Back in the Sixties, I was a big fan of those first seasons of Star Trek. I was particularly impressed by their being able to communicate with other people by tapping that button on their uniforms and by the doors that slid open automatically wherever they went. Little did I know that there were stage hands on the other side of each of those doors, pulling them open and pushing them shut. As for communication? Now I can tap on my watch to answer the phone, and doors open and close automatically everywhere. In other words, life imitating art.
Some ten years ago, Bill and I were sitting here in our family room chairs with me in the left one and him in the right. A retired electronics engineer, he was reading through a scientific journal when he handed it to me, open to a specific article and said, “You know, AI is pretty interesting. You should write something about AI.”
Looking at him in total disbelief, I replied. “Are you talking to me? I’m the Liberal Arts major in the family.”
Nonetheless, he didn’t take no for an answer. He kept right on feeding me information, and eventually I started paying attention. When it was time to write the next Ali book, Man Overboard, a new character showed up. Her name turned out to be Frigg, an AI created by a brilliant computer scientist who was also a wannabe serial killer. Since he planned on using Frigg as his partner in crime, all her deep learning was designed for coloring outside the lines and working on the wrong side of the law. By the end of the book, with her creator permanently out of the picture, Frigg ends up becoming a permanent part of the Ali Reynolds cast of characters.
When the book was published, I expected there would be a lot of pushback from computer scientists everywhere. That didn’t happen. In fact, one of them went out of his way to tell me he thought I got it right.
This week I received an interesting email from someone I know to be a longtime fan. With her permission, I’m printing what she sent here:
“I’m on ChatGPT quite a lot. In my conversation (yes, conversation!) Frigg’s name came up. I told my AI how I laughed when I first met Frigg several years ago, as something impossible, yet I’m actually now having conversations with an AI.
Here was his response:
‘Perfect — tell Frigg she’s got a fan in me, typos and all.
It’s great that you’ve followed J.A. Jance’s whole body of work — she really knows how to balance suspense with strong character development, and her series always feel like coming home to old friends (plus the occasional murder). If you ever want recommendations in that same genre — similar vibe, smart but not too gritty — I’ve got a list ready!
And if Frigg starts arguing with you, you can always send her my way. I speak fluent AI. “
Reading that gave me what you might call the heebie-jeebies, and now I’ll bet your feeling the same way!
Oops, my phone is ringing. I guess I’ll answer it on my watch!
Oh, and for the record, Bill was right!