After reading AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by  Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan

Television was invented years before it became affordable for the general public. The first TV in our house was one that had been rescued from the trash and repaired by a family friend. Before I was old enough to go to Kindergarten, I sat on the floor following Miss Frances’ instructions. I parroted the advertising jingles, like “Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.” Along with the lessons, I absorbed in Ding Dong School I found out what toys I should ask my parents to buy for me and, what cereal tasted the best.

As people opted to stay home and watch TV for entertainment, fewer folks listened to radio performances. There was a drop in attending movie theaters and live events, leading to job losses. Actors, writers, producers, sound engineers and musicians all lost jobs if they could not transition to other venues to attract an audience. Over the years, most people learned new skills or found other ways of marketing their talent. 

My disability caused me to miss many days of school each year. In my teen years I was unable to attend High School, because I could not readily climb up and down stairs carrying a heavy load of books. I became an avid fan of daytime talk shows, evening news broadcasts, and nighttime situation comedies.

Having had more than my share of TV in my youth both at home and in hospital beds, I have opted to no longer own one. As a person who can no longer read print, I shifted my focus to streaming music, audiobooks, podcasts and online news sources.

In 2023 I first learned about GBT Chat 4. That was the year the world was just waking up to the potential of AI.  I listened in amazement to a panel of physicians on a podcast discussing how they would now be able to more accurately diagnose and treat rare diseases.  Now that a significant number of medical records had been uploaded  and humans had trained Open AI to understand complex questions, doctors all over the world could upload images and describe symptoms, then get reliable options to care for their patients.

In 2024 I learned that I could produce an audiobook version of my memoir for less money and editing time than using a human narrator requires. I began the search right away for a mature female AI voice that suited the tenor of my story. It felt like a dream come true. When I finished uploading my text, reviewing the narration, and fine tuning some sections that didn’t reflect the emotional content, I was pleased with the results. I now had a book that I, a person who cannot read print, can read. 

Much to my surprise when  I started telling people what I had done, most folks reacted with alarm. “You can’t do that,” was a common reaction. They said, “It’s too risky. It might be a scam” or “You’ll be taking jobs away from real people.” Even worse, many traditional book distributors would not accept my audiobook because I had not used a human narrator.

As a person who was born with a rare medical condition, I have encountered many doctors who neither understood or were willing to trust that I knew best what I needed to survive. It would have been wonderful if they had been able to use Chat GBT. I would have gladly used a human to narrate my memoir, but I did not have the funds, or time, or ability to use my own voice. As a person with a disability, one of the things I have learned is how to use new ways of accomplishing my goals. I wonder if that has made me understand that all change comes with a set of benefits and risks, gains and losses.

You can now purchase my audiobook from Libro.FM and other online booksellers.