Published as an SN&R editorial

Well, well, well, well …

The Chicago Sun-Times, a newspaper that was founded in 1948, just quietly attempted to use Artificial Intelligence to create its annual summer reading list, which then led to the publication having to issue a national apology after it became the laughing stock of the internet. That’s because the machine brain that management delegated this intellectual task to started recommending books that don’t even exist. The paper has stated that this debacle happened partly because of an outside content contractor it was working with. Of course, one would think – and clearly the public thought – that a paper of that size and stature would, by now, have a clearly defined A.I. policy for all its interconnected platforms.

“We are in a moment of great transformation in journalism and technology, and at the same time our industry continues to be besieged by business challenges,” the newspaper’s leadership eventually told other reporters amidst the backlash. “This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued — and valuable — because of the humanity behind it.”

Something about that statement makes me suspect it was written by a member of the editorial team who was not for using A.I. to create a summer reading list to begin with.

 But I’m just speculating.

What does not require conjecture is knowing that A.I. is the last thing one should rely on for venturing through the world of books. Here’s a confession: A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to cover a trial at a county court department in Northern California that I wasn’t familiar with. I was running behind schedule and, thinking it would save time, I asked the A.I. called Gemini where this court department was located. With total clarity and authority, that A.I. sent me to the opposite side of the county that I was supposed to be on. I was fuming – mostly at myself. 

But what were the actual stakes in that situation? I ended up being super late, stressed out and burning a bunch of fuel in my car that I didn’t need to.

Oh well.

But a summer reading list? In some respects, that’s the most human endeavor there is. Books are still the best cerebrally stimulating doorways into our own intellects and imaginations. They activate our individual thought-processes in a highly personal way, allowing us to travel across time and space through our mind’s eye — and fly on that journey in a way that’s engaged in our own life experience.

Think about it: The best things about independent bookstores are their owners and staffs. Individuals who devote their entire livelihoods to the power of books understand that what’s bound between those covers are bridges to empathy, inner-discovery and ultimately, growth.

William Nicholson, in his play about C.S. Lewis, wrote that “we read to know that we are not alone.”

What some now call “machine life” is quickly creeping into every corner of our social scaffolding; and many experts agree the net result is people becoming more isolated and alone.

Books may be one of our last tools to combat this.

Editor’s note: A couple of lines of context were added to this story after it was published, based on a reader’s suggestion.