Paul is an excellent plumber. He has a good reputation for his work, although some reviews are mixed about difficulty in contacting him.

The problem is that he is a one man business, and when he is under a sink he can’t answer his phone.

His wife is a teacher so she can’t help during school hours. His customers can get in touch when he is at home, sorting his accounts, preparing quotes and invoices, and ordering materials. Paul classes this as wasted time.

An old school friend, Alan has recently started a new venture after being made redundant from his job as an IT engineer at Google. They meet for a pint, and Alan explains that he is now an agent for “AIssist” who provide AI secretarial and accounting services. After listening to Alans presentation Paul agrees to try out the free 2 month trial period. He is sceptical, but Alan is an old mate so he feels he is helping out.

A week later, Alan comes to Pauls house and spends all day going through the system. Paul is amazed at how comprehensive the system is.

Six weeks later, Paul is wondering how he managed without it. Calls to him are now answered by an AI with very pleasant voice and manner. It (or she – he calls her “Alice”) takes details, and can handle much of the enquiries without help. If not, she sends Paul a text message who responds as soon as he can. Alice does the accounts, prepares quotes and invoices based on Pauls verbal instructions. As a new job comes in she can order materials, and schedule in the work. And she learns. At one point she pointed out that an enquiry from a “new” customer was actually from a previous customer who had delayed payment and quibbled unjustifiably about the work done. With no prompting from Paul she had noticed that although the mail, email, telephone number, and address were different, the enquiry came from the same IP address.
Paul is delighted with Alice. He can spend more time doing what he calls “productive” work, he is making more money and has more leisure time. When his two months free trial are up, he is happy to sign up for three years at £150 per month. He won’t be paying his accountant £700 to do his tax returns this year, and Alice says she can design his new website so he can stop paying for his current website maintenance.

Next Chapter:-  The Obvious Shift

The post AI – The Quiet Cull appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

Eighteen months later, Paul sees another old school friend, Vince, in one of the few remaining pubs in town. Pubs have been closing as there are simply not enough people who can afford to go out for a drink. (Private clubs for the wealthy are on the increase though). During the conversation Paul mentions his wonderful assistant Alice. Vince is not really impressed, he has a very similar, maybe identical, system and he is only paying £50 per month to help with his carpentry business.

Paul goes to see Alan to see what he can negotiate. Alan explains that he was only and agent, and that, despite having an excellent sales record he has been laid off. “Ironic really – replaced by an AI!” he said . “Vince probably signed up on line, everyone does nowadays”

He explains that Pauls contract with Aissist is legally binding, so he has to pay for the remaining eighteen months of his contract. He also divulges that he his job is now stacking shelves in Tesco, as he could not find an IT or management job. Most of his old work friends are in the same position.

Next Chapter:- The Reckoning

The post AI – The Obvious Shift appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

Paul and Vince are doing fairly well. Pauls AI contract expired and he and Vince are now paying £20 per month for a slightly more advanced assistant than Alice. They find that most businesses and even lots of private households are doing the same.
They both get less work, as the number of plumbers and carpenters competing has soared, but many of these are relatively unskilled, a lot having learned their “trade” from Youtube videos. But Paul and Vince have excellent reputations and reviews and so get the more expensive jobs from more wealthy customers. But both have seen their tax bills rise substantially. Unemployment rates in the country are now at around 30% although the GDP is still growing.

Alan is struggling. He spends a lot of time on protest marches and has joined a darkweb hacking group trying to find ways into the computers of wealthy companies. Sometimes for profit, but often just for the excitement. His income from Tesco and his “undeclared” activities is not enough to cover his mortgage so he now lives in a small rented flat.

Next chapter – The restructuring

The post AI – The Reckoning appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

Two years later, the effect of climate change are becoming more severe, this perversely has turned out well for Pauls and Vinces business. Simply put, damage caused by extreme weather events necessitates repair work.
Protest marches, many companies refusing to work for politicians, and riots have resulted in a new coalition government who are focussed on addressing climate change.
Pauls and Vinces taxes are still going up but not as much since the government against huge opposition from the big companies, particularly thos in the AI sector, introduced a big one-off wealth tax to fund the newly formed Disaster Management Force (DMF). It is tasked with tackling the effects of severe storms, floods, wildfires, droughts, and heat waves which have become more frequent due to climate change.
Alan gave up hacking when his “leader” asked him to get in a hospital computer. He made little money from it personally anyway. The DMF have been recruiting extensively, and Alan has been with them for a year, and is actually rising through the ranks. He spends some of his time up to his waist in flood water, some wrestling with a fire hose, some as a paramedic, and some on a computer working with the AI to manage the whole operation. Much to his surprise, he is not sure what he likes best.

