The UK government鈥檚 new AI Opportunities Action Plan was launched using this strange phrase: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation.鈥�
It caught the eye of artist-composer Jennifer Walshe, who poked fun at it in a recent talk on her new book, (pictured above).
Advertisement
Look up 鈥渕ainline鈥� in a dictionary, Walshe told a crowd at London鈥檚 Institute of Contemporary Arts, and it is mostly associated with heroin use. It seemed 鈥渁n unorthodox phrasing for a government to use in a press release鈥�, she said.
Light-hearted and playful, Walshe鈥檚 take on AI is also refreshing. Is AI a kind of fan fiction in the way it emulates popular artists, she wonders? Or is it like an energy drink, promising more with less? Perhaps it is a companion species, offering relationships like those we have with pets?
Viewing AI through this prismatic lens is key, thinks Walshe, because it means so many things to so many people.
