#4) 6 Short Stories About AI to Read on Your Next Uber Ride
Accessible and speculative stories to empathize and understand modern concerns around AI
Today: Oliver finally publishes something—a book report on AI short stories short enough to read in an Uber1. And he’s just getting started…
Complete episode list in the Play Bill
When it comes to understanding our hopes and fears around AI, fiction is one of our most powerful tools. While scientific literature analyzes the mechanics, fiction captures the emotional core—showing us what it might feel like to share the world with "intelligent machines." Here are six short stories over the last century that illuminate both the promise and peril of AI. Let me know what you think!
-The AI Tour Guide
The Veldt (Ray Bradbury, 1950)
Length: 12 pages/29 min audio book
Access: Link or Audio recording (1959)
Summary
Parents buy a high-tech nursery that can generate a realistic African savannah, complete with lions. But when the children’s imaginations turn dark, the nursery becomes a dangerous place—especially after the parents try to limit access.
Read if: You want a chilling look at how technology not-so-subtly warps family dynamics
AI Tour Guide commentary
The Veldt taps into a primal fear: that technology will shape or even corrupt children in sinister ways, despite its seeming value. In today’s world, where screens are increasingly taking over children’s attention and social media is linked to mental health concerns, Bradbury’s vision feels eerily prescient. Meant to “educate,” the nursery instead transfixes the children’s minds and seemingly only serves to make the children’s daydreams bigger and bigger. Over time, the experience of The Veldt needs to become stronger and stronger to continue to engage the children and eliminate alternative “distractions”. Like AI, the nursery was meant to serve—but ends up controlling.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Harlan Ellision, 1967)
Length: 11 pages/40 min audiobook
Access: Search Google or Youtube (for 40-min author audiobook version)
Summary
In a post-apocalyptic world, an emotionally erratic supercomputer named “AM” has taken over and keeps the last five humans in the world alive for eternal torture. Why is unclear, beyond AM being upset that it was brought into existence. This grim story examines themes of control, AI malevolence, and really leans into creative AI tortures for humans. The story is a fever dream of despair, resilience, and mechanical impotence.
Read if: You’re a fan of dystopian settings and want to see what happens after the absolute worst-case scenario for AI.
AI Tour Guide commentary
Ellison's story of AM—the malevolent supercomputer—is emblematic of discussions around AI alignment—how do we ensure that AI remains aligned with human values, and what might happen if it doesn't? This story parallels a popular modern thought experiment that originated online known as Roko’s Basilisk wherein a future omnipotent AI may torture humans who did not help bring it into existence. The key value throughout this story is how superintelligence can not only imagine impossible situations, but also has the capacity to create them. Many of the situations Ellison imagines stretch the boundaries of creativity and realism—much like a child can’t conceive of the world beyond that controlled by their parents, neither can humans when dealing with a higher intelligence.
Manna (Marshall Brain, 2012)
Length: 79 pages
Access: See Brain’s website here
Summary
AI systems take over managerial roles, leading to two possible futures: one utopian, one dystopian. The story starts with firing middle management at a fast-food chain, seemingly empowering line workers, and then expands into a society divided between AI-driven utopia and AI-enforced oppression.
Read if: You’re curious how modern automation could work out, especially if it comes by reducing seemingly pointless work.
AI Tour Guide commentary
If you’re going to read one book on this list, make it Manna. Manna embodies the idea of AI as a “pharmakon”—both poison and cure. Will automation free us from mundane labor, or will it create a prison of surveillance and control? The dystopian path, where AI takes over and condemns millions to fabricated prison camps, echoes modern moves in some US states to criminalize homelessness (now with legal support). Conversely, the utopian scenario aligns with proposals for a post-scarcity economy, which is increasingly becoming a real policy debate. And, I can’t help but think about the late Dave Graeber’s discussion of “Bullsh*t jobs” as a useful pretext for the elimination of middle management within the Manna universe.
The Library of Babel (Jorge Luis Borges, 1941)
Length: 8 pages
Access: Here
Summary
Imagine a universe as an infinite library containing every possible book. Borges’ story contemplates infinity, knowledge, and the search for meaning in a chaotic information landscape. Abstract, symbolic, and written with Borges’ vivid imagery, this one is long on description, little on plot.
Read if: You like surrealistic thought experiments and/or want to get an intuitive sense of the scale of knowledge humanity has accrued.
AI Tour Guide commentary
Borges’ library at first inspires humans with the idea that they can finally find “the truth” within the unlimited library, but, ultimately, the scale and scope of knowledge drives many insane. It mirrors the vastness of digital knowledge today, where any belief can be “proven” by data. The story invites us to question the value of knowledge itself when everything—and nothing—can be true. In the age of AI, The Library of Babel feels less like a metaphor and more like a prediction. And, naturally, someone has built a digital library that follows Borges’ description which you can experience here.
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury (1951)
Length: 2 pages
Access: Link
Summary
In a future where everyone is glued to screens, one man’s act of walking outside draws the suspicion of autonomous police.
Read if: You’re curious how prescient 2 pages from 75 years ago can really be.
AI Tour Guide commentary
With self-driving cars a reality , police forces leaning into drone technology, and many cities in the US implicitly deter outdoor walking, Bradbury’s world seems closer than ever. The Pedestrian captures the isolation that can come from technological “connection”—and how quickly being a technology luddite can become subversive. Sometimes, resisting the screen is the most radical act of all.
Final Word
Fiction lets us explore what’s possible, what’s terrifying, and what’s worth protecting—before the stakes become real. The future of AI depends on the stories we tell ourselves now and the choices we make from them. I increasingly believe that imagination—and our willingness to act on it—is foundational for AI use to avoid dystopian situations. Curiosity is essential, and creative bravery is paramount. -AITG
Did I miss any other short stories? Let me know in the comments!
Epilogue, AI Commentary
Editing: I leveraged OpenAI’s professional writing coach and creative writing coach throughout several drafts. I find best results come by getting feedback from various GPTs (including some I’ve developed myself) to get a sense of a few different perspectives. It’s an effective way to get a variety of quick “opinions.”
Inspiration: I initially used “stream of consciousness” writing (ie got as much of my initial thoughts down as possible), and then asked GPT to “fill in the gaps.” Edits changed all initial content over time, but this accelerated my thinking.
Next Steps: After writing the essay, I used GPT to help me identify “unknown unknown” books, as in “what books am I missing?” I also followed up for stories written by a more diverse group of authors, given the primacy of certain authors in AI science fiction (e.g. Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, who I decided to save for a deeper dive next time). This helps to give a natural followup for content generation. I may discuss these future stories in another article as I read them.
Looking Ahead to Monday
The AI Tour Guide starts the tour…but first a young visitor2 has a question.
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Generative AI’s enablement of low-cost pedantic style decisions is one of the more interesting opportunities IMHO. High-end publications like the New York Times or The New Yorker often have specific writing styles that contribute to their brand identity. Lower-resourced publications often lack this consistency, making it harder to build brand equity and attract or compensate workers. While I use content providers as an example, the same applies to non-native English (or any language) product and service providers. An "American" voice filter for call center staff, for instance, seems imminent—if not already implemented in AI-only support experiments.