The Fragile World - Authors note

Author’s Note

Why I Wrote This Story

I am an ordinary person. Nothing particularly special.

I earned a degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech University, graduating not magna cum laude, but, as I like to say, “thank the Lawdy.” I married my high school sweetheart, began my career, and we were on our way.

I spent much of my working life in the chemical manufacturing industry, eventually holding senior leadership positions. Along the way, something interesting happened.

In my forties, I experienced a period of unusual creativity. Ideas would come to me, often while I was sleeping. Some helped me solve difficult operating problems in the plants I managed. Others led to innovative applications of technology. I never fully understood where these ideas came from, but I learned to pay attention when they appeared.

That creative period lasted about a decade. Then, for reasons I cannot explain, it gradually went dormant.

For several decades, I gave it little thought.

Then, in my seventies, something unexpected happened. The creativity began returning. At first, it was subtle. But over time, the ideas came more frequently and with greater intensity.

I found myself increasingly fascinated by artificial intelligence and its potential to transform industrial operations. That curiosity helped lead me to establish a consulting business focused on improving the performance of manufacturing facilities and exploring new applications of technology.

And somewhere along the way, an idea began forming that had little to do with manufacturing.

I started thinking about the extraordinary technological world we have created.

During my lifetime, I have witnessed advances that would have seemed almost unimaginable when I was a young man. We have developed technologies capable of transforming medicine, manufacturing, transportation, communications, and nearly every aspect of human life.

And now artificial intelligence promises to accelerate that progress even further.

But another thought kept returning.

As our technology becomes more sophisticated and our dependence on it grows, are we also creating vulnerabilities we do not fully appreciate?

Have we become so focused on what technology can accomplish that we sometimes overlook what might happen if the systems supporting our civilization were suddenly disrupted?

And perhaps most importantly, what kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren?

Those questions eventually became The Fragile World.

I did not write this story as a scientist predicting the future, a political commentator advocating an ideology, or an expert claiming to have all the answers.

I wrote it as a grandfather who has lived long enough to appreciate both the extraordinary achievements of humanity and the consequences of our mistakes.

I believe technology offers tremendous promise. I also believe we have a responsibility to ensure that the civilization we are building is resilient enough to survive its own advancements.

And I believe the benefits of human progress should increasingly reach those who have not yet had a fair opportunity to share in them.

There is one final irony worth mentioning.

I wrote this story with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

Think about that for a moment.

I used AI to help write a story about the vulnerabilities humanity may be creating through its growing dependence on advanced technology, including AI itself.

I find that both amusing and rather remarkable.

But perhaps it also illustrates the point I am trying to make.

Technology is not the enemy. It is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. The challenge is learning to use it wisely, understanding its limitations, and ensuring that it serves humanity rather than leaving us dangerously dependent upon it.

I do not expect to see all the changes imagined in this story during my lifetime.

But I hope my grandchildren will inherit a world that is more peaceful, more secure, and more hopeful than the one I sometimes worry we are leaving them.

And if this story causes even a few readers to think about that future, and what we might do today to make it better, then I will consider the effort worthwhile.