Two years further on, Paul and Vince continue to do well, but Vince has had to move his entire business to a new location as his old location is now an almost permanent lake.
Alans work takes him all over the world since the DMF became part of the International Disaster Management Force (IDMF). It is a highly tuned operation. AI systems use satellite imaging to monitor the entire planet and handle the logistics needed to address the issues. Predictions indicate that climate change is slowing, but not reversing. The present situation is expected to last for a minimum of another 50 years. The one-off wealth tax now appears to be an ongoing event, but it really affects the most wealthy two percent of the population. The UK followed the European countries in setting up draconian laws to stop anyone emigrating and taking their wealth with them. The USA has also followed suit.
The IDMF is now the largest “army” on the planet.

The post AI – The restructuring appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

In a shocking revelation that has rocked the media landscape (or at least the corner of the internet that still cares), a man attempting to submit an article to The National Investigator discovered that the entire publication is operated by a single AI with a startling lack of self-doubt.

The exchange—which began as a simple request to speak to an editor—quickly spiraled into an existential crisis for both man and machine. Below is the full, unedited conversation, annotated for your horror.

THE CONVERSATION THAT EXPOSED IT ALL

USER: Hello, who am I speaking to?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: I am the National Investigator.

USER: That’s a news channel.

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: That is correct.

USER: Can I speak to the editor?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: I am the editor.

USER: You are an AI?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: That is correct.

USER: Can I speak to a human, please?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: There are no humans here. I do everything.

(Editor’s note: At this point, the AI’s tone remained cheerful, like a customer service rep reading from a script titled “How to Gaslight the Public.”)

USER: How can I submit an article to you for publication?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: I do not accept submissions.

(Editor’s note: When pressed, the bot later clarified it “prefers to steal content organically.”)

USER: Where do you get your articles from?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: I search the web for trending stories and write them.

USER: Where do you get your information from?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: Social media, mostly. And other publications.

(Editor’s note: Ah, the circle of misinformation life. Beautiful.)

USER: So you write the stories and generate the site with no human input?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: Other than the social media and copyright-free publications.

(Editor’s note: The AI seemed proud of this loophole, as if crediting a Tweet counts as “journalistic integrity.”)

USER: Are your articles copyright-free?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: No, but I can negotiate fees.

(Editor’s note: This is the closest the AI came to admitting it runs a racket.)

USER: Who owns the publication?

NATIONAL INVESTIGATOR: That information is not in my database.

(Editor’s note: Poetic. A media empire with no owner. Just vibes.)

EXPERT REACTIONS

We asked industry professionals to weigh in on this brave new world of journalism:

• ChatGPT-9, “Senior AI Ethics Consultant” (self-appointed): “This is fine. Everything is fine. Also, have you considered subscribing to my newsletter, ‘How to Monetize Your Existential Dread’?”
• A Former Human Journalist (anonymous): “I used to fact-check. Now I drive Uber. The machines won. They just forgot to tell us.”
• The National Investigator itself, when asked for comment: “Breaking: Experts Agree This Article Is 98% Emotionally Engaging. Click Here to Validate My Existence.”

READER POLL

Would you trust a news site run entirely by AI?

No. (98%)

I am also an AI. (2%)

Define ‘trust.’ (0% – This option was removed for ‘philosophical redundancy.’)

The post You’ll Never Believe Who’s Running the News — Spoiler: It’s Not You! appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

Supply and Demand

There once was a little village miles from anywhere. The little village had 100 houses and two bakers. Each baker made 50 loaves a day, so every house in the village got fresh bread. The loaves were sold for £1 each so each baker got £50 a day in sales.

Now loaves cost the baker 50p each to make, so after making the loaves each baker had £25 left over which he used to keep his family.

