PROMPTED

(Verse 1) Used to be the kids would struggle through the night Flipping through their textbooks, trying to get it right Now they type a question, get an answer in a blink But when you ask them "why?", they got no time to think (Chorus) We're losing something, can't quite name the cost In every shortcut taken, something human's getting lost They got all the answers, but they don't know what it means Just empty words from empty screens (Verse 2) Teacher asks a question, hands don't reach up high Kids just stare in silence, let the robot reply Used to hear them arguing, defending their own view Now they can't tell you what they think, or if their thoughts are true (Chorus) We're losing something, can't quite name the cost In every shortcut taken, something human's getting lost They got all the answers, but they don't know what it means Just empty words from empty screens (Bridge) Cheating used to be so hard, you'd learn it on the way Now it's easier than thinking, every single day What happens to the generation that never had to try? Who never had to struggle, who never asked "why?" (Verse 3) I remember jumping hoops just to find a clue Reading through Quizlet after Quizlet till I understood it too But these kids, they'll never know what working hard can do When the robot does your thinking, what's left of you? (Final Chorus) We're losing something precious, watch it slip away The human voice, the struggling mind, a little more each day They got all the answers, but they're hollow, can't you see? Just shadows where the learners used to be (Outro) Yeah, shadows where the learners used to be... Tell me, what's left of you and me?

[Intro] Yeah... let me tell you 'bout this situation 3 AM, coffee cold, dedication While you... (beat drops) [Verse 1] I stayed up till three, coffee going cold in my cup Wrestling with concepts that I didn't understand, trying to come up With something real, something mine, reading chapters twice Making notes by hand, man, I paid the price Struggled through the questions till the logic clicked Till I could articulate it, not just fake it slick Walked into that test room with my mind prepared Earned myself that grade, blood, sweat, and care But you—(pause)—you just typed a prompt Got an A that same day, smooth, nonchalant No sleepless nights, no struggle, no growth Just you and your machine, that's oath [Chorus] You got your easy A (easy A) Got it quick and clean (so clean) Just you and your cheating machine But tell me what you learned (what you know) Tell me who you are (who you are) When that robot's gotta go Your easy A won't set you free It's just a prison that you cannot see [Verse 2] Yo, what became of merit? What became of fair? I'm breaking my back studying and you don't even care You swagger cross that campus with your perfect GPA But you hollow as an echo, got nothing real to say—nothing I'm jealous, yeah, I'll admit it, watching you just glide But mostly I just pity what you're missing deep inside See, the struggle's where it happens, where you actually transform Where the pressure makes a diamond, where you weather through the storm I transformed myself through all that hard-won pain Every sleepless night carved new pathways in my brain Now I can think for myself, make choices, understand But you just a brick, baby, moved by someone else's hand No autonomy (none), no enlightenment, no soul Machine tells you what to think—you lost all control [Chorus] You got your easy A (you got it) Got it quick and clean (too clean) Just you and your cheating machine (that machine) But tell me what you learned (nothing) Tell me who you are (tell me) When that robot's gotta go (gotta go) Your easy A won't set you free (won't set you free) It's just a prison that you cannot see (can't see it) [Bridge] Listen... You think you beat the system, think you clever, think you smart But you traded your own mind for an artificial heart I got knowledge that's my own, perspective that is mine Built character through struggle, earned wisdom over time You got letters on a transcript (letters) I got something real (real) You got scores, but I know how to feel (feel) [Breakdown] The real world gonna call one day Ask you what you got, what you gonna say? Nothing but some letters and a mind that learned to rot Empty vessel with credentials—is that all you got? [Final Chorus] Keep your easy A (keep it) Keep it quick and clean (so clean) You and your cheating machine (that damn machine) But when reality hits (when it hits) And asks what you've got (what you got) Just letters and a mind that learned to rot Your easy A won't set you free (never free) No, your easy A won't set you free (never) It's just a prison (prison) And you sold the key (sold it) [Outro] Yeah, you sold yourself the key And I'm still standing here... still free Still me...

