Steve, thank you so very much for such a thoughtful response. Here comes a ramble reply!

First of all, I really appreciate your encouragement about my writing, and I'm glad to hear that so much of it speaks to you. It's gotten harder on Medium to simply be seen, as the platform has had to introduce more hoops to jump through in order for them to sift through the flood of AI garbage. It used to be that a writer could publish something solid, it would be read promptly by a human, and that human would promote it — after which the algorithm (and reader preference) would follow an organic course... But nowadays, so much of what I write just goes straight into the void, because it must be "nominated" first in order to stand a snowball's chance in hell even to be circulated

Luckily, this piece was, and I'm both thankful for and inspired by the ongoing dialogue it's elicited.

Anyway. I also worry about the emissions impact of AI/ML, and tbh, my mind wasn't even on that (very important) topic when I wrote this. There are certainly good things that AI/ML can do, but there are so many ways that it can also cause active harm. This is frightening. I saw an AI-generated video compilation recently of horrifying-looking "eating" clips, where uncanny-valley animations inhaled their very forks or swallowed entire chickens in a single mouthful; someone commented that the mere creation of this video must've consumed enough energy "to vaporize an entire country." (Or something to that effect.) So much trash is being generated just for meaningless shits and giggles, or for bragging rights (on behalf of the company) — and it's killing the planet in the meantime. This is not a future we need.

I never thought about a career in AI ethics or regulation, honestly! I appreciate this idea and will definitely keep it on the back burner. But this brings me back to the sadness I've been sitting with over the past few years as AI cannibalizes language and creative work: that the existence of AI-generated content is burying soulful human creations, making our work less visible, less economically valued, and less likely to stand any chance at succeeding. I would prefer to be able to devote my skillset to my passions (e.g.., writing)... so it's hard enough to accept that AI/ML is killing those prospects. Working in the AI/ML field would feel like yet another capitulation, another way that the technology has hijacked my actual talents, values, and goals.... but people like me might not have much of a choice. ;)

I do think my liberal arts background (in languages, anthropology / sociology / demographics, sexual health, mental health services, etc. etc. etc.) would be a good fit for an ethics position.... but I'm still hanging onto the hope that somehow the writing will catch and I'll get a chance to spread goodness and empowerment in the world in a literary capacity first. Here's to hope.

Thank you again, Steve.