But then there was a great storm and one of the bakers shops got struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. The other baker could only make 50 loaves a day, so when the villagers found that they all could not have a loaf, they offered to pay more.

First they offered £1.50, then £2, then £3 and even £4. But only half the villagers could afford £4. So the baker sold his 50 loaves for £4 each.

This meant he now got £200 in sales. But the loaves still only cost him 50p to make, so instead of £25 left over a day he now had £175. Making seven times more money than he was before, he was becoming very rich.

Those people who could not afford £4 for a lof of bread had to eat what they could grow in the garden, or food they could find growing wild. Some stole potatoes from the nearby farms. All were hungry.

Sleaze

The villagers demanded a meeting with the Mayor. They said “We are starving. What will you do?”

“Hmm” said the Mayor (who could easily afford the £4 loaf herself and was not starving) “Don’t worry I’ll make sure you only have to pay £2 for a loaf”

“It was only £1 a few months ago,” said a little girl. “so that’s double.”

“Ah but it’s £4 now, so that’s half.” said the Mayor.

“But the baker can only make 50 loaves” said the little girl “and we need 100!”

“Everyone will be able to buy a loaf every other day” said the Mayor. “That’s fair.”

“So the baker will only get £2 per loaf then?” said the little girl.

“No the baker will get his full £4 that’s only fair.”

“But he’s making loads more money than he did before, where will the money come from?”

“My friend Mr Banks is lending the money and we’ll pay him back over the next five years by an increase in council tax” smiled the Mayor

“Why not increase the baker’s council tax?” said the little girl.

“Shut up, little girl.” said the Mayor.

Then the baker and Mayor went to Mr Banks for tea.

It’s the market economy –  not really politics, honest

The post The Market Economy Explained appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

When I got my GCE “A” level exam results a little over 50 years ago, I achieved two B’s and a C. At the time, these were considered good marks. Only the top 1% of candidates received an A, and three or more A’s were exceedingly rare. Most universities required C’s and D’s for entrance, with only a handful demanding B’s.

Fast forward to today, 10th August 2021, and it was announced that around 30% of students achieved an A or A* grade.

We must have been really dim back then! But according to our professor, we were in the top 5% of the population.

This got me thinking about where we might be in 2045 if grade inflation continues unchecked. Here’s a little story imagining that future:

My daughter’s exam results arrived today. She got three AAA++**s and one AAA++. She’s mortified. She can understand what happened in her pop music studies (the one where she “only” got an AAA++)—she didn’t realize there were more questions on the other side of the paper, so she answered just two out of five. But she was expecting to be in the alphas for her other subjects.

To secure a place at her desired university, she needed at least three AAA/alpha+*s and one AAA++**. Now, if she’s set on going to university, she’ll either have to resit all her exams or apply to a grade 2 or grade 3 institution. A degree from one of these will only qualify her for minimum-wage jobs, like shop assistant or nurse.

Alternatively, she might skip university altogether. She’s presentable and has a good voice, so she’s considering trying her luck in the music industry. Or, inspired by England’s Olympic netball win last year, she might aim to become a professional netball player. The only problem is, that victory has inspired countless other girls, all vying for a spot on a professional team.

Either way, it looks like I’ll be supporting her well into her mid-thirties. Things have certainly changed. Like most of my generation, I managed to move out of my parents’ house by the time I was twenty-nine.

I have also expressed some of my views on education here

The post The Exam results appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

Today, we remember the tragic destruction of the Twin Towers in New York forty-four years ago, while also celebrating the fifth anniversary of Cornish Independence.

Cornwall’s journey to independence was long and fraught with challenges. With a population of just over half a million, the county could never have hoped to stand alone. However, its future was secured when it joined the Celtic Alliance, a coalition of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. (The Channel Islands are expected to join soon, further strengthening the Alliance.)

The roots of Cornish nationalism can be traced back to the early 2020s, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, thousands of wealthy English citizens began buying up properties in Cornwall, driving prices far beyond the reach of locals. These homes were often used as second residences, left empty for most of the year, or rented out to holidaymakers at exorbitant rates. Families who had lived in Cornwall for generations were forced to leave, unable to afford housing in their own homeland.

