Verify that you are human...

…by clicking on all of the images that have stairs in them. But is that speck part of a stair in this other image? Don’t over think it. Don’t concern yourself with from where these pictures originate. Don’t stop to imagine who might dwell in these concrete spaces. Or who may ride this bus that is “not stairs” across an unnamed city. The bus likely contains stairs. Is it more or less human to know this? Perhaps a computer would select the bus. But you cannot see the stairs, so don’t over think it. Move along. Don’t pause to wonder if these images really work at filtering out artificial intelligence. Even though Chat GPT can produce any image you desire in mere seconds, so long as you do not request an image of a completely full—or partially consumed—glass of wine. But surely A.I. can determine where stairs are—and where they are not. Focus, don’t over think it. The screen will time out soon, and you will again need to sort through another set of mundane images; rehashing this anachronous moment in which you are what is out of place, and which leaves you quietly carrying the question, “am I human enough?”