The headline “ChatGPT eliminates need for writers” has him nervously type the prompt: “write a fifty-word story about love lost”.

Within seconds, ChatGPT spits out prose in any style: gothic, sci-fi, even hipster slang, but to his delightful surprise, it never gets the word count right.

He is temporarily relieved.

James Menges is a writer and photographer who keeps one eye looking over his shoulder at the approaching AI future. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.