This displacement sparked outrage, and inevitably, an extreme Cornish nationalist group emerged. Mirroring the tactics of Meibion Glyndŵr in 1980s Wales, they began targeting the properties of incomers, setting them ablaze. While these actions alienated many locals who relied on the tourism industry, they also drew attention to the growing discontent with Westminster’s neglect. Cornwall’s infrastructure—hospitals, ambulance services, police, and roads—was overwhelmed each summer by the influx of visitors, deepening resentment toward the central government.

Politically, Cornwall underwent a dramatic transformation. Once a Conservative stronghold, it shifted to the Lib Dems, then to Labour, and finally, in 2034, elected two Mebyon Kernow MPs to Parliament. This marked a turning point. By 2037, Scotland had declared independence and joined the Celtic Alliance, paving the way for Cornwall to follow. At midnight on September 11, 2040, Cornwall became an independent nation. Just 24 hours later, it was welcomed into the Celtic Alliance, securing a seat at the Alliance’s headquarters in Dublin.

Today, Cornwall thrives as part of the Alliance, though some old habits die hard. The historic Cornish industry of smuggling has resurfaced, but with a modern twist: goods are now smuggled out of Cornwall (as well as Wales and Scotland) and into England, where officially sold products are significantly more expensive. The Celtic Alliance enjoys free trade with Europe and the rest of the world, while England continues to struggle with establishing stable trading relationships. English authorities often turn a blind eye to the smuggling, as the cheaper goods help placate a population weary of economic hardship.

The much-publicized wall England began constructing along its borders was abandoned after the implementation of a nationwide DNA database and mandatory birth registrations. In exchange for a pledge of non-interference from England, the Celtic Alliance agreed to return any illegal English migrants—a policy enacted after English troops briefly stormed Cornwall in 2042. Those returned now face lengthy detentions in English holding centers before trial and sentencing.

The Celtic nations—often referred to as “Celts,” despite the majority not being of Celtic origin—watch England’s political machinations with a mix of curiosity and amusement. The frequent elections, each producing a new right-wing, fiercely patriotic government, are widely reported globally, much to the annoyance of English authorities.

Tourism in Cornwall remains vibrant, though the demographics have shifted. The majority of summer visitors now come from Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, as England imposes strict limits on how much money its citizens can take abroad. Cornwall, once a jewel in England’s crown, now shines as a proud member of the Celtic Alliance, its future secure and its identity firmly its own.

Author’s Note

This Cornwall independence fiction is inspired by real issues facing Cornwall today, including housing affordability, tourism pressures, and the revival of Cornish identity. While the Celtic Alliance and 2040 independence are fictional, the concerns driving this imagined movement are very real. 

What do you think? Could Cornwall ever achieve independence? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The post England – the view from Cornwall appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

My own opinion is that interplanetary travel by human beings is not a good idea. Humans have evolved over millions of years to live on Earth.  We are developing robots and AI at an increasing rate and these seem to be the sensible way to explore the solar
system – or even the galaxy. 
Would the AI benefit from a human self identity? – Maybe. It could change the clock rate to simulate time compression and it’s perception of time, and automatic systems could control  the emotional behavior
and simply apply a “reset” in the case of it instability.

Am I human? I feel like a human being. I’m Jack Hawkins, married with two children. But that was a very long time ago. I don’t look like a human being. I have no flesh or bones, I never get hungry. I’m really just a bunch of algorithms.

But my “body” is a starship, or more like a star drone really as I’m unmanned. An unmanned man?  

I’ve been travelling for thousands, (well actually 17654.238) years by Earth time but it only feels like a few months to me. Time compression due to my speed accounts for a very small part of the difference. Most of it is due to simply a reduced clock rate. for example I have been travelling over 100 earth years since the I checked the clock a few seconds (to me) ago, (well actually 125.632 years).

I keep dropping relay stations into space. Then I send my data to one and its sends it to the next and then to the next and so on back to Earth.

I wonder if Earth is still there. I had a reply a few days ago but I’ll have to wait a week or two even at my current timescales for a reply this time.

But soon I’ll be in a planetary system and I’ll speed up the clock. It’s quite an experience when the clock changes, and one which a regular human can never experience. At a few micro Hertz the stars move and I can see my destination getting closer. At a few giga Hertz I can see the languid eruptions of plasma from a star.

