u/swords_of_queen

I want to share this with r/Copyediting because it's an excellent guide for how to detect AI-generated writing, and also covers the ethical and quality issues involved with it. Not just "it's bad," but why it's problematic. I know we've all been grappling with how to work with this prose. Solomon Nelson also did an excellent critique of Mike Israetel's doctoral thesis that I have watched numerous times, as it's so well-argued and thorough.

Part One
Early in the night, had a dream that I was looking at a little yard. There were all these praying mantises, showing me and some other people things. They were insect sized but appeared human sized, and were standing upright.

One was holding an ant in his hands (or I guess appendages). He was squeezing the ant (but not squishing it). As he did so it would pulse with energy. He spoke to me (telepathically). “This is power.” It was sinister.

The people I was with each got a different message. One person was taught something about being a scribe (can’t remember what it was). So each lesson was tailored to the individual.

I woke up after this and was awake for a couple of hours, scrolling Reddit, then fell asleep to an interrogation video, as is my wont of late.

Part Two
I’m in a college-like environment, and a student. Indeterminate age, but definitely younger than I actually am. (For context I’m 49F). I have a roommate, a woman, we’re getting to know each other, and someone from my high school days happens to have moved in across the hall. The 3 of us go downstairs a few floors to the cafeteria and join a group of students. Everyone is chatting and making friends. I’m not really listening, but I want to be part of the group. I used to have really bad social anxiety, and I’d concentrate so much on what I was going to say that I’d miss all kinds of social cues—this was in effect.

There’s a pause, and (awkwardly) I say, “I had this dream….” planning to tell the mantis dream. Everyone completely ignores me and talks over me. Fuck it, I decide, I’m going up to my room.

I leave, pulling off my glasses for some reason (I’m very nearsighted). I enter the elevator and see two buttons: one with an arrow pointing up, one with an arrow pointing down. Naturally, I press up.

Immediately, the elevator starts going down. Ok, well, maybe someone already called it from a lower floor. But almost immediately, the elevator starts going so fast that I’m floating, hovering at the ceiling. This is, obviously, terrifying.

I remember reading about a secret underground city, complete with streets, offices, stores, etc. I realize this must be under my college. I’m frantically trying to find a way to stop the elevator; I finally find, on the ceiling, a small black button and press it. I’m screaming for help.

Someone does seem to respond, in a slightly bored way, like “oh, it’s one of those situations, someone got on the elevator who wasn’t supposed to”. But I can’t exactly talk to them, there’s some kind of interference.

The elevator slows down a bit and I can see through the walls. There’s an office, with people repairing computers. That’s the source of the voice, where the line connects, I can see the guy talking. But they don’t do anything, and the elevator doesn’t stop.

I continue for a while longer, and finally arrive at the bottom floor. The elevator opens directly into a day care center, just one room. There are about 3-4 kids and 5-6 adults. The adults are all Black (I’m white). I think, figures they’d stick them at the very bottom, child care is way underpaid/undervalued, and racism.

I’m panicking but trying not to scare the kids—after all, this is normal for them, they take the elevator every day. The day care workers are nice and I know they will help me. But I can’t just get back on the elevator, it doesn’t even occur to me.

We leave the room (without the kids, they just kind of fade into insignificance in the dream). We’re on a city street, still (miles???) underground. After just a minute or so, I look up (I was trying to find my glasses in my bag) and don’t see any of the day care workers. Where are they?? It doesn’t cross my mind to speak to the other pedestrians —that seems dangerous.

A day care woman sees me and I rejoin the group. We’re walking back to the day care room. I’m walking next to a middle school-aged man. (All this time I’m looking for my glasses). He quietly asks me if I have a phone; I say yes, but I’ll have to find it. He tells me to open my maps app. As I respond, he warns me (subtly) that we have to be very careful, keep this all on the down low.

I adjust my behavior. “So, what are you doing this weekend?” (I’m pretending to be a day care worker.)

We arrive at the room; there’s a very long piano set up in the hall by the door. All the workers line up on the long bench, preparing to play. I don’t hear any music, though.

For some reason, I’m moving way, way faster than them. It’s like I’m on a moving walkway, but I’m the only one on it. I turn around and try to walk back, but it’s going so fast that the workers are already in the distance—they appear a couple of inches tall. Then a centimeter. Then they’ve pretty much disappeared.

This was terrifying in the same way as the elevator, but more so.

That was it. I woke up very, very relieved that it was a dream.