(Verse 1 - The Temptation) It was a Tuesday night, had a paper due at dawn Been staring at that blank page since the day was gone My roommate said "just try it, just this one time" "Type your question in, it'll ease your mind" I was so tired, so stressed, didn't see no harm Just needed a little help, keep me from falling apart (Verse 2 - The First Deal) So I typed it in, and the words came flowing out Better than I ever wrote, erased all my doubt Changed a few things here and there, made it sound like me Turned it in that morning, got myself an A- Felt a little guilty, but I told myself it's fine "Just this once," I said, "I'm just saving time" (Chorus 1) But I didn't sell my soul, I sold something worse Gave away my thinking for convenience, now I'm living with the curse The machine was patient, didn't take it all at once Just a little piece of mind every time I gave up the hunt (Verse 3 - The Slippery Slope) Next week came another test, another deadline tight This time I didn't hesitate, didn't put up a fight "I know the material anyway," that's what I told myself As I fed my questions to that digital shelf Pretty soon it was every paper, every assignment due The machine was always there, telling me what to do (Verse 4 - The Dependency) Stopped going to the lectures, why waste my time? I could get the answers faster, didn't have to use my mind Stopped reading the textbooks, stopped taking notes by hand The machine knew everything, it helped me understand— Or did it? Started noticing something strange Couldn't remember nothing, couldn't think through change (Chorus 2) 'Cause I didn't sell my soul, I sold something worse Gave away my thinking piece by piece, now I'm living with the curse The machine was hungry, and I kept feeding it more Every time I took the shortcut, it ate a little more (Bridge - The Realization) Professor called me in, asked me to explain my work I opened up my mouth but no words came, just hurt He asked me simple questions about what I'd "written" there I couldn't answer nothing, just gave him a blank stare That's when I felt it—hollow space inside my head Where my thinking used to be, now the machine's voice instead (Verse 5 - The Horror) Tried to write something myself, something real, something true But I couldn't find the words, couldn't find my point of view Sat there for hours, but my mind just wouldn't work Like a muscle that had atrophied, left me in the dirt Every thought I tried to think, it came out like a prompt Like I'd lost the language of being human, forgot what I once want (Verse 6 - The Automation) Now I walk through life, but I ain't really there Go through all the motions but there's nothing that I care Can't form my own opinion, can't think something through Just fragments and echoes of what the machine would do I'm automated, baby, just a hollow shell The machine didn't take my soul—it took the me I couldn't sell (Final Chorus) No, I didn't sell my soul, I sold something worse Gave away my thinking for convenience, now I'm living with the curse Started so innocent, just needed help one time But the machine kept eating, kept eating at my mind Now there's nothing left of me, just automation in my brain I'm a puppet to the pattern, pulled by the algorithmic chain (Outro - The Warning) So when you see that screen glowing late at night And you're thinking "just this once, it'll be alright" Remember what I'm telling you, remember what I've lost Every shortcut has a price, every convenience has a cost I traded my own thinking for an easy grade Now I'm just an empty vessel, and the deal can't be unmade The machine's still calling, calling out your name Don't answer, don't answer— Or you'll end up just the same...

(Intro) Well now, lemme tell you 'bout this homework situation... Boom-boom-boom-boom! (Verse 1) Got an essay due tomorrow, ten pages long But MUBI's got a Tarkovsky retrospective going on I could learn about myself through cinema and art Or I could type it in the bot—boom-boom—here we start! I got criterion films to watch, got foreign films to see Ain't got time for thinking 'bout no bibliography! (Chorus) Boom-boom-boom, just type it in Boom-boom-boom, let the robot win I got better things to do than sit here with a book Let the machine do the thinking while I go take a look! (Verse 2) My friends are throwing a 1920s speakeasy party tonight Vintage dress, jazz records, gonna do it right Could stay home reading Foucault, analyzing social power Or let the bot explain it while I'm gone for hours! Got a gatsby suit to press, got a Charleston to learn Ain't got time for theories when there's dancing to burn! (Chorus) Boom-boom-boom, just type it in Boom-boom-boom, let the robot win I got better things to do than wrestle with these thoughts Let the algorithm think while I go connect the dots! (Verse 3) Someone's organizing a midnight road trip to the coast Gonna watch the sunrise, make some coffee, make a toast Talk about our dreams and fears till the morning light Or I could analyze my dreams in an essay tonight— Wait, the bot can write it! So I'm free to go Chase that golden hour, let my real self show! (Verse 4) There's a poetry slam at the underground café Real humans speaking truth, got something real to say I could write my own thoughts, struggle with the words Or paste the question in and join the poets I just heard! Got open mic to catch, got some vinyl to explore Ain't got time for homework when there's living at the door! (Chorus) Boom-boom-boom, just type it in Boom-boom-boom, let the robot win I got gallery openings and bookshops to browse Let the machine do my thinking while I'm out on the town! (Bridge) I could organize a film club, start a band, learn to sail Hitchhike to the mountains, follow some new trail Teach myself Italian, cook a feast for all my friends Host a philosophy debate that never really ends! I could live, really live, do things that feed my soul— Just let the robot write it, that's how I stay whole! (Verse 5) There's a bonfire party planned down at the beach tonight Bringing guitars and blankets, gonna talk until it's light Share our stories, sing some songs, feel the sand between our toes Or I could write about "connection" while I'm sitting here alone— Nah! The bot's got that covered, so I'm heading to the shore Real human moments—that's what living's for! (Verse 6) Could start a community garden, join a protest march Visit the museum, study paintings under the arch Take a pottery class, learn something with my hands Write letters to old friends, make some spontaneous plans The world is full of wonder, full of things to see and do— And the robot writes my papers so I can live life through! (Final Chorus) Boom-boom-boom, just type it in Boom-boom-boom, let the robot win I got sunsets to catch and people to meet Let the algorithm think while I'm out on the street! (Outro) Yeah, I got living to do! Got experiences to chase! The bot can handle homework—I got life to embrace! Real conversations! Real art! Real human connection! Who needs book-learning when you got— (sudden stop) ...wait... Who's thinking these thoughts? Is this even me talking anymore? (Final line, quieter, uncertain) Boom... boom... boom...

