Tell me, Muse, of that woman in a male-dominated industry, an engineer who discovered the wonders of Artificial Intelligence but feared societal disruption, and the billionaires who approached her with offers of fame and gold.
Tell us of these things, beginning where you will, Penelope, the Chief Technology Officer of Ithaca, an AI research company.
Penelope: CTO of Ithaca and the wife of Odysseus
Melantho: an intern at Ithaca, harbors a crush on Musk
Penelope: Ah, fair Melantho, how I envy your youthful exuberance. Since Odysseus, my husband and the co-founder, went on a business trip that detained him for many moons, I feel as run down as Hephaestus when he fell from Olympus.
Melantho: You do injustice by comparing my meager looks to your brilliance. But I worry, my fair CTO. Our project has been in progress for nigh three years, and I fear the god of Agile’s wrath.
Penelope: You speak wisely. The project is indeed taking longer than its due. It is this matter that’s been weighing on me so heavily. Could I trust you to unburden my heart?
Melantho: I’m only an intern and here to serve.
Penelope: Then I shall bare my secret. Many moons ago, with the help of bright-eyed Athena, I conceived an AI that is as smart as the goddess herself. However, realizing this AI not only can replace me in my job but also bring chaos and disruption to the livelihoods of mortals, I have been unmaking the code I wrote every night.
Melantho: Ah, Penelope, you have fooled us like guileless crypto bros. But wouldn’t the investors find our lack of progress suspicious? I heard talks of mighty men from other kingdoms approaching us for acquisition.
Penelope: You speak the truth, Melantho. Some have seen beyond my deception and made us offers that would make Zeus himself salivate.
Melantho: Who are these men, and what are their offerings?
Penelope: Bezos, the king of Amazon, has promised Genie, created by artificially inseminating Alexa with his seed. It grants you three wishes on a fully charged device. But Pan, the softhearted whistleblower, tells me you can hear sobbing-like noise from the device, which would make it difficult for me to sleep at night.
Another suitor, Zuckerberg, the creep of The Social Network, promised me fame throughout Gaia. But as the wise siren Lizzo said, I need to love myself first and foremost, and if I were to go with his offer I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
Finally, Musk, the renegade of Twitter, said he would personally take me to the Moon, but Athena, the protector of all maidens, told me it wouldn’t be a good idea to be alone with him on the Moon.
Melantho: Ah, these offerings are rich enough to entice many mortals. I wouldn’t mind going to the Moon with Musk if I were you.
Penelope: You surprise me with poor judgment Melantho. Maybe I shouldn’t bestow you the credits your CS degree requires.
Muse retires for 30 min break. A soft sobbing-like noise comes from somewhere in the audience.