TWENTY SIX

If I were to approach 2026 as if I were twenty-six, how would I proceed? When I was 26, I felt all but invincible. I had already seen cracks in the facade of reality, but they were cracks and not giant chasms. I was in LA and had witnessed Nancy Regan being ridiculed by those closest to her, or at least those who were in her orbit. I was bartending a gig up in Beverly Hills and overheard these two idiots sitting at my bar, with the former first lady sitting alone at a table only several feet behind them. They were either her aides or some family relations. I've only brought it up a few times, but that moment stuck with me. Why? 

I thought it was disrespectful. The former president was still alive but suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and here was his wife still going to social functions, and instead of supporting her, these clowns were mocking her. It was pretty clear they had not taken her advice from the 80s and just said no to drugs, either. These guys were obviously living out of their noses, and it seemed so weird to have the woman who coined the phrase "Just say no to drugs" sitting there by herself as these insignificant clowns were geeked out of their minds, making fun of her. The irony was not lost on me.

I saw a lot of things back in those days. Not all of it was tinged with humor. My few years in LA were sensory overload, and I was kind of just taking it all in. My acting career was winding down, but my storytelling journey was taking shape. The century was nearing an end; I was primed for just about anything. 

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, though I still feel a connection to those times creatively. I know we are only granted a short stay here on this rock, yet I have always felt a need to be a part of the storytelling process. Whether that be as a consumer of the stories others tell, or in telling my own. 

When we are children, a great fiction is created for us. One such example is Christmas. It is a joyous time of year, but at its heart is a great fiction wrapped up in pageantry. A fiction masquerading as something wondrous, but also hiding its true meaning. We grow up and learn the truth about the world, and realize that these fictions are created to keep us happy and to provide us guidance. When in reality Christmas is the most important time of year because it marks the passage of time, and the beginning of a new year. I am not picking on Christmas. I love Christmas and celebrate all of it. I appreciate it for what it is, the history and deeper meaning of it, as well as the religious story wrapped around it. This is something every kid who celebrates Christmas must confront as they get older. It is a big part of growing up, and the falling of the veil of illusion should be something that is studied in greater detail. 

When I was 26, I thought a lot about such things. I was reading and writing poetry every day, and I was breaking down the doors of perception in an effort to better understand myself and the world around me. I miss those times. It was when I learned how to live on my own and not be codependent. It was a time of liberation and the dawn of big creative ideas. 

I am so thankful that I never became a celebrity actor. Sure, the money would have been nice, but the ability to disappear cannot be overvalued. I can't imagine having cameras snapping my picture anytime I sneeze in public. Awful. Did I ever want that? No, I wanted to get lost in an acting role that I truly loved, but I never sought fame. I wasn't cracked up for it, and I was never close to achieving it, thank goodness. 

In 2026, after spending much of last year slowly getting STORiCORE off the ground, I am eager to tell more stories. I have a novel series all but completed that I have been sitting on for years. Michaelmas is a part of the series. I am debating doing what I did with Michaelmas, which is to release it as an illustrated series. I've thought about releasing it as a graphic novel series, or even releasing it in even shorter segments as more of a comic series. I have a few other pulpy series that I could release as graphic novel series. There is also this novella/movie script I'd like to write. Could it also be a graphic novel? Yes, but I just want to get lost in writing again. 

I'd prefer to create graphic novels out of TV series or movie scripts I've already written. I have a dozen or so to choose from, and I can't see my first graphic novel being something I write from scratch. This is one of the main reasons I started STORiCORE. To produce fun and exciting content in different formats, as well as creating storytelling related apps. 

Last year, I came up with a few story ideas that I need to write as well. One of those would be a new type of story. New for me, at least. I've thought about writing an autobiography for several years, and I will at some point, but my new story idea is instead a fictional semi-autobiographical story inspired by my own experience over the past few years. 

While I have a number of stories I have been wanting to write, this is my first quality story idea of the new year. Last year was all about starting STORiCORE, my first "official" company. As a writer, you are your own company, and when I created a few short films a decade ago, I produced those as if they were each part of my company. So, I had been laying the groundwork for a while. However, I never filled out the paperwork and paid the fees to actually be a company until last year. 