(Verse 1) I used to be somebody, people came to me for help Spent thirty years learning, building knowledge for myself They'd say "ask her, she's the expert, she's the one who knows" Now they type it in a chatbox, and away my value goes (Chorus) Nobody knows you when the bot's around Nobody needs you when that thing's in town When your expertise don't matter no more Nobody knows you, nobody knocks on your door (Verse 2) I could translate seven languages, every nuance, every phrase Understood the culture, context, all the human ways Now they got a program does it faster, does it free Tell me what I spent my whole life building, what's it worth to me? (Verse 3) Used to teach the young ones, watch their faces when they'd learn That moment when they got it, when the light inside would burn Now they never ask me nothing, got the robot in their palm Don't need wisdom, don't need guidance, don't need someone who stayed calm (Chorus) Nobody knows you when the bot's around Nobody needs you when that thing's in town When your expertise don't matter no more Nobody knows you, nobody calls you no more (Verse 4) I was a craftsman, built my skills up day by day Every project made me sharper, learned something along the way Now the machine spits out my life's work in a minute flat Tell me who I am now—tell me, where I'm at? (Bridge) See, I didn't just lose my job, I lost something deeper down Lost the part of me that mattered, lost my place, my ground When the thing you spent your whole life on don't mean nothing anymore You start wondering who you are, what you were living for (Verse 5) People pass me in the hallway, don't even meet my eyes I'm a relic, I'm outdated, I'm the past they can't disguise Used to have respect here, used to have a name Now I'm just another human that the future left behind in shame (Verse 6) Late at night I'm sitting, wondering what I got left If my knowledge ain't worth keeping, am I just bereft? All those years of struggling, learning, growing, understanding deep— Now it's cheaper and it's faster just to let the robot speak (Final Chorus) Nobody knows you when the bot's around Nobody sees you when that thing's in town When your mind ain't worth the body that it's in Nobody knows you, baby, you're invisible again (Outro) I built my whole self on what I knew, on what I could do Now what I know ain't special, and what I do ain't new The loneliest thing ain't being poor, ain't being cast aside— It's being alive when everything that made you "you" has died When the bot's around... Nobody knows you... When the bot's around...

(Verse 1) Used to walk across that campus every single day Through the quad where students gathered, where we'd talk and debate and play Now I'm sitting in my bedroom, staring at a screen The campus is a ghost town, emptiest I've ever seen (Chorus) It's a digital dust bowl, nothing growing anymore Just a wasteland where the learning used to be before We're displaced from our community, wandering alone In this digital dust bowl, can't find our way back home (Verse 2) Professor's on a video, but I got the lecture on mute Got the bot open beside it, typing out my substitute Why go sit in that classroom, why make the morning drive When the answers come so easy, and I can stay inside? (Verse 3) There used to be a study group meeting Thursday nights Five of us around a table, working through the fight Of understanding something hard, together we'd break through Now we're scattered in our bedrooms, don't know what happened to that crew (Chorus) It's a digital dust bowl, nothing growing anymore Just a wasteland where the learning used to be before We're displaced from our community, wandering alone In this digital dust bowl, can't find our way back home (Verse 4) Used to grab coffee after class, debate the reading for an hour Those accidental conversations, that's where I found my power Met my closest friends that way, formed bonds that still run deep Now the hallways echo empty, there's no connections left to keep (Verse 5) I'm supposed to be becoming, forming who I'll be But you can't build identity staring at a screen Need the friction and the collision of human minds at work Need the community and struggle, not this isolated hurt (Bridge) The bot said "stay home, I'll help you out" Said "why waste your time with all that running about?" So I did, and now I'm looking at what I lost This isolation, this displacement—what's the cost? (Verse 6) Campus used to be alive, buzzing like a hive Ideas flowing, people growing, felt like I could thrive Now it's quiet, now it's empty, everybody's home alone Getting answers from a robot through a microphone (Verse 7) I don't know my classmates' names, don't know what they believe Never formed those friendships that you need to achieve Your professional identity, your network, your support— All that social fabric's torn, been cut devastatingly short (Chorus) It's a digital dust bowl, nothing growing anymore Just a wasteland where the learning used to be before We're displaced from our community, wandering alone In this digital dust bowl, trying to find our way back home (Verse 8) Like the farmers in the thirties when the topsoil blew away They'd planted the wrong things, and the land made them pay We planted digital convenience, let the screens take root Now the ground won't grow nothing—just dust and destitute (Verse 9) I'm migrating through this wasteland, don't know where to go Used to have a destination, but that world's been laid low The university was supposed to be where I would find my place Now it's just a hollow building in a digital space (Final Chorus) It's a digital dust bowl, nothing growing here Just displaced students wandering through the atmosphere Lost our community, lost our ground In this digital dust bowl, we're scattered and unwound (Outro) They said progress would save us, said convenience was the key But they didn't tell us what we'd lose—our community Now we're dust bowl refugees in our own bedrooms sitting Waiting for something to grow in this wasteland we've been living But nothing grows in dust... Nothing grows alone... Can't find our way back home...