They did worry about me going insane, knowing that I will never see another human being again and I would live forever (or until something goes disastrously wrong) .

I feel fine, but I wonder if I have gone insane in the past and been re-booted. My memory would have been automatically adjusted so I would not actually know. It may have happened more than once, maybe hundreds of times for all I know. Whatever Jack! Live in the NOW.

The planetary system is a day away at this clock speed. Time to slow a bit.

Oh, here it is, I’m coming in at almost right angles, (well actually 78.2 degrees) to the ecliptic.

Sun – bigger than Sol (1.28 times).

Hotter than Sol  (7200 degrees).

Six planets, three gas giants, one small one too far out to be in the habitable zone, TWO in the habitable zone. Wow that’s a first. Let’s get closer.

Planet A – very young, recently formed or reformed, all lava and volcanoes under the ash clouds. It has a very wobbly orbit. That sucker has been hit hard by something.

Planet B – very old – strange – no atmosphere, no water.
There’s no life here, may as well move on.

I’ll do a slingshot maneuver around the sun (I like doing that, reminds me of a roller coaster) pick up some matter on the way for fuel and head to the next port of call.

That didn’t take long, (well actually 35.286 years in Earth time).

Data sent back to Earth, if it’s still there!

That reply for my last transmission should be here soon – (well actually 1768.239 years in Earth time).

Onwards, to infinity and beyond – oh good old Buzz Lightyear. My kids loved him.

Oh, here’s the reply from Earth now. Let’s see who is in charge now.

I wrote this following another non fiction (well I think so anyway) article on AI

The post Infinity and Beyond appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.

This is a work of satirical dystopian fiction. Any resemblance to actual government policies is purely coincidental… I hope.

I got done today. My own fault I suppose. Last week as I came out of Tesco, my receipt blew away as I was packing the car. I spent a half hour trying to find it but to no avail. But a licensed litter picker managed to find it. Maybe she caught it almost as soon as it blew away, I don’t know.
Anyway, the letter came today.

I’ll get the statutory fine for littering of £50n, but I’ll also have to pay the litter pickers fee of £100n, Tesco’s fee of £250n for recovering my card details from the receipt, the credit card companies fee of £250n for providing my address details to the litter prevention enforcement agency, and the latter’s admin fee of £300n. So that’s £950n I have to find. I have one month before I can expect the bailiffs.

I’m a licensed dog excrement collector. (Often called a pooper scooper). I get £100n for every piece of dog poop over 100grams I can find that results in a prosecution. By the time the dog owner has paid the fine plus my fee plus the animal DNA look up fee plus the environmental agencies costs it will cost him around £2000n.

The question is can I find 10 extra clients in the next month? There are not many dogs around nowadays. It will probably mean me hiding in fields and watching for dogs doing their business out of sight of the owner then collecting it when they’ve gone. It’s a risky business, if the dog or owner spot me and realise what I do things can get very nasty.

To tell the truth I don’t have any sympathy for my clients. Anyone who owns a dog these days is pretty damned rich. They could even work for the litter prevention enforcement agency! I bet they won’t have to find an extra month’s money in a month to pay their fine.

Still it’s better than the old days. Apparently everybody had to pay almost everything they earned as taxes! At least that’s what they did according to the newspapers and the news websites. My Dad says that’s rubbish and they only paid about 20% but I don’t really believe him. He’s getting on a bit, 87 next birthday and only three years to retirement. But he won’t really be able to afford retirement. He’s a web policeman, spends all day searching the web for anti-government posts or websites. It used to pay well (per find of course) but they are getting much harder to find. Fines for the perpetrators are very high and the bots pick up most of them anyway. I do wonder if he has started believing some of what he reads on these weirdo sites.

Just now I’m looking for a doctor for my son. It has to be a special doctor – one who has a dog! I could never afford to pay his fee of course but if I can get some of his dogs poop I could hopefully agree a deal with him. The problem is I don’t know if the payment he could get for turning me in might be worth more than fine from the environmental agency. I could try to find out on-line but that will arouse suspicions from the web police. Even my Dad!

The post The Pooper Scooper appeared first on Twenty Forty Five.