NFTuna - The AI Narrator Experiment

A full short-story read by 3 different narrators. An AI, an AI cast, and a Human.

I have done something weird! I used AI to make a copy of my own voice. I also trained two characters based on the inflections I use for a female and a young male character.

I offer you three takes on the short story below. One read by an AI simulacrum of me, one read by 3 AI simulacra voices, and one where it’s just my usual old self narrating the story (along with my barking dog.) Never mind the barking dog.

You may want to read the work first so that you have a frame of reference when you listen to the AI. It’s short, I promise.

Before the multitude of scams and fraud put a premature end to the term “NFT,” I envisioned a future using them to enhance ordinary life and small businesses.

This is a view into a post-NFT-acceptance world that still may come, but likely wearing a different title.

That’s fine, though. I always thought NFT was a dumb name. What the heck does fungible even mean? The title pun doesn’t work without it, so I present the most hopeful story about non-predatory NFTs you may ever read…

Soundcloud links follow after the story.

NFTuna

It wasn’t Paz’s first time on a fishing boat, but it was his first time seriously trying to catch anything other than a buzz. Instead of a stocked cooler and thumping music this trip, the pleasurecraft had been outfitted for pole and line fishing.

Paz looked up Val’s permit on his browser’s blockchain wallet viewer, inspecting it. Reading aloud, “Valeria Armas, vessel name Pirate’s Booty.”

“You know I hate being called that,” Val smiled.

“Which? Oh, never mind. This is crazy. I can see all your boat information, maintenance records, and fishing license from my phone?”

“Well, it’s not exactly exciting reading, but yeah, everything we need to catch a tuna today before the quota is all used up.”

“Aren’t you worried about having all this information publicly available?” Paz waggled his phone.

“It was all available on the web anyway. It’s official information. Now it’s just linked to the voyage. They need to know we’re legit if we want to get top dollar from a restaurant. Plus, I could lose my boat if we didn’t have the proper paperwork. Unless you can eat hundreds of pounds of tuna without leaving a trace before we get to shore, eh?”

“My record is two cans,” Paz smiled and pointed to his face, “so shall we follow our nose? Treasure awaits.”

“I think we shall raise the mizzenmast! Ahoy Paz!”

“Ahoy!” he laughed as they raised their tiny anchor and set out in the early morning sun. According to the blockchain, none of the day’s tuna had been caught yet.

Several hours later, after an exhausting fight with a beautiful fish, they eventually tired it out and pulled it onboard. It was 60 inches, meaning if the quota hadn’t been reached yet, they had quite a fish but couldn’t catch another.

Paz pulled up his phone. The satellite internet on the boat was working well. Other fishermen might rely on the radio to tell them when they had to stop catching for the day, but Val had told him they needed to be sure.

“It says we’re still in time. We don’t need to throw it back!” Paz called.

Val put down the water she’d been chugging, reaching for her phone.

“What are you doing?” Paz asked.

Val snapped a picture, then another with her tape measure on the fish. She pressed a few more buttons on her phone, and a “GPS confirmed” message flashed across her screen. “I’m tagging our catch! Now it’s part of the immutable record. I confirmed our location with the official GPS.”

“What do you think this fish is worth?”

“I’m tempted to eat it myself after the fight it gave me, but that’s up to the auctioneer.”

Val’s phone buzzed, and the NFT of the Tuna had been confirmed and issued. Everything was now legal. “We still need to weigh it and take more pictures, but we can attach those on the way back.”

A few minutes later, a message popped into her wallet as she prepared to turn the sails. “DAILY QUOTA REACHED. CUT ALL LINES. NO MORE BLUEFIN TODAY.”

“We got the last one?” Paz asked.

“Looks like it. There will be a few disappointments cutting their catch loose now.”

“But we’re good?”

“We sure are.” The radio squawked to life from the cockpit, echoing the message they’d received. They could risk losing their vessel to fines if they missed that notice and pulled in a fish.

“It’s nice to know that this fish is really ours….”

Val’s phone rang, and she answered, “mm-hmm. Yes, that much? I did weigh it, yes. Oh, I agree, the freshest possible. Yes, of course, it’s on ice. I’ll send you the NFT.” She hung up and pressed a few more buttons.

“What was that about?” Paz asked.

“We sold the fish. I got a cash offer from Masamune’s.”

“Don’t they have a bunch of Michelin stars?”

“Enough to charge a couple hundred a plate. This is their fish now. We’re heading over to the dock to meet them.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that, the paperwork is already confirmed. They sent us a digital payment, and I sent them the NFT ownership rights for the fish.”

“NF-Tuna, you mean. So we don’t get to eat any?” Paz couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“With what they just paid for it, we sure do. Dinner?”

“Anytime, Pirate Captain Valeria.”

Val just laughed, grabbing him in a half hug. They had to deliver the booty to the best sushi restaurant in town and eat a tiny, expensive part.

OK! Onto the comparison!

AI -

AI w/ Voices -

Just lil’ old me and my human intelligence, plus our dog Rocky -

Which narrator is your favorite?

Does Human win vs. AI?

Hope you’ll comment back, I’d love to hear your answer!