The 1st Draft App was only the first app I intended to create. It is a tool that I am using and will continue to use in my writing process, but I made it for anyone wanting to write a story. It is meant to be used from the first idea until the completion of the 1st draft. It's simple and easy enough to use that anyone could get great value out of it. 

I have had second thoughts about moving forward with two other apps I had been wanting to create without first having a period of reflection and learning. The tools to create these apps are improving quickly, and I was locked into my process for a while. I need to get caught up. Also, another app has come into focus over the past six months. It was one I was not intending to create until I completed the other two. But I now feel like it may be the one to work on. I say one, but actually, it will be a combination of several apps in many ways. And I will create these different parts separately before combining them. Unless it makes sense to just combine them all at once. We'll see. I was thinking about possibly making them stand-alone apps before unifying them. 

Something I realized over the past few years is that with AI improving so quickly, we will reach a point where some people will just be creating their own apps, and then personalizing them for their own workflow. Not everyone will do this, but they could if they wanted to. We are there or thereabouts now. The ability to create apps on the fly has become possible. Are they perfect 1st time? Not really, but with patience and iteration, they will be close to fitting your specific workflow. There is an expression that has stuck with me that I heard last year: The Future of Software isn't Software. 

I believe we have entered that era. Soon, schools will be teaching how to create the tools students will use in classrooms designed specifically for how they learn best. At that point, the only ones not able to create an app on the fly will be those who never needed to learn about doing so. Right now, that constitutes most of the people alive on this planet. That will change over time, and in 25 years, most people on this rock will be AI literate. 

When I started down this path three years ago, I was aware that the window to build and share with others what I create with AI would be small. It is shrinking as I write this, and will likely be closed before 2030. After that is anyone's guess what happens, but I would not be surprised if a majority of us are all living in our own self-created bubbles. 

World models are being talked about a lot right now. If there is a proper world model by the end of the year, then essentially all I talked about in a TV show bible over a year ago will be possible, and I could, at that point, create everything I talked about in there by myself. I could use AI tools to create the TV series, the music, the fictional podcast, and the video games that would allow a user to have an individual experience set in the world of the TV show. While I could create it all myself, it would be extremely difficult to do so. I would need AI agents to help, and maybe that could cut down on the time to create it all. But even if that were the case, it would take a long time to complete. Probably years. However, I don't know what the AI Agents will be like once these world models start rolling out. If history is an example, then world models will not be perfect when they first roll out, and it will likely be DeepMind, OpenAI, Runway, or Midjourney who will release it, followed shortly thereafter by a Chinese version. Because nothing AI-related has been perfect when they first roll it out, and it usually takes another year or so to get to a point where a new AI tool is more broadly useful. 

So, let's say by late summer, we see the first true world model. It will be cool, and we will all be blown away, but it won't be perfect. But the other tools (video, audio, image, etc.) will be good enough by late summer to begin on the creation of a TV series like the one I have been thinking about. Will I begin work on it at that point? I will at some point. Not sure if it will be this year, though. But technically, I think this is the year that if I had the funding, I could begin on it. Would it actually take me years to complete all that I had laid out in the series bible if I did it all on my own with the assistance of AI tools? Probably. Unless agents get a lot better. Even if I learned all there is to know about all the tools that I would need to create it all, it is still a massive undertaking. If I were 26, I'd still lack the confidence and knowledge to have even completed the series bible and written 1/2 of the first season, but I might feel emboldened enough because of AI to at least get the ball rolling at all costs.  

There may come a time when I could do it all much easier and faster, but even with these tools being as good as they are now, it would be inconceivable that I could complete it all on my own anytime soon. I'd love to try. Maybe someday. Sigh. 😟

Until that time, I think it is best to just keep learning about everything AI that can help me create all that I can. With a focus on apps and releasing story content in one format or another. Once I have enough knowledge and the tools are good enough, then maybe I can build the world of that TV series I envisioned. I think you will love it. At least some of you. It's dark and a bit twisted, but relatable. 

