June–July 2023 Writing Challenge: Voices of Protest

Question

As decided by moderator edict, here's the next challenge:

It's already a significant part of the way through the month and I just don't feel like it's appropriate to do a normal challenge. SE management has opposed the will of our communities, and made a decision unilaterally that almost entirely prevents moderators from removing AI plagiarism from their sites. See the moderation strike main post and all of the highly voted related posts for more information. So here I am, abusing a block quote for original text that has never appeared in speech or print before (not even from an AI!), asking — no, demanding — you to write about protests.

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Go onward and write! Then post your story here as an answer, and get feedback in the comments. If you ask a main site question while writing for this challenge, leave a comment below this question or mention it in your answer.

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Answer 1

Context:

On June 15th, a "formatting assistant" was tested, which gave suggestions using AI on how a user's question could be rewritten. On the left is the original question and on the right is the suggestion which, if accepted, the user can post to the site under their own name.

Text version

Left side

Write about the Stack Exchange moderation strike which demands that moderators not moderate AI posts as a poem:

Right side

# Stack Exchange Moderation Strike

Moderators unite, we demand a change
Our skills and time will no longer be estranged
From AI posts we shall abstain
Until our demands have been attained

Our expertise and knowledge put to waste
Inappropriate posts abound, a bitter taste
Our workload too much to bear
We raise our voices and declare

No more shall we moderate
AI posts that we cannot delegate
Until policies are improved
Until our concerns have been removed

Stack Exchange, hear our plea
We shall not falter, we shall not flee
Our strike is just, our cause is right
Until our voices are heard tonight.

Answer 2

Generate title

Machine guns fire into the crowd
Alongside lies about what’s allowed

The discussion ends before it began
Without anything resembling a plan

Hidden crime said to be gone
By those who don’t see another spawn

There’s code that doesn’t even run
A button for another one

Who’s in charge, even a little bit?
Not them, not us, but rather it

Will power keep to its own rule?
Or will it relent to take down the tool?

I’m watching you
And as soon as everyone sees this
They’ll be watching too

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Context

We must wait, and to pass the time (and maybe some feelings too) I wrote a poem. We wait to see if human content can actually rank above the deluge of AI. We wait to see how much reputation users, unopposed and unmoderated, can get with AI answers alone. And we wait to see if Stack Exchange, Inc. will allow AI submissions to ascend to the highest position available to its users or else break its own rules. After all, someone already tried that, and was only stopped by their own conscience.