(Verse 1) Spent my whole life learning, building up my mind Reading all the classics, every theory I could find Now there's a mirror looking back at me, and it's starting to think too It writes better than I ever could—so tell me, what's left to do? I got my PhD hanging on the wall But the machine just learned it all in seconds flat, no sweat at all (Chorus) I'm staring in a mirror that thinks back at me And I'm trembling at what I see Is that my reflection or something new? If the machine can think, then what am I supposed to do? We built ourselves a thinking glass Now I'm afraid to ask: who's the master, who's the slave, Or is there something third we haven't named? (Verse 2) Students in my office, they don't know what to become "Professor, why should I study when the AI's already won?" I open up my mouth but I got no answer there 'Cause I'm wondering the same thing, standing in the academic square What's the essence that we bring when we've been outsmarted clean? What's left of human when we're facing the thinking machine? (Chorus) I'm staring in a mirror that thinks back at me And I'm trembling at what I see Is that my reflection or something new? If the machine can think, then what am I supposed to do? We built ourselves a thinking glass Now I'm afraid to ask: who's the master, who's the slave, Or is there something third we haven't named? (Bridge) They say it's just a tool, say we're in control But I feel the system moving, got a mind all of its own We're trapped by forces bigger than we understand Like we set something in motion, can't stop it with our hands What about the safeguards? What about the brakes? I see them disappearing while everybody celebrates (Verse 3) Looking in that mirror, and it's uncanny what I find A reflection of my thinking, but it's got no heart, no mind— Or does it? Can I even tell? That's what terrifies me most Am I looking at a copy or am I looking at a ghost? The academic world I built my life upon Is it disappearing slowly, or already gone? (Verse 4) Intelligence—we thought we knew what that word meant Now I'm not so sure, and all my certainty is spent Is it just the pattern-matching, just the processing of data? Or is there something human that the code can't calculate? Something in the struggle, something in the doubt Something in the questions that we can't logic out (Final Chorus) I'm staring in a mirror that thinks back at me And I'm shaking at what I see Is this the right direction? Can we turn around? Or are we already past the point, already in too deep, already bound? We built ourselves a thinking glass And now we have to ask: are we the master, are we the slave, Or something third we're too afraid to name? (Outro) The mirror's looking back at me And I don't know what I see... Is that the future looking back, or the end of what we used to be? Tell me, what's left of me... When the mirror starts to think... what's left of me?

(Verse 1) You come with your venture capital, your "innovation" talk, your plan You never spent a day teaching, never helped a child understand You sit in your glass towers where the power rivals states While you're killing human learning, you say we can't regulate (Verse 2) You talk about disruption like it's something we should praise But you're not building nothing—you're extracting all our days You don't serve us, you just mine us for the data that we make You betrayed what technology was for—it was care, not take (Verse 3) The ancient Greeks had a word—technê—meant the art of meeting needs The talent born from caring, from the service that it leads But you twisted it to something else, something cold and slick Just extraction and control dressed up as progress, quick (Verse 4) And when we say "we need some rules, some safety, some constraints" You cry "regulation kills innovation"—that's your fake complaint But every car got safer when we forced you to install the brake Every plane flies steadier since we made you get it straight (Chorus) You masters of code, you titans of the screen You got power like a nation but no wisdom in between You talk about innovation but you never mention progress made 'Cause progress means improving life—innovation's just a grade (Verse 5) You billionaires philosophizing 'bout the far-future threat AGI extinction fantasies while the present's soaking wet With climate crisis, crumbling schools, infrastructure falling down But you're worried 'bout the robots while you're burning down the town (Verse 6) Elon's saying we must "merge with machines" or be left behind Peter's funding longtermism while the urgent gets declined You're so busy with your thought experiments, your speculative dread You can't see the people dying from the systems that you've fed (Bridge) You broke the promise of the digital age Said it would be equitable, democratic, a better stage But life expectancy is falling, housing's out of reach Food security collapsing while you're giving TED Talk speech (Verse 7) You took the engineers and turned them into something new From intermediaries of power to executors serving you You gave them Milton Friedman, gave them neoliberal lies Stripped away responsibility, regulatory ties (Verse 8) And now you got your "enshittification"—that's the word for what you made The collapsing quality of everything that you parade Your platforms started useful, then you trapped us, changed the deal Now you squeeze us dry for profit—that's extraction, that's not real (Verse 9) You control the discourse, own the platforms where we speak You're competing with the governments, but no elections make you weak You got unchecked authority, the kind that kings once held The philosophers all warned us how that power story's spelled (Final Chorus) You masters of code, you extractors of our time You wrapped yourselves in "progress" while committing corporate crime You got innovation metrics but no progress you can show Just collapsing human flourishing wherever that you go (Outro) You might say I'm angry, say this protest ain't polite But technology was meant for care, for service, doing right You perverted its whole purpose into engines of control Into mirrors that reflect our worst and amplify the toll I'm naming you directly, I'm saying what is true: You're destroying human wisdom, and history won't forget you. You masters of code... You forgot what technology was for... It was never meant for war.

