Jeremy C Kester

I’ve read most of what was written by Michael Crichton. You know, the guy that wrote Jurassic Park? The guy who made the story that the HBO hit show West World was based? You know, the guy who was responsible for ER (the show)?

For a long time I would easily and quickly say that Michael Crichton was my favorite writer whenever I got the chance. Don’t get me wrong, he is a fantastic writer, knowing how to craft a thriller. But suddenly in my latest re-reading of his book Timeline, I suddenly got the sense that he saw something that many of us are only catching onto now.

In Jurassic Park, the mathematician Ian Malcom at one point said, exasperated, “…your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” It was a chilling prognostication given that the scientists in the story gleefully recreated dinosaurs, creatures the world had left behind millions of years before. Of course, it came into stark relief as the animals came into violent contact with the modern world.

Although not involving animals other than humans, Timeline once again dives into this idea of our arrogance with technological advances. The book centers around a group of history students on a dig in France who discover that the company supporting their work has figured out a way to time travel (more or less). The problem is, the company doesn’t know exactly how or why the technology works, only that it does. Hijinx ensues. Sound familiar?

Now, I am not a “doomer”, as many in the AI world have come to label those who are wary of ChatGPT and other Large-Language-Model algorithms taking the world by storm. I’d also be lying if I said I had anything more than a cursory knowledge of anything in that arena. Still, one thing I hear repeatedly is that the creators of this new AI software (that really should be called something like VI — virtual intelligence) is that they aren’t 100% certain why or how it is working so effectively.

The way I see it, the worst thing that ChatGPT will inspire is plagiarism and laziness. No — check that. The worst thing it will inspire is to effectively eliminate writers in the marketplace. Then again, will it? The oligarchs of society will also er towards slavery. This means they will also seek out the cheapest, legal, “ethical” labor. But this idea in itself deserves a deeper investigation at another time.

Still, despite even the accusation of the creators not knowing how the current iterations of VI work, we see them continue to surge ahead, eager for the next discovery before understanding is achieved. This is where the danger really lies.

Where technology and humanity meet is a place where I think Michael Crichton excelled like few other writers could. And what I always enjoyed about him is that despite the greed and hubris displayed by many of the characters that most often created the issues that the technology magnified, there is a sense of hope that threads throughout each story.

It is that hope, coupled with that understanding of where technology meets with humanity’s destructive tendencies that we need in today’s society. With everything racing faster and faster towards new technologies, towards the potential of true AI, maybe we should all take another look at Michael Crichton’s books. Maybe there’s some lessons to be had there.