Grandson R., now 12 years of age, had wrapped his gift. It was two days before Mother’s Day. He was about to attach a blank sheet of paper -neatly folded into quarters- when my wife R.M., his grandmother, asked, “Did you write a little note to go with it, R.? Can I read it?” “It’s a poem, Grandma!” he declared, sliding the paper across the table toward her.

R.M. unfolded it and began reading in silence. Her expression betrayed her enthusiasm almost immediately: “R.! Well, what a beautiful poem! Beautiful lines, beautifully rhymed! And so long!” “Grandmaaa,” he chimed in cheerfully, “AI!”

R.M. and I were taken aback. R.M. said, “But don’t you think that’s a little… too easy?” R. shrugged: “It’s there, and you’re free to use it.”

H. backed up his son: “I already use AI for my job! I have it review a document or a quote. Or I request a translation into English or Dutch. And voilà, there you have it.” He added, “Then I ask, ‘Translate it better,’ and I get an even more professional version. All I have to do is give it a quick check!”

“AI isn’t that hard, you know. And it’s actually pretty fun.” R. apparently had an idea: “Grandma, if you hadn’t worked at the hospital, what would you have wanted to be?” “Well, a detective-investigator!” R. replied enthusiastically, “Working for the police! Getting to the bottom of crime cases and solving them!” “Can I take a picture of you, Grandma?” He grabbed his iPhone and did just that, typed in some text, and within ten seconds his task was complete.

“Wow,” R.M. and I marveled at the photo. “What a witty look! And you’re heavily armed, too!” I pointed to the Glock in the holster under her left armpit. The pseudo-detective-investigator exclaimed, “And look at my desk and the back wall! That’s quite a complicated case I have to solve!”

“And you, Grandpa? If you hadn’t worked at the bank?” I realized it was my turn now: “A blues singer. With a guitar!” I tried to make it as hard as possible for AI: “But it has to be a National Steel guitar!” And then an idea popped up: “With a slide!” I spelled it out for him: ‘s-l-i-d-e’. I explained: “It’s a little lead tube you put on your finger. When you slide it across the strings, it makes a singing sound!” He casually snapped a photo of me and typed furiously with his thumbs. In no time, he had the result: “I’ll send it to you!” Barely a split second later, I looked at my phone in wonder and amazement: “Wow, never knew a hat suited me!” I did have one criticism though: “But you can’t use the slide like that! It’s supposed to go on a finger!” “I can change that in a second, Grandpa!” R. offered. “No need! Everyone knows I can’t read or play a single note… But it is a beautiful guitar!”

Our son H. said, “Let’s see if AI knows the world-famous writer Johan Wijngaarden!” He looked at me and asked, while typing at the same time, a sentence more or less like, “Do you know ‘Stories and Footnotes’?” Just a moment… There was the answer: H. quoted: “Stories and Footnotes is a personal blog and a publishing project by the Dutch author and photographer Johan Wijngaarden. It features a collection of original stories, books, and essays -in both Dutch and English- that center on his passion for blues music, regional history, and local Frisian culture.” He looked up at me triumphantly: “There’s no arguing with that, right?” And scrolled on: “Your books are listed there, too. And a ‘link’ to your site! It’s practically a commercial!”

“When I upload content to Amazon for a book, I do get asked, ‘Do you use AI?’ Then I have to choose between ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ In all honesty, I naturally check ‘no.’ Because I definitely don’t want that. Then they wouldn’t be my stories anymore.” “Do you know what happens if you check ‘yes’?” H. asked. “No, I’ve never done that. I’m afraid I’d never be able to uncheck it!”

“AI is unstoppable!” H. declared with certainty. “I’m sure you’ll use it for your stories, too. In fact, suppose you write a story based on that AI photo of you as a blues singer (he nodded toward my iPhone), then it can only go on your website and not in your new book*. The answer to the question on Amazon will then be ‘yes’ because you’ve already used AI at least four times now!”

Dilemma…

***

*Spoiler….: yes, there will be a new ‘short stories’ book: ‘IN A DIFFERENT TIME’ (2026? 2027?).