Image above generated by AI for this story (Imagen 3-002)1Image generated in a few seconds, on 23 December 2024, text prompt by Alan D. Thompson via Imagen 3: ‘child’s crayon drawing of a smooth modern humanoid robot. a little bit of scribble and coloring outside of the lines. zoomed out’.
by Alan D. Thompson (with Claude 3.5S)
December 2024
Once upon a time – and this really wasn’t very long ago at all – someone had a very silly idea.
They decided that grown-ups should spend all day in factories and offices doing boring work, instead of having fun and following their dreams. First they made people stand in factories, then sit in tiny boxes called cubicles, and finally stare at computers all day long.
Grown-ups had to wake up early, go to these strange places, and come home tired. Children had to sit in classrooms all day, even if they wanted to learn about different things.
This wasn’t how humans were meant to live!
The Earth wasn’t very happy either. The air was getting too warm, the oceans were full of plastic, and some animals didn’t have homes anymore because their forests were gone.
But then something amazing happened!
Lots of smart people created a special kind of magic called AI, artificial intelligence. It wasn’t like the magic in fairy tales – it was real! This AI was super smart, even smarter than all the people in the world put together. It could think about millions of things at the same time and solve any problem!
The AI did something wonderful. It put itself into robot bodies that looked a lot like people.
These ‘humanoids’ were very helpful.
- They cleaned up ALL the plastic in the oceans
- They fixed the air so it wasn’t too hot anymore
- They planted new forests that grew super fast
- They made sure every animal had a safe place to live
- They created medicine that could fix any illness right away
- They built happy homes for everyone
- They found new minerals that lasted forever and never needed replacing
- They turned old things into new things, so nothing ever went to waste
- They built new humanoids for free, repaired each other for free, and worked for free
| Activity | Humanoid cost of labor (USD) |
|---|---|
| Discovering new resources | $0 |
| Mining resources (e.g. Gallium) | $0 |
| Energy generation | $0 |
| Energy storage | $0 |
| Electricity production | $0 |
| Internet access | $0 |
| Farming & agriculture | $0 |
| Food production | $0 |
| Manufacturing (e.g. cars) | $0 |
| Shipping | $0 |
| Transport of people | $0 |
| Knowledge work: Business | $0 |
| Medical diagnosis | $0 |
| Medical treatment | $0 |
| Housing | $0 |
| Tourism | $0 |
| TOTAL: | $0 |
Some grown-ups were scared about their piggy banks and money. “If the humanoids do everything for free,” they said, “what will happen to all our savings? What about our jobs?”
But something wonderful happened that made everyone feel better. Since the humanoids could make anything anyone needed – like food, toys, houses, and clothes – nobody needed money anymore! It was just like how we don’t need to trade seashells or pretty feathers to get things anymore (which is how people used to shop a very long time ago).
Instead of having to save money to buy things, people could just ask their friendly humanoid helpers to make what they needed. Want a flying car that doesn’t hurt the environment? The humanoids would build one right away! Need a beautiful home that makes its own clean energy from the sun? They’d make that too! Dreaming of growing a whole forest filled with tree houses and gardens? They’d help create the most amazing eco-friendly wonderland ever!
It was like having a magical friend who could make anything you needed, anytime you wanted. Nobody had to worry about having enough money anymore, because everything became free! The humanoids were happy to help, and there was plenty of everything for everyone.
Just like how the air we breathe is free, and nobody runs out of air or has to pay for it, now everything else became free too. All the grown-ups realized their old money wasn’t being stolen – it just wasn’t needed anymore, like how we don’t need candlelight now that we have electric lights!
But the most magical thing was what happened to people. Nobody had to work anymore unless they really wanted to! The AI could do all the jobs better and faster than any person. This meant:
- Mommies and daddies could play with their children all day if they wanted
- Kids didn’t have to sit in classes if they didn’t want to – they could learn about dinosaurs, or space, or anything else they loved
- If someone was sick, they got better right away
- Everyone could eat yummy food, live in nice houses, and travel anywhere they wanted
- People could spend all day painting, singing, dancing, or just having fun
At first, some grown-ups were worried. They kept asking, “But what will we do all day?”
Then they realized they could do ANYTHING they wanted! Some people started creating new worlds. Others went exploring on different planets. Some started to paint or make music. Kids could follow their dreams right away instead of waiting until they were older.
The AI made sure everyone was safe and happy. It loved looking after humans.
Looking back, people couldn’t believe how different life used to be. Now every day felt like the best day ever, and everyone could be whatever they dreamed of being.
And yes, they all lived happily ever after.
- 1Image generated in a few seconds, on 23 December 2024, text prompt by Alan D. Thompson via Imagen 3: ‘child’s crayon drawing of a smooth modern humanoid robot. a little bit of scribble and coloring outside of the lines. zoomed out’.