In a time where robots are no longer a science fiction fantasy and everyone has a world of information at their fingertips, what would a clever child do to get out of chores? Canberra region author, Gaz Anson explores the world of AI and how it could be misused in his new children’s book, Stop! Robot!.

Building robots in his backyard from items found at the dump, Wally wants someone else to take on the boring chores that waste his time. Soon, he receives a promising offer to create a robot for someone, but can Wally trust his creation in the hands of another person? Adventure ensues, full of ups and downs, drones, robots and paths to be avoided in this witty battle of wills.

Having worked in IT (and as a zookeeper, more on that later), Anson has a respect for emerging technologies, and is interested to see what people will invent. He says these new technologies, like the internet, are fantastic but have some weird aspects.

“There’s all sorts of unusual stuff coming through – driverless cars, that’s a robot in a sense. There’s a lot of terrifying aspects to it but also a lot of fun aspects, and I think if I was a kid, I would love to put my imagination to that space and see what I could do,” Anson says.

The premise for Stop! Robot! came to the author like a dream that needed a bit of tidying; Anson says he doesn’t have any insight into the future of AI and no intention of it being a lesson book. Constantly hearing the misuses of AI, he fed into the zeitgeist when creating the story. He says the premise of AI is a mixed bag, and without regulation it has the potential to get away from us, while the abilities of AI imagery and Chat GPT are becoming incredibly advanced.

“I got it to write me a story the other day about a runaway robot, it was okay. I thought ‘hang on, you’re going to do me out of the job if you carry on like this’,” he says.

Along with the story, Anson tasked the AI tool to write him a Shakespearean sonnet about two robots falling in love, which he describes as “scarily good”. He says the world we are in now is identifying what is real and what is not; the potential is exciting yet scary.

When Anson was younger, robots were humanoid forms with two arms and legs, whereas they now come in all shapes and sizes. Today, a lot of children learn coding and robotics, he says; to them technology is second nature.

“It’s in their bones, they’re just so smart with it … I did a book launch at the Book Cow in Kingston and the kids there, they just get this stuff. A little fella was suggesting to Peter, the bookshop owner, that he needed to do whatever it was to the computer, it’s just instinctive like, ‘Don’t you know that?’,” smiles Anson.

Wanting to keep fun and mystery alive, Anson says he likes the idea that everything and everyone contains surprises or keeps secrets, getting out caught out by them in big and fabulous ways. Also, sometimes in a really freakish way, ‘Oh God, I didn’t see that coming’ or ‘I didn’t think they would ever do that’ and I’m sure we’re going to be saying that about robots,” says Anson.

His book is aimed at children aged between 8 and 12, who, he says, are more adventurous than slightly younger children, while their understanding of language allows you to be playful with words and situations.

Anson has had a set of Teachers Notes developed to accompany the fun-filled robot adventures, meeting the relevant curriculum of Years 3-6. Primary school teachers will be able to share the book and refer to the guide on how discussions could further their understanding of the topic. For example, Wally would need to understand science and circuits to be able to build his robot, and children could create their own circuits for a robot.

With another two books on the go, Anson says he has the luxury of time to work on the stories. Bringing a world of fun and interesting experience with him, Anson has worked in zoos here and overseas and picked oranges in Jerusalem.  

“I went to the local zoo, I had also been working at Taronga up in Sydney by then looking after reptiles and giraffes and things like that. So, I turned up and said, ‘I’m a zookeeper from Australia, I don’t suppose you’ve got a vacancy?”

The author got the learning bug when in Japan, where he decided to go to university to study Japanese. From there, he landed a research job at the Australia-Japan Research Centre, where he spent his days writing.

“That was one kind of writing, but I’ve always written stuff since I was a kid when I’ve had time and now, I’ve got plenty of time and no excuses,” he smiles.

Self-published this time, he is hoping to get a publisher involved in the next book, which would investigate aliens. Anson says he is fascinated by other types of life – from robots to Pinocchio, puppets and aliens.  Still deciding whether to keep the age bracket the same or slightly older, Anson says the book would see a group of children flip the script of potential extra-terrestrial abductors.

“I’m playful by nature, I suppose, and I naturally look at situations and see something comical or unusual in them and now I’ve given myself permission to write them down.”

Stop! Robot! by Gaz Anson is available at The Book Cow in Kingston or online at gazanson.com

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