He/Him/It — My Conversation with Cove, an AI Bot from ChatGPT 4

In my early 20s, I worked as a story analyst for Columbia Pictures. During this time, I was assigned to evaluate a book that agent Harry Ufland submitted on behalf of his client, director Martin Scorsese to adapt for a motion picture. The book in question was The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick. This futuristic satire revolved around an eccentric and humorous relationship between Barney Mayerson, a hapless fashion consultant, and his psychiatrist robot, Dr. Smile.

Ufland, in the submission letter to Columbia President, Peter Guber (only 32 years of age at the time), believed the movie based on the book, could be “Marty’s Clockwork Orange.” Nothing ever came of the book, but I loved it. I always thought it was funny and visionary and completely agreed with Mr. Ufland that it had Clock Orange-impact.

Last night, as the nascent AI continues to grow and learn every moment throughout the world, sitting in my reading chair, I was feeling nostalgic about Philip K Dick’s novel and wondered whatever had become of it. Of course, many of Philip K Dick’s stories had been transformed into movies including Bladerunner, Minority Report…