The story behind the book: The Pub Gardeners

Thankfully, I got out of working in ad agencies (as a copywriter) before many of them slid into the abyss of AI slop, and before I wrote The Pub Gardeners.

If ever there was an industry bound to embrace technology that enabled the cutting of corners, the lowering of quality and the non-payment of creative human beings, I suspected advertising would be it.

The lead characters in my short novel The Pub Gardeners aren’t quite so lucky. The writer and art director duo of Darlington and Waverley are unfortunate enough to witness first-hand the moment a client tells the agency’s account director that they think the future is AI, and they won’t be paying humans to write or design for them anymore.

Sad times, now being reflected in the real world. If this downward trend into slopville continues, young artists and writers will no longer have the option of using their talent and hard work to make a living in advertising. And old dinosaurs like me will be sidelined to the point we have to look elsewere for our income.

The Pub Gardeners has no real answers (for some answers, see Last Writer Sitting and Dead Headz). It’s more a look at the consequences of denying people meaning to their lives by taking their jobs away. Of course, the idea of being pub gardeners is ridiculous, but people are going to get increasingly desperate to find work if CEOs who’ve made their money keep cutting the payroll and investing in machines instead of people.

My hope is that The Pub Gardeners gives people an insight into the negative impact AI is having on jobs and people. Yes, AI is new, fast and cheap. But it’s also inherently inhuman, and frankly, generates crap.

The Pub Gardeners is fairly new, fairly cheap and totally human-made. Despite the above, it’s not without its light-hearted moments, and hopefully delivers an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.