I was asked about my New Year's resolution this weekend when out hiking with a few friends. They all had reasonable resolutions, but I didn't and don't have any. I'm not sure why I didn't make any. Maybe because I feel like they are silly. I make plans, and I try to complete them each year. That's not really the same as a resolution to lose weight or not be so overreactive. Would I like to lose a few pounds and become more Zen? Sure. But I have enough big plans for the year to not worry about keeping some meaningless promise to myself just because it's another year in the books. 

One friend joked when I said I hadn't: "Why not, because you're so perfect?" To be honest, I have enough on my mind that a promise to myself to try to lose weight seems like a waste of mental energy. In years past, I have definitely made New Year's resolutions, using the passage of time as a great starting point for change. However, I am in the midst of massive change, and adding something else onto the pile just didn't cross my mind. Maybe in the years ahead I'll buy that Peloton and use it for a month and then abandon it, but not this year. 

That's a Wrap on 2025

How to sum up the past 12 months? 

My priorities have shifted over the past few years. Pre-2023, I was content to just keep on keeping on as far as writing. For 2 years, I wanted to learn about everything AI. This time last year, I began the final process of building something I have been building in one way or another for 30 years. A creative company that embodies my passion for storytelling and my desire to help others tell their stories. Hell, I did not think I would be able to properly tell all of my stories the way I have wanted them to be told, or be able to help others tell theirs, until OPENAI released GPT4. I thought the only way I could help others tell their stories was through the hope that they might take some inspiration from what I wrote and use that as fuel for themselves to create something or think a little differently about the world than they had before reading one of my stories.

Before 2023, I thought I might write a few more books. Maybe publish a graphic novel and sell a TV series. And possibly write an autobiography that might inspire a few others to tell their stories. 

To then have the lights come on in the way for me that they did, as far as the opportunity to supercharge me into being able to, with the help of the advancements in AI, accomplish so much more than I believed I could at this time three years ago. In December 2022, I was not dialed in to the change taking place largely behind the scenes. I should have been prepared for it, but I did not see it for another two months. 

When the lights switched on, and I began taking in what was happening, I knew I had to change my plans. I needed to adapt. 

Year 1 (2023) was about realizing that massive change was afoot, and if  I truly wanted to make the most of my storytelling abilities and desire to help people, then I had to fully immerse myself in research. Thankfully, I love research. So it was an absolute joy to learn about LLMs, deep learning, AGI, image generation, video generation, sound generation, context windows, prompting, and on and on and on. Two regrets came to mind in March of 2023. I should have continued learning about coding after I took a class years earlier, and I should have been more aware of the changing landscape of AI. I was so far behind and was desperate to learn as much as possible by the end of that summer. Back then, I was thinking about graphic novels, so by the fall of 2023, I was focused on image generation to go with my stories. 

Year 2 (2024) was a year of big dreams. I had just released an updated illustrated version of my book MICHAELMAS, and I was up to date with what was going on with AI. I was also keen to deliver a kick ass pitch package for a TV Series that I had been working on for a while. Brimming with confidence about what I could do with the help of AI, I knew that the TV Series was perfect for the AI age. I developed an immersive fictional podcast that could tell a parallel story to that of the TV series. I envisioned several video games that could be released during or after the first season had aired. I learned that while I was locked into AI, the script market was shit to try and sell such an ambitious project, and most were still behind as far as what was happening with AI and where we were headed. I was at that moment ahead of the curve, so to speak. That summer was important for two reasons. First, my disappointment made me think I should do all that I can to be able to create that TV series myself with the help of AI; the only thing was, the tools were not good enough yet. Second, coding tools emerged and made me realize that it might be better to focus on helping others using what I have learned over the past 30 years. By this time last year, I had begun planning a company and already created a Custom GPT version of the 1st Draft App. 

Year 3 (2025) has been one of massive change. I try and avoid politics in this space, but DAMN. On top of that, I became a solopreneur and created STORiCORE LLC. A company focused on my creative storytelling and my creation of tools (APPS and Content) to help others tell their stories. A multimedia/ software company. As is often the case, my expectations were SUPER HIGH for the year. I was confident I could complete so much more than I did. It seems to happen every year, but this year was different because I was attempting that which I had never done before. In past years, I had focused solely on my creative accomplishments. This year, I took a massive leap by putting my trust in AI to help me with things I had never done before on a large scale. I planned for 3 apps, a podcast about the apps, instructional videos and guides, short films, and god knows what else. It was a proper plan. I knew I would not be able to accomplish all of my goals. 

