by Tarah Benner
Whenever we hear about a terrorist attack or any kind of violent crime, we view it as a threat to our way of life. We distance ourselves from the perpetrator and mark him or her as an aberration because it’s frightening to think that another human being could do something so terrible. We respond with grand plans for fixing the problem and preventing similar types of violence, but our plans always fall short because they rely on technology or legislation — both of which fail to account for the human element.
We create facial-recognition programs to search for criminals, but that technology is steeped in racial bias, which furthers these feelings of dehumanization. We invent deception-detecting airport kiosks to flag travelers with evil motives and robots to identify crimes in progress, but nobody stops to ask if this is really the best we can do. Sometimes something as low-tech as a bomb-sniffing dog can be more effective than all the fancy technology TSA dreams up.
Maybe instead of using AI to solve humanity’s problems, we should try reintroducing the human element where we as a society are falling short. That means fewer cameras, more police work; less AI in education, more teachers; less money spent on software, more spent on training for law enforcement and mental health services. It means allowing people to self-regulate on their toilet-paper consumption and being a little nicer in general.
If you feel like supporting a fellow human, you can show your love by leaving a review on Amazon. Reviews help indie authors like me reach new readers, and I really appreciate them.
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So what are you waiting for? Go sign up. And stay human, my friends. Stay human.
Bonus Content
Can’t get enough of Colony One? Check out the Fan Portal. As an early reader, you get access to awesome bonus content, including all the extras from book one:
Designing Tripp’s Home and Meditation Garden
Is It Possible to Disappear in a Digital World?
Will Humans and Robots Ever Coexist?
The Secret History of Maverick Enterprises and BlumBot International
My personal casting notes
An in-depth bio on one of my favorite characters
Just follow the link below and type in the password to access the extras.
Link: https://tarahbenner.com/colony-war-fan-portal/
Password: Ziva
Looking for your next great read?
Check out more books by Tarah Benner:
Colony One
Recon
Exposure
Outbreak
Lockdown
Annihilation
Lawless
Lifeless
Ruthless
Dauntless
Bound in Blood
The Defectors
Enemy Inside
The Last Uprising
Follow on Twitter @TarahBenner.
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Connect at www.tarahbenner.com.
