"Welcome my son Welcome to the machine What did you dream? It's alright We told you what to dream ... " † ~ artificial ghost there’s a buzzing in my day today that wasn’t there before when a question on the table now is answered at the door i touch it like a memory i ought to recognize but the vision feels like someone else is looking through my eyes when machines were only tools to extend a thinking mind they simply made suggestions which later i refined but now they frame the questions what they think that i should say i approve what’s been decided by the thought i gave away algorithms, now in every nook and cranny as machines have come to dominate the view almost read my mind, their sentiments uncanny these models start to dictate what is true moving fast and breaking things the order of the day but when changes come so quickly understanding slips away innovation loses luster we diminish what we mean when the answers come too quickly the questions stay unseen if biases already formed are just placed in my hand can’t tell if i’m deciding or adopting what was planned what has been accomplished with technology we bought and machines decide what's worth a look and what is worth a thought agency is something you neglect until it leaves a choice left unattended that someone else retrieves i feel my judgement fading something ripping at the seams i’m awake inside the story but i’m not the one who dreams yes, it feels like there's an artificial ghost some essence of my judgement now retiring like i've become a guest, and it's become the host with decisions pulsing through electric wiring so i sit here for a moment set aside this spectral shade and wonder if machines could ever really make the grade i believe i know the answer and that i'll reclaim my choice as i flip the power switch to off and thus regain my voice rjh ~ † Pink Floyd (Roger Waters), "Welcome to the Machine" (Wish You Were Here, 1975) Inspired by Big Think Business, "The ghost in the machine has changed sides" (3mar2026)