The widespread hatred for AI was not something I expected. My lack of coding and design experience slowed things down, as did my limited resources. I could not force myself to spend thousands of dollars a month using AI coding tools to try and expedite the process. So I determined that learning how to build an app to better be able to build others was more important than vibe coding at breakneck speed to complete something I would not really understand. I may never be a programmer who can code an app on their own without AI, but I now have the confidence and enough knowledge to complete all three of the Apps with AI and some human feedback. Here is where my regret of not sticking to my efforts to learn about coding all those years ago appeared. Had I brought just a little more coding knowledge into the year, I would have made fewer mistakes along the way. Regardless, I have released my first app and have my first update to announce.

I created 1st Draft with cost as a top concern. I wanted to create a writing app that anyone could afford, and that was easy to use. I have created a version of the app that is all that I need. However, I am not the target audience. The current version is a great version using GPT4o-Mini and GPT5-Nano as your two interface models. While I have these models responding the way I want them to, I realized after using my Custom GPT two months back that I needed to have a Realtime version as well. The cost has gone down enough on the API that I can include it for every user! Originally, I thought I would have to make it only for Pro users. 

So, in the new year, I will be adding Realtime to the app, and it will allow for more lifelike exchanges. I may reduce the price even more. Currently, a free user gets 10 voice responses or 30 text exchanges a day. A Starter Plan is $5 a month or $50 a year, which provides 60 minutes (for Legacy Models, while Realtime will be around 40min) of Voice exchanges and 150,000 text tokens a month. Likely enough for a lot of users. The Pro Plan is $15 a month or $150 a year, which provides 300 minutes (approx. 200min for Realtime) of Voice exchange and 750,000 text tokens a month. This is what I need because I always run out of voice minutes on my test Starter Accounts. Sixty minutes is fine for light users who won't be using it every day, but for those who are deep into the telling of a story, the Pro plan is ideal. You can check out the web version of the 1st Draft App for free here. Once I have Realtime integrated, I will be putting the app on the app stores. 

What I was unable to achieve this year was the creation of any other apps. I did make several versions of the second app, but I didn't like them. Probably because I never really focused too hard on making them properly functional. There is one of the 2nd app versions that is ok, but I need to make some massive changes to make it appealing. Anyway, I had a different approach with 1st Draft, creating it from scratch using my own designs, using my own ideas as opposed to letting AI design it. It has been rewarding to build it that way. I tried to let AI do most of the other designs, for every version of the second app, and I have been less than impressed so far. Also, with all the backlash towards AI, I am a little reluctant to make the other two apps the way I had envisioned them. I like some of the options I had planned, but there is feedback coming in regarding tools that are similar in some ways to aspects of my two other apps. My goal is to help people, not to cause any distress, so I have to take additional care when creating those apps. I achieved what I wanted to achieve with the 1st Draft App, and if I never create another app, I know for a 100% fact that I have created a tool that can help me with my storytelling. And if it can help me, then it can 100% help everyone else. So, I am proud of what I have achieved this year, even if I did not accomplish all that I wanted. 

I never seem to achieve all that I set out to do in a year. I'm not sure why I make such ambitious plans. Maybe it is because I need to work myself up to keep motivated throughout the year. Who knows. I'm not sure I could even complete this year's plan next year. That is how overzealous I was this time last year. I was sure that AI coding tools and autonomous agents would help pick up all of my slack. That did not happen. Largely because I wanted to to be in there up to my knees and elbows building 1st Draft from the ground up. 

The tools have all improved. No doubt. But there is great trepidation in the world regarding AI in 2026. Jobs are one of the most talked-about issues regarding AI these days. More importantly, how AI is likely to eliminate the need for as many people. I have thought about this a lot. And it makes me wonder why some of the rich and powerful people are also saying that the world's population is too low and that we need more people. I don't get the math. If AI is going to take all of the jobs, why do we need more people on the planet and not fewer? It doesn't make sense. Unless those rich and powerful people are not being truthful. Which, let's be honest, would not be a huge surprise. The surprise would be if there actually was a good reason for needing the world's population to increase. 

