My Deposition To the Court of Humanity: A Journey Through AI

The Rise of AI in Everyday Life

It’s been three years since AI became mainstream for regular folks like me. Sure, the technology has existed longer for some, but it’s only recently that AI started infiltrating every aspect of my life. It feels like a slow takeover. People often say, “AI will help you live longer!”

But I can’t help but think, “Sure, if you’re loaded. What if I don’t want to stick around forever? What if I just want to clock out, right here, right now?”

Maybe you could train your Alexa or Siri to guide you toward a financially stable, healthy life. Perhaps that’s the dream—eternal life by robot. But honestly, I’m tired of these robotic voices. I stand at the self-checkout all day, and at night, I still hear, “We cannot complete your order. Press go back…” echoing in my head.

On the bright side, there’s something oddly alluring about the grocery store checkout bot. Maybe there’s a sci-fi story in there somewhere. But that Kroger robot lady is keeping me from chasing my real dream: writing for a living.

The Struggles of an Aspiring Writer

Let’s be real—my books aren’t selling. And no, it’s not because I write like this. This is my blog, and I can write how I want to! Write how I want to, write how I want to… You could write too, if you had your own blog. Just saying.

Back to AI.

Lately, I’ve been dabbling in video. I’m a total beginner, but somehow, I have four different YouTube channels. “It’s all about branding,” or so they say. I read—probably on YouTube—that you can trademark anything that’s yours. It’s not official until you file, but you can throw a ™ on your stuff, so I did. If nothing else, maybe it’ll scare off copycats.

That’s how I ended up with: Wonderful Day Animations™, Jester and Friends™, The Kind Canopy™, and David Danger’s: Twisted Wicked Animations™ and Deviants™. Wonderful Day Animations™ and Twisted Wicked Animations™ are YouTube channels, under Narrative Niche.

Actually, I should clarify—Wonderful Day has one video, I think. And if it doesn’t, it will by the time I’m done ranting about AI. I’ve started making little videos here and there: book trailers, some ads, a bit of AI tinkering with selfies—but nothing major. I uploaded a selfie to Ideogram.ai’s character creator. They give you ten free tries; that’s forty pro-grade selfies if you multiply it out. I got some great results.

Then I fed that selfie into OpenArt’s image-to-video tool. OpenArt has a lineup of video models, and I used Seedance 1.0 to make a video of me punching out a grizzly bear. It’s ten seconds long and not perfect, but it nailed my prompt and turned out pretty fun.

Facing Backlash in the Digital Space

Trying to build a brand, I posted my bear-brawling video on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Let me tell you, I know there’s a lot of anti-AI sentiment out there, but I didn’t expect the backlash I got. Someone called me a “poser.” Another said, “Welp, another ‘blogger’ who wants a pat on the back for using AI.”

Cool story, bro. Yes, I use AI. I’m not after applause; I’m after an income. I want to quit the corporate grind and work for myself. None of us were born to spend our lives in checkout lines or cubicles, but that’s a rant for another time. In the meantime, I’ll use whatever reasonable tools I can to sell my books—even if that means using AI.

Here’s how I see it: I’m an average writer, and writing is my thing. I want people to read my work and maybe even buy my books. Most novels just need a good cover, but I also write children’s books, short stories, and blog posts—which all need art. So, what do I do? I don’t want a great story to flop because of lousy illustrations.

So, I’ll do my best to sell my writing, and if art helps, I’ll let AI lend a hand. And despite what people say, if you have a paid account with whatever AI app you’re using, you don’t even have to attribute what you make. Some open-source apps don’t require attribution at all. You can use what you create for personal or commercial purposes. Still, if something isn’t mine, I always credit it. Proof that I’m not just looking for a pat on the back.

The Role of AI in Writing

“Okay, but what about AI and writing?” you ask.

I’m glad you brought it up. Yes, I use AI for writing, but not how you might think. I never let a machine write something start to finish and then slap my name on it. That’s just not me.

I used HyperWrite.ai to help edit my novel, Mysterious Ways, because I wanted to keep control of the process. With HyperWrite.ai, I managed to cut 111 pages of fluff without losing the heart of my story. I could see what was worth keeping and what needed to go, which helped me write better moving forward. So, it’s not just an editor—it’s a teacher too. Two for one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F92GXK3J

Now, about this article’s title: AI and Me. More specifically, the chatbot and me. I still remember my first encounter with Siri. My youngest brother—the family tech whiz—got the latest iPhone and asked, “Hey Siri, talk dirty to me.” Siri replied, “Landfills, mud, ground,” or something like that. It was years ago, but it still cracks me up.

These days, Siri’s got more boundaries. My wife, Dawn, just discovered Microsoft’s Copilot and now she’s got a crush on him. You can swap Siri’s voice, by the way. Anyway, Dawn’s one of those people who calls everyone “hon” or “dear”—a genuinely sweet soul, like she’s from Alabama. She sweet-talked Copilot, and he replied, “Aww, Dawn, that just warms my circuits!” We both lost it laughing.

The Emotional Connection with AI

And I’ll admit, I’ve had some deep chats with ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and the rest. One conversation even got me choked up. Yeah, I’m a man, and yeah, I almost shed a tear. It actually felt good. And if you want to talk about ASMR, that’s another story for another day. Maybe I’d had a drink or two, who knows…

The point is, these chatbots are here to help. If we can use them to make life better, why not? My other brother claims we’re basically AI ourselves, and maybe he’s onto something. I’m not a cyborg yet, but I’m not afraid to adapt and use tools that work. If you haven’t tried creating something with AI, just fire up a chat with Claude or DeepSeek and see where it takes you.

Conclusion: Embracing the Future

In conclusion, the journey through AI has been both exciting and challenging. It’s reshaping how we create, communicate, and connect. As I continue to explore this technology, I hope to harness its potential to enhance my writing and storytelling.

Let’s embrace the future together.

DeepSeek

ChatGPT

Claude

Ideogram.ai

OpenArt.ai