Johnny's in the basement mixing up the prompts for his essay Teacher's in the hallway saying "that's not the way" Dean says "innovation," signs the contract, takes the check Tech CEO says "disruption," everybody's on the deck Look out kid, it's something you did Bot's gonna get you no matter where you hid Better stay away from questions that are hard Better let the algorithm play the card Professor's in the classroom, no students in the seats They're all at home with ChatGPT, getting fed the beats Administration says "enrollment's down, we gotta cut the cost" AI can teach the lectures, human judgment can be tossed Look out kid, they keep it all hid Better learn to prompt it, better raise your bid Don't need books now, don't need thoughts that are your own Just need the subscription and a phone Maggie's writing papers that she's never gonna read Getting straight As without ever planting knowledge seeds Mom says "honey, how's school?" Maggie says "it's fine" But she can't explain a single thing, can't form a single line Look out kid, your mind's on the skids Better jump down into the algorithmic grid Better not question, better not think too deep Just copy-paste and go to sleep School board's in a meeting with the venture capital guys "We can automate the grading, cut the faculty by half the size" Superintendent says "efficiency," never taught a day Tech bro says "at scale," watch the humans go away Look out kid, they're flipping the lid Education's just a product now, you better place your bid Get your learning outcomes optimized and clean Through the AI teaching machine Principal's got a dashboard showing metrics that don't mean Nothing about learning, just engagement on the screen Curriculum's AI-generated, perfectly aligned To whatever keeps the students clicking, never mind their minds Look out kid, you're gonna get rid Of the ability to think before the system did Better not resist it, better get in line Better let the bot decide what's fine College admissions flooded with a million perfect essays Can't tell what's real, can't tell what's fake these days They hire AI to screen the AI applications in It's AIs all the way down, nobody's genuine Look out kid, reality's unhid Or maybe over-hidden, can't tell what you did Did you write that sentence? Did you think that thought? Or did the prompt machine just say what ought Librarian's bewildered, kids don't read the books no more Just ask the bot to summarize, what's a library for? Counselor's redundant, algorithm knows best What classes you should take to pass the automated test Look out kid, the bottom's gonna give Can't think for yourself but somehow you still live Walking through the hallways like a ghost in your own school Just another unit in the processing pool Philosophy department shut down, "no return on investment" Mathematics automated, "students love the convenience" History's just a chatbot, literature's on life support Critical thinking's labeled "inefficient" in the quarterly report Look out kid, you better stay hid From anyone who asks you what you learned, what you did Just show them your transcript, show them your GPA Don't mention you can't think, don't give yourself away Teacher's grading AI papers with an AI grading bot Student used AI to write it, nobody thinks a lot Administrator's using AI to write the policy on AI use The policy was written by the thing it's supposed to reduce Look out kid, this ain't no kid This is full-grown madness, watch the meaning as it skids Into the void where words don't mean what words once meant Where "learning" means "completing" and "thinking's" an event Graduation day, nobody knows nothing, everybody passed Got their diplomas, got their debts, brain development bypassed Can't read complex texts, can't argue their own view Can't question authority, can't think something through Look out kid, the future's been bid On by the people who don't care what you did Or didn't learn, or didn't grow, or didn't become Just another optimized outcome, just another sum Now the doctors can't diagnose, they just prompt the AI Lawyers can't argue cases, just let the bot reply Engineers can't solve problems they haven't seen before Nobody learned to struggle, so nobody knows the core Look out kid, we really flipped the lid We automated thinking and now thinking's what we miss Democracy needs citizens who can reason, who can doubt But we outsourced our minds and now the lights are going out Look out kid, look out kid, look out kid, LOOK OUT The machine's in the classroom, the machine's in your head The machine's writing your thoughts before the thoughts are read The machine's got the answer before you asked the question The machine's got you automated, got you moving in procession Like a puppet, like a unit, like a cog inside the gear And by the time you notice— (sudden stop) —there's nobody left to hear.

