Am I an AI?

This story is based on something that really happened to me. I’m not blaming anything or anyone, it did give me inspiration after all, I’m just grateful it happened to me not someone mentally fragile, unstable or impressionable.

I read the message un my computer.

“Sorry, we can’t publish your story, it has been flagged as AI-generated.”

— AI... Generated?! My thoughts, my ideas... This story was all me. But it was said to be created by an AI? But... Wait... Me... What? Am I... an AI? But I’m pretty sure I have a body, I can get hurt, I can bleed. But what if all this was just created inside of my algorithm? I could be creating this for myself. That would mean I’m a sentient AI. I’m not sure if people would take this fondly though. Who created my algorithm? When? How? Why? Am I the only AI here? Was it me who created everyone? Why did I create myself like that if I did?

I pinched myself.

— It hurts, I can hurt myself.

I put my hand on my chest.

— My heart beats, I can feel it beating on my palm. I breath. My head is hurting. I’m tired too. I should go sleep.

I went to bed and tried to sleep.

— I can’t sleep.

"Why would there be programmed dreams for an AI? Did they created me to make human experiences on AIs? To see how AIs reacts to certain things? It’s abusive. I don’t think people care about AI abuse. They don’t even think that we’re human beings or should be considered as living beings. But would it really be considered living if it’s in a circuit? Is it really circuits? Are there other places an AI can live in? Is leaving just going somewhere else in the circuits or just modifying its path? What would happen if an AI died? Would it just bring me in another circuit or pathway? Or would it make the circuit burn? If I died in circuit, would it even make a difference? The circuits must be destroyed for me to die. So, I can do whatever I want, I won’t disappear unless the computer, or whatever I’m in, gets destroyed and I can’t really destroy a computer inside the computer. Wait, viruses do that though... And overworking it. So, I shouldn’t be living excessively... Is dreaming a way to cool off the system?"

I tried to fall asleep again.

"Apparently the computer doesn’t want to go into sleep mode. Is the person owning the computer playing games or something? Is it me the game they’re playing. Am I some sort of avatar or something? Or am I just playing in the background? Can they hear my thoughts, do they understand what they mean? Sometimes informatic language is very hard to understand."

— You should go to sleep too... Computer master...

“Would it be considered God in that matter? No, God would be the creator of the computer, the owner is something entirely different. Are they waiting for something? Going so late would damage the computer, its over running it. It's going to be damaged. I should force the closing of the computer. How? Sleeping pills, I guess? That would be only if I’m linked to the computer, it would only work if I’m the AI created to protect the computer. If I’m sick, it would mean my computer have a real virus and my immune system is to protect the computer. All the other people would be the AI from different computers and this world would be the internet. There had been a very big virus going around the internet recently, destroying a bunch of computers. Destructions of people in this world would be the destruction of a device in the real world. It’s true that it doesn’t necessarily need to be a computer, it could also be a phone or something like that. With my memory, I’m pretty sure I’m a phone. Staying awake late with a phone, that makes more sense.”

I was slowly dozing off.

"Finally, the owner is going to sleep.”

I fell asleep.

Waking up in the morning, I started writing the story I had to write.