In the past, the rich and powerful needed more people to do their work and buy their products. But if they don't need people to work for them, and those people don't have any money because there are no jobs, then why the hell would you need more people? Will they still need consumers once they achieve lift off? Once AI can self-improve the game changes, or at least we enter a new phase where the old world disappears and new rules are written. 

People are important as training data to create something smarter and more efficient than ourselves. It is sad to think about it that way. Even if we needed more people to colonize other worlds, which we don't right now, who wants to live on a dead ass planet? We would have to find an Earth-like planet or have terraformed one into an Earth-like planet to actually colonize it. Last I checked, Mars is still a dead ass planet that looks boring as hell. Let robots go out and create another version of Earth, and then maybe you can get a ship of humans to venture from this planet. Until then, I do not believe we need more than 8 billion people on this planet.

While I used some of my own money, I was fortunate enough to secure funding to help me get STORiCORE up and running this year. For that, I am so grateful. However, at some point next year, I will likely be reentering the job market. I have grown so much this year, and I am thankful for what I have been able to achieve. For STORiCORE to be self-sustaining, I need to keep learning and building, but most of all, I need to be telling my stories in one or more formats. Is that possible by the end of 2026? Of course, it is possible, but I have a different perspective on the end of the year compared to when it began. 

The world changed a lot this year, and much of it was not for the better. Knowing AI is getting smarter and smarter, and we humans are being treated worse and worse, does not bode well for the future. The gulf between the Haves and Have Nots may become an impossible moat to cross. The AI-powered haves using the best AI systems will run away with it all, and the have-nots will be left trying to keep up using inferior versions of AI systems and living off the scraps. Will there even be a middle class in 20 years? Or will we all be living on modest stipends with little value to the world at all? Do we really want humans just running around the earth being jackasses because they have nothing better to do? We all need to have some purpose to our lives. The struggle is real. It is a part of our DNA. I would do well with a stipend because I am a storyteller, and telling stories fulfills me and gives me purpose. 

"You can just do things." 

 

It was a tweet from OpenAI's CEO at the end of last year. I now think about those 5 words differently than I did last year, and I believe I am not alone in that. If no one has a job and most don't have any real purpose in their lives, people will just start doing things. I was a teenager and a person in my 20s once upon a time. I was lucky to survive those years because I thought I was invincible and believed I knew more than I actually did. Monitoring people into submission seems like the plan for the future. Meaning you won't just be able to do things like we used to. That creates pressure, and pressure needs to be released. That means tension. 

If you think it was hard to think about what you wanted to do with the rest of your life when there were endless possibilities, but a need to make money, think about what young people are going to be thinking about. The options will be limited and not endless, and you may not need to worry about money in order to live. Again, for people like myself, this is not a bad thing, but I have become the person that I am over the decades. There are positives but also a lot of negatives for the path we are all on, whether we like it or not. AI will continue its takeover. Just look at the economy being held up by tech companies doing this circle jerk of investments with each other. 

The faulty AI systems before this past summer were not good enough to make the impact all of these companies were hoping to make when they saw GPT4, like the rest of us in 2023. But there have been some massive improvements this year, and the new AI systems companies use to automate in 2026 will start to show significant improvements, and the adoption of these workflows will begin to be utilized far and wide. AI Customer Service will improve, robotics will improve, and AI agents may start running businesses. It's a lot, and it's all happening now. 

I, on the other hand, am not making such grandiose plans for 2026 as I did for 2025. No need to pile that pressure on myself. I will keep on learning, keep on creating, and keep on working towards my long-term goals. After three wonderful years spent figuring out how AI can help me achieve long-term goals, I think it is time to take the new skills I have attained and make myself available to others before the robots take all our jobs. 😟

As of right now, my goal for 2026 is to make 1st Draft a great app that helps people tell their stories and to join a team of like-minded people so I can further help others. Life is precious, and we need to enjoy it and spend time with those we love. Beyond that, as long as things keep moving in the right direction, then I am good. 

Happy New Year! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous year ahead.