AI Writing Techniques for Those in Their 70s: Part 7 - Dialogue with AI Brings Back Forgotten Memories

When I typed "Friedrich Hayek" into the screen, I had no intention of writing about my student days.

What I wanted to know was how Hayek, known as a representative economist of liberalism, is evaluated today. When I asked the AI, information about his Nobel Prize in Economics and how his ideas still influence political and economic discussions today appeared on the screen one after another.

While reading that explanation, I remembered the day I met Hayek himself.

When he came to Japan to commemorate his Nobel Prize, I went to the hotel to meet him. Being young, I was extremely nervous. Before me was a world-renowned scholar whose name I had seen in textbooks and books. The gap in our knowledge was so vast that I think I mostly just listened rather than having a conversation.

It wasn't that I had forgotten. It was just that for a long time, I rarely thought about that event in my daily life. It had been placed deep in my memory, like a box that is never opened.

However, as Hayek's background appeared on the screen and I talked with the AI about his ideas, the appearance of the hotel room and the feeling of sitting there restlessly came back to me little by little.

Sometimes, even when I try to remember the past, nothing comes to mind. Even if someone says, "Please write about your memories of your youth," I don't know where to start. However, when I touch upon a single name or a single book, the events surrounding it sometimes appear as if pulled by a thread.

While talking about Hayek, Dr. Gary Becker came to mind next.

Before Dr. Becker won the Nobel Prize, I traveled around Kyushu with him. He was known for being strict in his classes at the university, but in reality, he was a friendly person.

In Nagasaki, we went to a pachinko parlor together.

The combination of a world-class economist and pachinko still feels a bit strange to me even now. A teacher who was strict in the classroom sitting in front of an unfamiliar machine. This is a side of him that would never emerge if I only read his academic background and list of awards.

As I pictured the town of Nagasaki, the memory of an earthquake that occurred in the middle of the night also followed. Dr. Becker, surprised by the sudden shaking, rushed into my room. I remember how he looked anxious, unlike his calm demeanor during the day.

I told the AI that story.

Then the AI replied, "That is a valuable anecdote that only you, Mr. Saito, would know."

When I read those words, I felt a little strange.

For me, it is an event from the distant past. A long time had passed without me thinking of writing it down specifically or having the opportunity to tell anyone about it in detail. However, by talking to the AI, the events that had been stored within me appeared before my eyes as material for writing.

From the nervousness of meeting Hayek, the town of Nagasaki where I walked with Dr. Becker came to mind, and from beyond the sound of the pachinko parlor, it connected to the shaking in the middle of the night and the sight of him rushing into my room.

It is not that the AI knew my memories. It is not that the image of Dr. Becker that I saw was stored within the AI.

What the AI did was become a partner with whom I could keep talking.

When I return one word, the AI returns another. While reading that reply, I reach out to other events within myself, thinking, "Come to think of it, this happened too."

I used to think that to write, one had to decide on the content first. I believed that if I didn't know exactly what I was going to write, I couldn't start. I had a tendency to think that way.

However, when creating text with AI, I sometimes find my subject matter in the middle of our conversation.

At first, I only wanted to know about the current assessment of Hayek. From there, I remembered the time I met him in person, and the conversation further connected to a trip to Kyushu with Dr. Becker.

I was not looking for something to write about.

As we exchanged words, events that had been tucked away for a long time revealed themselves on their own.

Having lived for over 70 years, many events remain within me. I cannot always recall everything. Even so, that does not mean they have disappeared. When I encounter names, places, or sounds, unexpected memories sometimes rise to the surface.

Since I started creating text with AI, I have had more opportunities to remember the past. This is not to say that my memory has improved medically. It is simply that I have more time to ask for names, read text, and talk about my own experiences based on that.

On the screen, explanations about the achievements of Hayek and Dr. Becker were lined up. Into that, small scenes that only I knew were added.

I looked once more at the name I had entered at the beginning: "Friedrich Hayek."

Behind that single name stood my own time, which I had almost forgotten.