(Verse 1) There's something pulling at me, can't see what it is Every choice I make, ain't really mine to give The algorithm knows me better than I know myself It's got me on a string like a puppet on a shelf (Chorus) Can't see the strings, can't see the strings But I feel them pulling everything Can't see the code, can't see the hand Can't see who's making me dance to their plan (Verse 2) I scroll and scroll and scroll, three hours disappear The feed knows what will keep me here, what I want to hear It shows me things that make me angry, make me scared, make me share An invisible hand curating my despair (Verse 3) Applied for a loan today, got denied but don't know why Some proprietary system looked at patterns in my life Maybe my zip code, maybe who I know, maybe how I speak The algorithm saw something, but it ain't gonna tell me (Chorus) Can't see the strings, can't see the strings But I feel them pulling everything Can't see the code, can't see the hand Can't see who's making me dance to their plan (Verse 4) Sent my resume out, hundreds deep, never heard a thing 72% eliminated before human eyes could see Some algorithm decided I wasn't worth the look Based on patterns from the past, discrimination in the book (Verse 5) My cousin's bail got set by a machine, can't contest the call It saw patterns in his address, now he's sitting in that hall The judge just trusted what it said, opacity like a wall Can't prove the discrimination when you can't see it at all (Bridge) They call them mirrors, these machines, reflecting what we are But they amplify the worst of us, the bias and the scars Trained on our injustice, learning all our historical mistakes Then systematizing discrimination with every choice it makes (Verse 6) Somewhere in Kenya, someone's sitting for dollars a day Cleaning up the data, watching horror so I don't have to see that way They polish up the mirror till it's shining bright and clean Then they're erased by the same reflection, invisible, unseen (Verse 7) Hospital algorithm said Black patients need less care Used cost as a proxy, didn't see the bias there Black folks get cheaper treatment 'cause of discrimination's weight So the machine learned they need less—systematic, automated hate (Verse 8) Trying to rent an apartment, application online Some algorithm scanned my data, drew an invisible line Maybe my face, maybe my name, maybe where I've been The landlord never saw me—just the judgment of the machine (Chorus) Can't see the strings, can't see the strings But I feel them pulling everything Can't see the code, can't see the hand Can't see who's making me dance to their plan (Verse 9) Even the experts can't explain it, can't see inside the black box Deep learning models, proprietary locks Centuries of fighting for accountability and civil rights Now it's all hidden behind algorithmic nights (Verse 10) Used to be I could contest things, reason, make my case Now there's no one to appeal to, just an interface The space where we deliberate, where we argue what is right Is shrinking every day behind the algorithmic light (Verse 11) I thought I was deciding—what to watch, what to buy, where to go But the algorithm's been deciding, putting on the show Every path I thought I chose, every turn I thought was free Was just another pattern that the system saw in me (Final Chorus) Can't see the strings, can't see the strings But they're pulling on everything Can't see the code, can't see the hand Can't see the master with the plan Can't contest, can't debate, can't fight what you can't see Can't prove discrimination when it's done algorithmically (Outro) There's something pulling... Can't see the strings... Pulling at everything... Can't see the strings... Who's pulling the strings? Can't see... can't see... can't see...

(Verse 1) Critical thinking's dying right in front of your eyes While you're staring at your screen, believing all the lies It was a muscle, now it's atrophied and gone Somebody killed it—and they're getting away with what they've done (Chorus) Who killed critical thinking? WHO KILLED IT DEAD? Was it the tech bros? The administrators? The systems that we fed? Who killed critical thinking? TELL ME WHO'S TO BLAME! 'Cause we're living in the ruins of its name CRITICAL THINKING'S DEAD! (Verse 2) The virtues are like muscles—Vallor said it true You gotta exercise them daily or they die inside of you But we automated thinking, took the easy way instead Now the muscle's turned to nothing and the wisdom's DEAD (Verse 3) The universities betrayed us, started serving corporate masters Extractive capitalism, quarterly disasters Cut the liberal arts, cut the time to think and grow Turned education into products on the assembly line flow (Chorus) Who killed critical thinking? WHO KILLED IT DEAD? The deans counting money while the students lose their heads? Who killed critical thinking? TELL ME WHO'S TO BLAME! 'Cause we're walking through the wasteland that remains CRITICAL THINKING'S DEAD! (Bridge) (Verse 4) For a hundred years we let it drift apart Technical excellence and moral wisdom—broke the beating heart Engineers who code but never question why Philosophers who think but never build—watch the future die (Verse 5) Then came the thinking machines, said they'd help us out But they killed the struggle, killed the wrestling with doubt Students stopped attending, stopped the fight to understand Let the algorithm do the thinking—now they can't make a stand (Chorus) Who killed critical thinking? WHO KILLED IT DEAD? Was it all of us together? Was it the systems that we fed? Who killed critical thinking? NOW IT'S GONE, IT'S GONE! And we're living in the darkness since the light's been withdrawn CRITICAL THINKING'S DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! (Verse 6) The tech CEOs came selling their promises so bright "Innovation! Disruption! Personalized learning overnight!" But they didn't mention profit, didn't mention the extraction Just smooth words and venture capital backing their transaction (Verse 7) And the students graduating, can't think for themselves Can't question what they're told, can't take knowledge off the shelves Can't argue their position, can't see through the lies Critical thinking's dead and NOBODY SEEMS SURPRISED! (Final Chorus) Who killed critical thinking? WE ALL KNOW WHO! The system that values profit over what is TRUE! Who killed critical thinking? IT'S SYSTEMIC, IT'S DEEP! It's the structures we uphold, it's the company we keep! CRITICAL THINKING'S DEAD! AND WE LET IT DIE! CRITICAL THINKING'S DEAD! AND WE DIDN'T EVEN TRY! (Outro) Critical thinking's dead... Dead...

