Posts

The Character AI Epidemic

The Character AI Epidemic  *Disclaimer* I am not exactly sure what to call this. I wouldn't call it an article. This is more of a research essay rant. The rise of artificial intelligence, or AI, has caused an uproar. Those who stand against it uphold the belief that technology cannot create what humans with minds, emotions, and blood running through their veins can bring to life. While there is a strong resistance against AI, there is also a community that welcomes it. I am pulling back the curtain on a community that uses AI for escapism, comfort, and creative writing on Character.ai. To enhance my research, I interviewed two Character.ai users who I will be referring to as User 1 and User 2. Due to the NSFW content surrounding Character.ai, both interviewees are over 18.  Based on a Google search, “Character.ai is a neural language model chatbot service that can generate human-like text responses and participate in contextual conversations.” It was launched on September 16, ...
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October Diary Entries

 October Diary Entries Entry 1:  I am in a disheveled state these days. Books stacked and scattered on all surfaces of my room. Sticky notes that have lost their stick fall on my desk like autumn leaves. The flowers on my nightstand have wilted and are giving off a sour, perfumed odor. Pink petals faded to brown. The money tree is still alive and stretches its leaves toward the window, longing to be outside, but I have sentenced it to a life as a house plant––to stand its soil cell as decoration. Do you really work? Will you really bring me money? I am content here in my woman cave––my "Mojo Dojo Casa House" of books, blankets, and neglected water bottles. This is the place of fattened notebooks stained with the purpose to soothe and inspire me. They hold story ideas, secrets, forgotten phone numbers, and grocery lists. My mind is a disoriented mural of Mitski and existential dread, but the writing keeps me sane.  Entry 2: I think my love language is bed. I can almost con...
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My Thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 My Thoughts on  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes A chaotic and disorganized review Pass me the posca because it is time to relive the obsession a select number of us experienced between 2012 and 2015 when The Hunger Games movies came out. With the release of The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which I will be referring to as BOSBAS, and the trailer for its movie adaptation, I, like many other Hunger Games fans, felt the intense desire to get my hands on my nearest copy of the prequel. Lucky for me, a dear friend lent me hers. Shout-out to Moyra. I hunched over that book for hours as it slipped in and out of its black and green dust jacket. I hate dust jackets, but that’s not the point. I read, consumed, and digested each word. The internal monologue that echoed behind the reading voice in my head kept saying, “Brilliant! This is brilliant! Suzanne Collins is so smart! She’s a genius! Am I starting to like President Snow?” Now, I know what you’re th...
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Based on a True Story

 Based on a True Story I was married in the backseat of a Honda CR-V. There were no rings, priests, or paper, but the hash browns we exchanged from Chick-fil-A felt symbolic enough. It was also my 23rd birthday. The sky was mesmerizing: a melted popsicle of pink, orange, and purple that cast a golden hue over everything. I felt like a child. Ridiculously happy. I guess that’s why I remember it so fondly. Like childhood, it was a time of innocence, sparkly lipgloss, and fairytales. “We’re already married,” he said, and that was that. The day we met was almost the same. We split a pizza in the back of his car, and that was all it took to know we would mean something to each other. I drove home along the shore of Daytona Beach and thought, “I am either going to marry this man or he is going to break my heart to pieces.” What a shame it was both.  We planned our future in South Carolina with my head on his chest, smelling his Nautica cologne from the little bottle shaped like a ...
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In Defense of Miguel O'Hara

  In Defense of Miguel O’Hara   Why Spider-Man 2099 is an Anti-Hero, Not a Villain Since the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, viewers have debated whether Miguel O’Hara, also referred to as Spider-Man 2099, is the villain. Although Miguel exhibits bouts of anger and makes questionable choices throughout the film, he is an anti-hero, not a villain, because he displays traits associated with an anti-hero, has good intentions, and fights for humanity’s well-being. According to the article “What is an Antihero? Definition, Types, and Examples” by Alvin Park on YourDictionary.com, antiheroic traits include the following: morally complex, jaded, stubborn to change, and imperfect but well-intentioned. Park adds, “Antiheroes often do good things, but they don’t achieve good in the same way a hero does. An antihero’s backstory is typically revealed slowly to show that they do have a good side” (Park). Simply put, the anti-hero is not totally good, but they are not totall...
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