Dax La Cray, The Crayfish – Guest Contributor
For years, economists have predicted service jobs in the US would be slowly replaced by automated systems and the position of Shreveport Mayor is no different. Local technology guru, Yancey Forsythe is currently developing the system that is poised to become mayor. He’s been developing the biggest threat to local politicians for 8 years with an automated mayor.
Undeniably, Mr. Forsythe’s work has grabbed the attention of many Shreveport residents. “Basically, I’ve made a form where people enter in their issue, then the automated mayor scans the entry for keywords and returns the citizen with a canned answer based on their input or just ignores it, depending on the content. The automated system doesn’t actually do anything, but it does make you feel better, I guess,” Yancey states.
Citizens are hopeful that an automated mayor is a step in the right direction. “Being able air my grievances at any time to the mayor is something I can support. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been drinking and had something to tell the mayor. This gives me that opportunity, that’s progress,” one resident says.
Keeping with democracy, the city will still hold elections to give residents the experience of having a choice, but will have no impacts on the result. This comes as a breath of fresh air to many residents. Brandi Taylor of Broadmoor told us, “Voting is such a hassle and I really just can’t be bothered with that level of responsibility. I’m thankful the robot will make the decision for me.”
Until Yancey completes his automated mayor, we are strapped with the current administration unless we all die of waterborne illness before his creation is complete.