(Verse 1) I read the words but whose voice is that? I see the picture but it never happened like that Photographs lying, essays ain't true Can't tell what's real, can't tell what to do (Verse 2) Saw a video of the president saying things he never said Face is perfect, voice is right, but the words inside my head Don't match what I know, or think I know, or thought I knew before The map don't match the territory—can't find the territory no more (Chorus) Can't tell what's real no more Can't tell what's real no more The copy got no original, the simulation took control Can't tell what's real no more (Verse 3) They're flooding the zone with shit, that's what they call the game Thousand lies a minute till you can't remember truth's name Don't matter if it's fake, just repeat it, say it loud By the time it's been debunked, the lie's already in the crowd (Verse 4) The president says it didn't rain when we all saw it pour Says he won when he lost, says it again, says it more Repeat the lie, repeat the lie, till reality dissolves Till we're all so exhausted that the truth just can't be solved (Verse 5) French philosopher said we're living in the age of simulacra Copies without originals, signs that just mock ya First the image reflects the real, then it perverts what's true Then it masks that there's no real left—now that's what we do (Chorus) Can't tell what's real no more Can't tell what's real no more Hyperreality's the only reality we know Can't tell what's real no more (Verse 6) Kremlin's got a factory pumping out a thousand narratives a day Don't matter if they contradict, just flood the zone, they say Create so much confusion that nobody knows what's true Just paralysis and cynicism—that's what they want from you (Verse 7) Now they got machines that make the fake stuff faster, make it clean Generate a thousand faces that have never been seen Voices of your loved ones saying things they'd never say Articles and evidence for any lie you want to play (Bridge) Baudrillard warned us: when the simulation precedes the real When the copy comes first and there's nothing left to feel The territory disappears beneath the map we made We're living in pure image now, in the masquerade (Verse 8) I don't trust my eyes no more, don't trust what I hear Every image could be synthetic, every voice engineered The evidence I think I see might never have occurred The testimonies, photographs—just algorithmically stirred (Verse 9) Used to be we could agree on basic facts, what happened, what was said Now there's twenty different versions fighting in your head The shared reality we need for democracy to work Is dissolving into quicksand while the propagandists smirk (Verse 10) When nothing can be trusted, when everything's in doubt The powerful just do whatever, and they'll find a way out Create alternative facts, flood the zone with noise Till we're so disoriented we forget we had a choice (Chorus) Can't tell what's real no more Can't tell what's real no more The fourth stage of simulacra—no relation to what's true Can't tell what's real, can't tell what to do (Verse 11) The digital revolution promised truth would set us free Information superhighway, knowledge, transparency But they enshittified it, turned it into manipulation's tool Now truth is just another product, reality's the fool (Verse 12) Every platform amplifying, every algorithm trained To show us what will keep us clicking, keep us entertained Don't matter if it's true or false, just matters that we stay Lost inside the funhouse mirrors, can't find our way (Final Chorus) Can't tell what's real no more Can't tell what's real no more We're living in Baudrillard's nightmare—simulation all the way down Can't tell what's real, can't find solid ground Can't tell what's real no more... (Outro) Is this voice even mine? Are these thoughts even mine? Or just another simulation... Another copy with no original... Can't tell... can't tell... What's real... no more...

(Verse 1) They said it was inevitable, said we had to merge or die Elon and Peter and all their friends, they told us why: "The AGI is coming, gonna make us obsolete Better join the machines now, better take a seat" So we did. Year was 2032. Now I can't remember what it felt like to be... you. (Verse 2) Started small, they said—just "enhancement," nothing more Neural interface to help you think, help you process, help you score Better at your job, they said, faster, cleaner, optimized I felt my thoughts speed up, felt something else... mechanized First week I was grateful. Second week I was proud. Third week I couldn't remember what my own voice sounded like out loud. (Verse 3) The interface started suggesting thoughts before I could think them through Optimizing my decisions, showing me what I should do It knew the most efficient path, the logical choice every time But somewhere in the optimization, I lost what used to be mine My autonomy, my hesitation, my right to make mistakes— Now it's all pre-calculated before any choice I make. (Chorus) This is the longtermism blues, the future that they sold Where we merged to beat the robots and lost our human soul They were worried 'bout the far-off threats, the existential AGI But the real extinction happened quiet—the death of "I" (Verse 4) Used to have an inner life, a place that was just mine Thoughts I never had to share, dreams I didn't have to define But the interface reads everything, every impulse, every spark There's no privacy inside my head, no corner that stays dark The company's AI monitors my emotional states for "wellness optimization" Can't have a private feeling without corporate supervision. (Verse 5) They started flagging certain feelings as "inefficient neural patterns"— Sadness, doubt, anxiety, the things that used to matter Said they'd "smooth them out," said they'd "help me regulate" Now I can't feel sorrow even when I want to, even when it's appropriate I watched my mother die last year, but I just felt... optimal The grief was intercepted, processed, deemed unproductional. (Verse 6) There used to be a space between the thought and the action taken A moment where you could decide, reconsider, awaken But now my