A TRAINRIDE IS A LIFETIME

Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike

From the book "Ascenti: Humans Opening to AI"
"As a Black man, I cannot help but think about the links between technology and race, especially in the area of surveillance and how it might be deployed to dehumanize Black lives further. Perhaps my concern is how hegemonic groups or cultures, which are better equipped technologically, might mobilize technology in the service of censorship, repression, surveillance, oppression, and carceral purposes—for instance, against groups or cultures that are deemed the Other."

Excerpt, A Trainride is a Lifetime

THE ORIGINAL STORY: The Dog 

On Floyd Way, I see a nice-looking elderly woman walking her dog. She eyes me as if I were a threat, a bag snatcher. The dog starts snarling as I draw nearer on the sidewalk. For fun, I want to bare my teeth, but I don’t because this is the third dog that has behaved aggressively towards me this week. Hush it, the woman scolds. Hush it, Scout. The dog bulges his eyes, frothing at the mouth. The woman looks up. Her eyes flick around. Hush! The dog leaps forward, almost dragging the woman sideways—for an instant, I picture her tripping over and banging her head against the curb—but she pulls back the leash. Instead of grunting in pain, the dog growls and claws at the air, and she tightens her grip on the leash, yanking him back from attacking me. Yet the dog keeps leaping back and forth, growling, while she, completely flustered, keeps crying miserably. Stop it, Scout! I almost dash to the other side of the street. I don’t want anyone to feel threatened by me, especially a white woman. To think I am the cause of such agitation. Stepping aside to let them pass, I smile as courteously as I can. She doesn’t smile back, though she goes on hushing Scout. The dog finally quietens, but he glances back a couple of times, eyeing me coldly, as I continue walking. I pull my collar tighter and remember a friend who joked about how some white South African farmers had trained their dogs to bark only at Black men. My friend jokes too much. He claims that even animals can be racists. 

THE AI EQUIVALENT: The Canine Encounter 

As I stroll down Floyd Way, my attention is caught by an elegant elderly woman leisurely walking her dog. However, the canine, eyeing me as if I were a potential threat or a bag snatcher, starts snarling as I approach on the sidewalk. Tempted to bare my teeth in jest, I resist the urge, mindful that this is the third dog this week that has displayed aggression towards me. “Hush it, Scout,” the woman scolds, her voice attempting to calm the agitated canine. The dog, however, bulges his eyes, frothing at the mouth in a display of heightened intensity. The woman, sensing the tension, looks around anxiously. “Hush!” she repeats, attempting to regain control. In a sudden burst, the dog lunges forward, almost pulling the woman off balance.

OBSERVATION

As a poet and fiction writer, I doubt I will be using AI extensively to augment my writing because I am not sure that AI has been programmed to reflect and appreciate my own lived experiences as a racial minority.

About Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike
Uchechukwu Umezurike is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. He is the 2021 winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism. An award-winning creative writer, Uchechukwu is the author of literary works such as There’s More (2023), Double Wahala (2021), Wish Maker (2021), and a co-editor of Wreaths for a Wayfarer (2020).

Back to Creatives 

BUY THE BOOK