4 mintues
All is not lost and the future is not condemned!
AI puppy love with a telltale crush blush.
The age of innocence lives on.
I love it!
TY SS!
(‘crush blush’ had not heard that one… excellent)
That’s bc I just made it up
muy coolito
Clark, Clark, Clark, you old romantic!
Love in the classroom survives and thrives regardless of technology.
Girls will be girls, and ‘sank heavens’ for that!
Nicely done with the A1 thing, Clark!
I’m wondering if the AI could correctly describe the bicycle, Clark… in the future, that is. The kids are having fun, though!
A delightful nod to AI and its presence in the digital age. Thank goodness this lot doesn’t seem to be preoccupied with it.
Skillfully rendered coming of age story, Clark, in a not all that distant future.
A little creepy, when the BOT influencers influence the promising influencers, in order to ensure their agenda. Very clever, them and this.
I like it!
thy LH!
like that cool old Latin saying about guardians, right?