Camping Out

Summer time is funner time with AI.

I apologize for not posting here for the last month. Many things happened at the same time, and some are still happening. The cartoons continue. They are one of the good things that happened.

Every time I think I’m running out of story ideas something arises in my research or in my subscription to WIRED magazine that gets me going again.

WIRED is the source for all of the ridiculous robots and pointless AI apps in FurBabies. The robots (jogging, pet minding/movie making, and pet feeding/water spewing) were based on actual ones. I added the glitter dispenser and pet carrier to the Catbot to make it even more annoying; otherwise, it really exists. I made changes to its design and that of the Pet Feeder Robot to protect the guilty.

The Robot of the Month club (with robots delivered at irregular intervals) ensures that I will keep FurBabies up to date with the latest dumb technology. As always, the AI will be completely incompetent. Keep your fork, there’s pi.

AI has become more pervasive and aggressive, much as it has in reality. An astute reader of the strip noted that Kate Buffet’s teacher is not a human being. There is a huge screen in the classroom where lessons and comments appear and smaller screens everywhere else. The classroom is ‘blended’ —the children are real, but the instruction is digital. Kate often has classes at home. Pratt-L started on a laptop and now is on every electronic device that she uses. Kate only sees other kids in person when at school, at camp, or outdoors. No one visits another kid’s house; they communicate via text or do FacePalm (tm). Kate’s parents are programmers. We never see them.

This sounds grim.

AI is the villain of the strip.

Pratt-L was voted least improved AI program for the third consecutive year.

The summer camp strips just began and I have some fun story lines based on an actual magician’s camp that was held in an Ontario camp for many years and another program that I will not give away at this time. I relocated the revived magic camp to the Toronto Islands because the setting is recognizable.

I had a lot of fun and hope that you enjoy them. The storyline began on July 1 and continues through mid August.

Happy summer and stay cool.

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