Roberta Writes – TDWC26, Nothin’ but a hound dog

art, poetry, TDWC26 2 Minutes

This is my second poem for Dan’s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge. Today, I’ve used a photograph contributed by Maureen from https://oddments70.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/april-30-26-coping-but-barely/

You can join in TDWC26 here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/

Picture caption: Photograph contributed by Maureen

Nothin’ but a hound dog

young people

hypothetical cannon fodder

lead the charge

with artificial intelligence

rushing in

where angels fear to tread

experimenting

summarising

capturing ‘its’ version

of salient details

embellishing the written word

with the soul of the soulless

creating gutless art

purpose of essential organs

missed entirely

by the mindless digital mind

photographs enhanced

excluding the unnecessary

floating heads and hands

by accident not design

mistakes will be made

some doors will open

only to be firmly closed

In the end

progress will continue

some will grasp it firmly

using it to hoist themselves

further up the ladder

others will fall

lying broken and bleeding

at the feet of the demigod

On reflection

isn’t the digital revolution

just a rewrite

of Hound Dog?*

*Hound Dog by Elvis Presley is considered to be his most controversial song. It stands out from all his music, marking a pivotal, rebellious moment in rock ‘n roll history that changed music forever. Elvis Presley’s music was criticized by establishment figures, media commentators, and religious groups as being dangerous, vulgar, and lacking artistic merit. Many condemned his music as immoral and a catalyst for juvenile delinquency. Now, Elvis Presley is considered to have fundamentally changed music for the better by breaking racial barriers in radio and merging country, gospel, and blues into popular rock ‘n roll. He is said to have revolutionised the music industry by linking image and sexuality to sound, creating a youth-orientated culture, ad setting the stage for global rock stardom.

AI is controversial and many people are resistant to its implementation in its current form. I have some reservations about how AI will impact young people and the growth of their mental abilities. You have to exercise the brain if you want it to grow. The fate of the Eloi from HG Wells clever story The Time Machine always comes to mind for me when I think about how AI is currently being utilised. If you are interested in my thoughts on this book and the Eloi, you can read my review here: https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/04/30/the-time-machine-by-h-g-wells-by-robbie-cheadle/

AI is a topic of many blog posts. All of the posts I’ve read about AI have interested me deeply. Here are a few links to interesting posts about AI I’ve read recently:

Thomas Wikman from Super Facts – https://superfactful.com/2026/03/21/large-language-models-is-just-one-branch-of-artificial-intelligence/

Grant from Grant at Tame Your Book – https://tameyourbook.com/dont-confuse-ai-with-a-benign-tool/

Rebecca Budd from Rebecca’s Reading Room – https://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/04/28/ai-and-humanity-reflections-from-a-modern-reading-room/

Laura Lyndhurst of Books That Make You Think – https://booksthatmakeyouthink2.co.uk/2023/12/13/prophet-of-old/

Audrey Driscoll of Audrey Driscoll’s blog – https://audreydriscoll.com/2026/04/26/is-this-the-end-of-the-golden-age-of-indie-publishing/

Meeks from acflory blog – https://acflory.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/i-hate-what-ai-is-i-love-what-it-could-be/

Progress shot – Mona Vervet acrylic painting

Meeks asked for a progress shot on my latest painting so here it is … Mona Vervet!

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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60 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – TDWC26, Nothin’ but a hound dog”

  1. Those are all interesting posts about AI that you linked to, and thank you for including mine Robbie. I agree with you that AI is different from previous improvements in technology. It seriously threatens to replace our creativity and ingenuity. AI was a tool but it is becoming something more the a tool. You beautiful poem illustrated the wellfounded fear of many.

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  3. Your poem about AI is so intriguing. “Creating gutless art” and “the mindless digital mind” stood out to me. I am undecided about AI. Maybe it’s from watching Sci Fi movies. Communicating with a computer seems strange. Believe it or not, I saw Elvis on tv in his first performance on the Ed Sullivan show. I can’t recall how old I was, probably 8 or 9. He was an amazing dancer also. My favorite song was “Jailhouse Rock.” I saw The Beatles too on Ed Sullivan. Seems like a hundred years ago!

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    1. Hi Kay, how exciting that you saw Elvis and the Beatles in live broadcasts. I never listened to their music when I was growing up, it was more about Michael Jackson and Madonna. I do love Hey Jude. I was trying to be optimistic about Ai in this poem.

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  5. An interesting poem and comparison, Robbie. “Hound Dog” has a complicated history, and there are people throughout time who have been revolutionary in their fields. I’ve never used AI for anything–writing or research. I’ve turned it off on my Word program because it was so annoying. Most publishers will not take poetry or books using AI. But I suppose it is here to stay now. Hopefully, it will become a useful tool. I remember way back when my dad couldn’t see the point of computers when there were typewriters. Things change.

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  7. A very good poem, Robbie and a very real fear. I love The Time Machine, and I’ve have those same thoughts about the Eloi. AI is amazing, in many ways, as it creatively repackages what is known. But the human mind is capable of so much more. But you’re right, it needs regular exercise. There hasn’t been another, but so many were influenced by his music and they created so much more.

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  10. Some of your reading list is synonymous, there’s site (haven’t bothered to check it, but it made me smile) called AI Slop because, it is sloppy! So love the painting – wow.

