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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Useful AI Goods

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. DINING ROOM - 21:45 (Yesterday)


  4. PETER and FAMILY are having dinner.


  5. PETER (to wife): Our other apartment has been without internet service for the past few days.


  6. Pausing.


  7. PETER(Cont'd): I've rebooted the WiFi router many times, but there's no change. I'm pretty sure the WiFi router has malfunctioned.


  8. Pausing.


  9. WIFE: The LAN here and the LAN of the other apartment were configured by our relatives who are knowledgeable in IT.


  10. Pausing.


  11. WIFE (Cont'd): It isn't plug-and-play. I don't know how to set up a WiFi router.


  12. Act 2


  13. FLASHBACK


  14. INT. STUDY - NIGHT (1993)


  15. Sitting together before a desktop computer, Peter (39) is staring at his WIFE-to-be designing a layout plan, inserting floppy disks in drives and printing documents.


  16. PETER: Wow, you're so skillful in using the software and hardware.


  17. PETER (V.O.): I focus on creating contents and let my secretary deal with the rest.


  18. END FLASHBACK


  19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When our relatives configured the WiFi routers for us years ago, they took more than an hour to complete the complicated tasks.


  20. Pausing.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's not so long ago that I learned the difference between a modem and a router.


  22. Pausing.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Can I set up a new WiFi router?


  24. INT. BEDROOM - 06:45


  25. Waking up, Peter grabs his smartphone to surf the web.


  26. PETER (V.O.): Let me decide what WiFi router to buy first.


  27. Peter studies texts and video clips on screen.


  28. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've found a state-of-the-art product that's meant to be user-friendly.


  29. INT. STUDY - 16:45


  30. Peter unboxes a 2-pack routing system.


  31. PETER (V.O.): The technology is new. I don't know if my hardware has a legacy problem.


  32. Reading the setup instructions, Peter downloads an App and follows the steps one by one.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Quite a no-brainer...


  34. Then, Peter sees a message on screen: No internet service is connected.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I've already plugged in the Ethernet cable to the device.


  36. Peter checks if the plugging is secure.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It fits in very well.


  38. Peter taps "Try again" on screen. Again, he sees: No internet service is connected.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There must be a legacy problem...


  40. Peter checks the cables of the old router and the modems.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't know which is which...


  42. Pausing.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I believe the one I've disconnected and plugged into a port of the new device is the right one.


  44. Then, Peter discovers something.


  45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, I haven't switched on the modems!


  46. Having turned them on, Peter sees a different result appearing on his phone screen.


  47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Would the making of useful AI goods results in useless humans?


  48. Pausing.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is a user like me an idiot in the eyes of techies?


  50. Act 3


  51. INT. DINING ROOM - 21:45


  52. WIFE (to Peter): You set up the new LAN "in a few minutes"?


  53. Nodding, Peter looks proud.


  54. PETER (V.O.): Once turned on, the AI-assisted devices connect by themselves.


  55. Pausing.


  56. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While technology like internet is a tool that humans can't live without, human curiosity is an engine of change.


  57. Pausing.


  58. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On science and technology, I'll strive to deliver value in my way.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END


























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