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Book 3 of the AI Chronicles Trilogy
THE AI TRANNY
In “THE AI TRANNY” the pop star figure NASX appears as an AI-enabled virtual character, visible but not touchable, summoned by Jean, a transgender superfan, after NASX’s untimely demise during his farewell concert. But for Jean and for the readers, NASX seems real-or real enough to produce genuine suspense and thrills. As portrayed, NASX is not only physically lifelike, but seamlessly integrated into Jean’s real world. NASX’s “naturalness” is produced by computer vision, natural language processing, immersive simulation technologies or XR which generates an intense human experience known as “presence.” Virtual scenes, objects, and characters are lifelike and magical and makes places Jean in a parallel reality. Jean is intent on investigating her idol’s mysterious death. NASX appears in Jean’s kitchen late at night to provide hints to aid Jean’s pursuit of the truth in solving the puzzle of his death.
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PREVIEW ADVANCED READER EXCERPT – CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER 1
THE GAME BEGINS
When WIL NASX was at the peak of his fame, he grew tired of sustaining the carefully honed persona that his followers had come to expect. He decided to strip away his disguise and appear in public as who he truly was, a transgendered person.
The market, though, did not approve of his decision. The sales of his records and merchandise plummeted. Negative stories appeared in the press. One by one, his sponsors ended their contracts with him. However, the final blow to WIL was not his monetary loss, but the reaction of his followers.
Die-hard followers wouldn’t accept the loss of WIL’s stage persona. Speculating that his career had been manipulated or mismanaged by his advisers, they waged wars on online forums. The debate grew so loud it dominated entertainment websites and shows. His followers endless debate inspired a backlash, with critics arguing that celebrity idols should be accountable for the behavior of their followers.
In the eye of the hurricane was WIL. Was he a bad influence on a younger generation? The prime culprit behind the hollowness of the entertainment industry? Or a guy trying to do the right thing?
The scrutiny and pressure took its toll on WIL. He was diagnosed with depression. Eventually, he decided that only by disappearing entirely could he win back his followers and temper the warring hordes of armchair critics.
With WIL’s absence from the public stage, the gossip and chatter about him died down. WIL was gradually forgotten. New superstars emerged onstage, giving rise to their own followers. After he had recovered, WIL changed his name and was finally blessed with the freedom to be true to himself as a transgendered person. He went back to school, where he became a good friend of Rosco Yates, who would eventually become the future co founder and CEO of AI-XLSPOTIFY.
Rosco Yates was a typical geek who believed firmly in the power of AI technology. A game enthusiast, he’d always dreamed about making an interactive AI game that would impact the world. One night at a bar, WIL, after many drinks, revealed his true identity to Rosco and lashed out about the unhealthy power dynamic between idols and their followers. WIL’s complaint struck Rosco like a lightning bolt.
“You think that celebrity followers have seized the power to control their idols, but the truth is, celebrity followers are so obsessed with prepackaged stage personas because they Jack the power to tell their own stories. Think about it. Celebrity followers have essentially nothing apart from a persona-from the personality and narrative fed to them by managers and the media-on which to project their emotions.”
“When you reveal to them that the persona is, in fact, fake, you shatter their dream! To them, this is deception, betrayal, a slap in the face!” Said Rosco.
WIL had to admit that Rosco had a point. But what Rosco proposed next sounded overly simple: Create a game using AI where everyone could participate in the making of a personalized idol and decide how they would like to interact with them.
“I think you’ve misunderstood what an idol represents. Someone only becomes an idol when a group of people come together and establish a collective worship ritual,” WIL explained. “Your game can’t create an idol. How is it different from those make your-own-character games?”
The pair continued to flush out this business idea throughout their years together in school. Finally, after graduating they came to the solution: They would use digital technology and AI engines to make virtual idols based on idols in real life and personalize them according to the needs of each of their followers. They began to believe that they just could create a highly personalized interactive game for celebrity followers of the future.
But where would they find a celebrity idol willing to embrace their innovative idea and participate in their experiment? The entertainment industry that WIL was familiar with cared only about money and short-term gains. No one would have the expansive vision to support such a radical idea-and bank on it as the future of the entertainment industry.
“I think we already have our candidate,” said Rosco.