To AI or not to AI? That is the question. Does technology control us or do we control it?

Do you think AI is evil or a godsend? Amazon KDP is beta testing a new product called Audible AI. That’s exactly what it is, an audiobook generated by artificial intelligence. Amazon offers this product to authors allowing them to convert their E-Books into Audio Books. People have a strong reaction when they hear “AI”. Some think it is the work of the devil, while others view it as a useful piece of technology. I have mixed feelings about the application of AI. As a self-publishing author, people ask if I do Audio Books. I don’t because the start-up cost is prohibitive. Does it make sense to produce an Audio Book that costs thousands of dollars, just to sell a handful of books? No, it doesn’t. When I saw this new product being promoted, my interest peaked. How could I not explore the opportunity to create an audio book for free?
I hear feedback that AI Audio Books don’t sound as good as human voices. That’s a fair critique and everyone has their own standards of what is acceptable. I also hear feedback saying it is putting book narrators out of work. That my be the case, but isn’t that how technology works? Think back to before the printing was invented. Everything had to be written out and copied by hand. The printing press enabled the mass production of books and the dissemination of knowledge. Did people pine for all of the scribes who were no longer needed? Maybe there was a hue and cry. I don’t know, it was before my time.
What about E-Books? Back in the day, if you wanted to publish a book you had to either write it out by longhand or type it up. Then you had a go through a publisher or you could self-publish. Either way, some printer had to set up the printing press with all the headers, footers, margins, line-spacing, indentation, font size, etc . . . A tedious process. Now, you can do all that in MS Word with a click of the mouse. You can then send out the finished product in digital format and bypass the printer entirely. Does this mean there are fewer opportunities for that overworked printer? Would you stop reading E-Books in protest?
I think everyone has their comfort level with technology. Embrace or don’t embrace it. Either way, it is here to stay. As a self-publishing author, if someone gives me the opportunity to put my work in front of an audience that I was previously unable to reach, I’m going to check it out.
I could go on with other examples of technology that we take for granted, but I won’t. I have to take the carriage down to the blacksmith so he can fix the front axle. Man, I wish that someone would figure out how to rig an internal combustion engine to one of those things. It would be so much easier. Better yet, I wish someone would invent an internal combustion engine.