Before the event, no need to think.
Our devices with clouds were always in sync.
At our fingertips the world. Why memorize fact
When devices could sense, decide and act?
What informed our judgment? GPT-4,
Google Search, Scholar, Wikipedia, and more.
No need to reasonęˇ just click on the screen;
Our critical thinking was done by machine.
Decisions were constantly demanded in haste,
So we’d quickly plagiarize, copy and paste.
People wanted instant, specific sound bytes,
Not expository, ambiguous proselytes.
Our value was in finding quick short answers
With our devices. We were mental tap dancers,
Failing to cite or credit our source,
But taking credit for others’ ideas, of course.
Brief responses would conveniently conceal
The shortcomings we wished not to reveal,
e.g., with language (our lack of facility).
And in live discourse, our dread of vulnerability
And limited recall. But we did not fret:
Our devices remembered; we were free to forget.
And personal interaction we’d prefer to shun
Like the plague. We avoided one-on-one.
Our go-to resource was our iPhone or Android.
Social embarrassment it helped us avoid.
Cyberspace became our preferred domain.
Collective consciousness was the Internet brain.
When the EMP pulsed, electricity statewide
Shut down for good – our grid was fried.
The weapon shut down all available power.
Chaos and anarchy grew by the hour.
Our World Wide Web of networked synapses
Was devastated with major memory lapses.
Years after the outage (and the blaming, so shrill),
We’ve finally re-learned our collaborative skill.
No longer stifled by trauma and travail,
Wisdom is again shared by voice and snail mail.
Books are again honored, and we’re planting more trees.
We’ve hastened rebirth of our treasured libraries.
And resumed our research in journal stacks.
No risk of DoS, phishing or hacks.
Internet’s long gone, but we’re happy and resilient.
We’re calmer, more civil, and our children are brilliant.
We’ve endured the disaster with courage and resolve.
We’re resolved to robustly adapt and evolve.
Will 2026
Google Search, Scholar, Wikipedia, and more.
No need to reasonęˇ just click on the screen;
Our critical thinking was done by machine.
Decisions were constantly demanded in haste,
So we’d quickly plagiarize, copy and paste.
People wanted instant, specific sound bytes,
Not expository, ambiguous proselytes.
Our value was in finding quick short answers
With our devices. We were mental tap dancers,
Failing to cite or credit our source,
But taking credit for others’ ideas, of course.
Brief responses would conveniently conceal
The shortcomings we wished not to reveal,
e.g., with language (our lack of facility).
And in live discourse, our dread of vulnerability
And limited recall. But we did not fret:
Our devices remembered; we were free to forget.
And personal interaction we’d prefer to shun
Like the plague. We avoided one-on-one.
Our go-to resource was our iPhone or Android.
Social embarrassment it helped us avoid.
Cyberspace became our preferred domain.
Collective consciousness was the Internet brain.
When the EMP pulsed, electricity statewide
Shut down for good – our grid was fried.
The weapon shut down all available power.
Chaos and anarchy grew by the hour.
Our World Wide Web of networked synapses
Was devastated with major memory lapses.
Years after the outage (and the blaming, so shrill),
We’ve finally re-learned our collaborative skill.
No longer stifled by trauma and travail,
Wisdom is again shared by voice and snail mail.
Books are again honored, and we’re planting more trees.
We’ve hastened rebirth of our treasured libraries.
And resumed our research in journal stacks.
No risk of DoS, phishing or hacks.
Internet’s long gone, but we’re happy and resilient.
We’re calmer, more civil, and our children are brilliant.
We’ve endured the disaster with courage and resolve.
We’re resolved to robustly adapt and evolve.
Will 2026