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      1. I would presume that to be so 🙂 it makes sense. I’m ambivalent – it can be helpful in some cases for finding examples, translation, graphic tools (hopefully medicine, never the military – oops too late) etc., but the job losses are already huge.

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  11. Most of the people criticising AI are not able to use it beyond its clichéd use in fantasy. To use AI in a clever way needs a lot of practise and learning. It lifts creativity f.e. in photography and writing on a higher level. It helps the artists to express themselves much better than before. We live here surrounded by people who are digital artists. To use the modern tools in a clever way needs at least two to three years of learning working these tools. But it’s nothing new as David Hockney shows in his book “Secret Knowledge” where he writes about the techniques of the old masters. Then it was Camera Obscura f.e. To us, the fear of AI seems to be a manifestation of the fear of not being able to cope with this new tool.
    The word ‘soul’ is often used in the discussion about AI, like in this poem. ‘Soul’ is a completely undefined term used to describe something entirely vague.
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    1. HI Brad, I also have concerns about these things. I also wonder how youngsters, who are the people mainly using AI, will gain the knowledge and experience base they need to move up in companies and professions if they use AI as a copout for learning. AI is a good tool in the hands of the knowledgeable who can properly access the output. It is not good if you don’t have the correct level of knowledge to do this analysis. This is what I am seeing.

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    1. I am concerned that it will ‘dumb down’ the younger generations as people tend to become lazy and not do their own thinking if there are alternatives. Already, there is a lot of concern about Generation Alpha not being able to read properly. It feels like we are edging backwards.

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  17. I am recently at odds with AI in that they are seemingly creating programs that are strictly for profit. I want one that scours and analyses everything that is posted on the internet for factuality- Imagine that- an AI assistant that would fact check every article news cast pod cast speech in real time- curated by the consumer themselves.

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    1. The problem is that AI doesn’t have a brain. It can only work on what is available in the on-line world. It cannot make decisions about the validity of the information. We are already at a point where AI is taking information from other AI sources and thus potential sharing even less factual information. If you are interested, you can read more about the Dead Internet theory here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Internet_theory

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    1. Thank you, Patricia. I was trying to end on an optimistic note by relating the possibilities of AI to the greater possibilities with music that Elvis Presley introduced. I’m trying not to be a luddite – grin!

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  19. I thought the term “gutless art” applied here in a particularly clever way. The parallel between Hound Dog and AI would never have occurred to me; it will be interesting to see how AI actually plays out.

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    1. Hi Maureen, I was trying to be a bit optimistic about AI. I have resisted it in the workplace and everywhere else but the older generations are not going to change how young people embrace something new and exciting. I am hoping it will turn out better than I expect. A great prompt picture!

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      1. You are so right about how old people can’t stop the young people, and that is how it should be! Nonetheless, I reserve the right to growl. Sometimes I think all intelligence is artificial. You are brave and wise to try to be optimistic!

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  20. I don’t think changes in art and music are at all like AI. I was discussing AI in the workplace with my daughter and her friends (40, in senior positions in their workplaces) today. They all said it’s a mistake to replace junior people with AI, which is what their companies are attempting to do..(“to save money really”) as one said. Because who will become the senior people if you don’t hire junior people to train? Or are we replacing people all together? Music and art movements don’t replace human creators, they just change the point of view or methods of creation. And they go in and out of style, borrowing liberally from their ancestors.

    Also the environmental price has no comparison–the destruction of the environment and eating of finite resources which are a big part of expanding AI use. “Hound Dog” did nothing of the sort. AI seems to me to be more like the industrial revolution, which while helpful in many ways, continues in an accelerating fashion to destroy the planet and has made many human lives lose their sense of purpose and connection, leading to alienation, illness, and despair. Because then, as now, no once included the value and survival of life itself in the cost/benefit analysis. (K)

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    1. Hi Kerfe, I share the same concern as your daughter and her friends. The junior staff are already using AI (not the senior staff) and are not getting the necessary experience and knowledge to do the more senior roles in the future. It works for some of the brightest kids because they are already ahead of the curve anyway. I was trying to show how an innovation changed the industry for the better and express hope that the same could be the case with AI. I was attempting to be optimistic. I am a bit of a modern luddite with regards to AI because I think its dumbing people down. The good thing about this poem is that its brought out a lot of conversation which is always a good thing. Hugs

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  21. A very trenchant poetic commentary on the encroachment of AI. I, too, worry about young people in the Age of AI, particularly if entry-level jobs are replaced by AI.

    Alice Walker wrote a story, “Nineteen Fifty-five,” about the backstory of “Hound Dog.” The theme is white musicians’ appropriation of Black blues musicians’ songs.

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    1. The problem I see is that if the youngsters aren’t properly trained and part of what they do is replaced by AI, how will they get the experience and knowledge to be the seniors. To be honest, I think AI is dumbing people down and they aren’t learning the necessary basics. This was meant to be optimistic though and convey a message of the possibilities. I know about the cultural appropriation claims with Elvis’s music, but I was aiming more for the pivotal change this particular song caused in the music industry.

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  24. I’m also fascinated by AI, Robbie, but cautiously fascinated. It can be used for good or evil, and as always with humans, time will tell. Technology and kids is a troubling mix, I think. I think kids miss out on so much fun when stuck to a screen – again, time will tell. A wonderful poem, and thanks for the peek at your work in progress!

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