Rowayat

I was interviewed for @AlAhramWeekly on AI from a sociological perspective. "Science-fiction films made in the 1980s and 1990s also predicted some sort of violent machine-controlled future. However, I think that violent domination will not be the [dominant] risk that the world faces as a result of AI. More likely, it will be the quiet erosion of meaning,” "Thinking is often enhanced by friction. [Long ago], one would go to the library, search for books, underline, write outlines, and so on, and this enabled a person to develop their capabilities. Now that process has gone." "AI shifts the friction from what in sociology would be called a ‘dialogic register’ to a ‘retrieval register’. It shifts from listening, interaction, and discussion to simply retrieving an answer without giving the reasoning. Epistemic power and the authority of knowledge, which traditionally has been in the hands of teachers, institutions, university systems, mediators, and mentors, is migrating to AI systems." Interview by Mariam B. Thabet.

My short story has been published by @RowayatEgypt. In January 1929, during the Al-Karam winter storm, Cavafy and Ahmed Shawqi meet at Baudrot Café in Alexandria in their final reunion. There is also a waiter named Mina. [link in comments]