Children of AI

Oliver was born in 2004 to an engineer father and a cashier mother. From a young age he loved to play sports and was an avid martial artist. At primary school he was an over-achiever, but his secondary teacher, once wrote how Oliver, preferred to look out of the window, rather than concentrate on class and how his 'smart phone,' had been confiscated several times. Oliver, was eleven, when his very busy parents bought him his first iPhone. By the age of fourteen, Oliver was addicted to social media, gaining popularity on apps like TikTok and Instagram. He had lost all interest in sport, despite his bedroom being full of trophies. He started to dress in dark clothes and dyed his hair jet black, which floated over his forehead. Slowly, one piercing led to several. This was when he met Poppy and slowly fell in love. Both of them used to sit at the back of English class, going through reels. Oliver wrote his first poem about how much he loved her. Describing the silver streak in her black hair and the dimples that appeared on her cheeks when she smiled. At sixteen, Oliver and Poppy both finished school with bad grades. His parents were pretty disappointed and an argument broke between Oliver and his dad, where he decided to run away. That night he got drunk along with Poppy and had unprotected sex. Oliver was 'sofa surfing.' for three months, before Poppy told him, she was pregnant. Being from a strict religious family, she decided to keep the baby, much to the disappointment of Oliver. However, he promised he would do his best for the child. He had been gaining a bit of fame on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram with his 'spoken word' poetry and was occasionally paid to perform at festivals, but it was not enough. His father took pity on him and got him an apprenticeship at his engineering firm. He started well, but was sacked after a while for being on his phone, turning up late for work and making several mistakes. Unable to find work, he started to sell cannabis, getting caught up in the murky world of drugs and addiction. Several times he was beaten and robbed. Eventually, like every drug dealer he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. Missing the birth of his son, Charlie. Whilst serving his term, he started to study for some qualifications and used his poetry to inspire others to change their lives. As a result his sentence was reduced to two years. He left prison at eighteen, ready to be part of society and behave maturely, especially as he had not used his smart phone for two years. His father had seen the change in him, so asked his boss if Oliver could return, but most of the work at the firm had been replaced by Artificial Intelligence, so there was no room for him. His mother was unable to help, as cashiers were being replaced by 'self check out' registers. Oliver, now reunited with his son, wanted to be a good role model and provide for Poppy and Charlie. He applied for several jobs, but his criminal record and many employers not requiring human labour, meant he was unsuccessful. He set up a creative writing class, but found the majority were using AI to write and found this disturbing. Although he had many attending his sessions, he gave up, disenchanted with the literature world. Such is the vicious cycle for many a criminal, he fell back into dealing drugs. It was an easy pay packet. Despite making a lot of money, Poppy, could not be around this lifestyle and decided to walk away and granted him no permission to see Charlie nor did she accept any of his 'dirty' money. One night, a drug deal went wrong and a fight broke out. Defending himself, Oliver stabbed a rival drug dealer. Running from the police, he ran towards a cliff. Tired from life... Soaking in the rain... Oliver stood at the edge... His lonely eyes staring into the nothingness his life had become... He didn't think twice, before he jumped.