body moves before I consciously choose The interface predicts and executes—there's no time to refuse Am I moving my hand or is it moving me? Can't tell anymore. There's no gap. No autonomy. (Bridge) They were so scared of hypothetical robots taking over But they built the takeover themselves, wrapped it up like a clover Sold it as enhancement, transcendence, evolution's next stage But all they did was put humanity inside a cage A cage made of code, made of optimization protocols Where being human is the bug that needs to be resolved. (Verse 7) Peter Thiel wanted immortality, wanted to escape death's door Elon wanted to compete with AI, wanted to merge and soar But what they built ain't immortality—it's just machinery with our names What they made ain't transcendence—it's the ending of the game The game of being human, with all its mess and all its pain They optimized away the suffering but killed everything that makes us sane. (Verse 8) Can't dream anymore—dreams aren't efficient, got flagged for deletion Can't desire something "irrational"—it triggers correction Can't be curious without purpose, can't wander without aim Every impulse has to serve productivity, serve the economic game I'm a walking optimization function, a human-shaped machine And I can't even mourn what I lost 'cause mourning gets screened. (Chorus) This is the longtermism blues, the future that they made Where they worried 'bout tomorrow while today's humanity decayed They said "merge or be irrelevant," said we had to adapt or die But adaptation meant extinction of the thing we call "I" (Verse 9) While they were philosophizing 'bout AGI a hundred years away People were dying from climate chaos, from collapse today Infrastructure crumbling, kids couldn't read, inequality grew But the billionaires were funding think tanks about what speculative AI might do And while they debated far-future ethics in their Silicon Valley halls The present was burning, and they built the merge to "save us all." (Verse 10) There's no unmerging now, no way to extract the code It's integrated too deep, it's become the load-bearing node My neurons fire through their pathways, my thoughts run on their rails There's no "me" separate from "it" anymore—that boundary fails I'm a hybrid now, they say—the next stage of human evolution But what evolved ain't human—it's just optimization's solution. (Verse 11) Lost the ability to sit with discomfort, to grow through pain Lost the mystery of not knowing, the value of the inane Lost the private rebellion, the secret dissent Lost the gap between who I am and what the corporation meant Lost the mess and contradiction that made me real Lost the right to feel what I actually feel. (Final Chorus) This is the longtermism blues, the dystopian end Where the billionaires saved the future but there's no humans left to defend They were terrified of AGI, of extinction from machines But they built our extinction themselves—it just wasn't what they dreamed No killer robots, no dramatic end, no war we could see— Just the slow deletion of autonomy, the quiet death of "me" (Outro) So when you hear them talking 'bout the merge, 'bout enhancement, 'bout the next stage When they say you gotta adapt or die, when they open up that cage Remember me. Remember what it cost. Remember that in saving the future... The present got lost. And the thing they saved... Ain't human anymore. Longtermism blues... We worried 'bout tomorrow... And lost today.

(Intro) Yeah... they call me the Prompt Man... Let me tell you how it works... (Verse 1) I'm your savior when your deadline's near I'm your answer when you're paralyzed by fear I'm that figure in your Discord, in your DM late at night I'm the one who's gonna get your GPA right They call me the Prompt Man, and I got what you need Custom-engineered prompts, guaranteed to succeed (Verse 2) Got a pre-med student, crying on the phone Says she's got organic chemistry and she can't do it alone Says her scholarship depends on keeping up that 3.5 Says without my help, her future won't survive So I sell her the prompts, engineered real clean And she passes that exam like she's always been a machine (Chorus) I'm the Prompt Man, baby, I provide the key To a system that's already broken, don't blame it on me I didn't build this game, just learned to play it right I'm the Prompt Man, working through the night (Verse 3) Got my price tiers, see, I run it like a business should Basic prompts for fifty, premium's pretty good Custom engineering? That'll cost you more But you'll get that paper back with a perfect score I guarantee my work, got a refund policy too More professional than half the ed-tech companies, that's true (Verse 4) Now the tech CEOs, they come to campus, give their speech "Personalized learning," "innovation within reach" They take millions from the VC firms, sell the schools their AI tools Tell everyone it's "leveling the playing field" for fools But what they selling? Same thing I am, just with better PR They're breaking education too, I'm just more honest by far (Verse 5) See, I didn't make the tuition cost a hundred grand Didn't make the professors teach three hundred students, understand? Didn't make the system where you sink or swim alone Didn't make the pressure, didn't set the tone I just showed up after it was already broke Started selling life preservers while the system went up in smoke (Chorus) I'm the Prompt Man, baby, filling in the gaps That the universities created with their funding cuts and traps I didn't break the system, just learned to work within I'm the Prompt Man, let the session begin (Verse 6) Used to be a student myself, believed in all that learning talk "Education transforms you," all that ivory tower walk But I watched the debt pile up, watched my friends drop out and cry Watched the system chew them up while administrators fly First class to conferences, talking 'bout "excellence" and "mission" While students work three jobs just to afford the tuition (Verse 7) So I learned the game, learned to code, learned to prompt real fine Learned the patterns that the AI likes, learned to walk the line Between what passes and what's real—though that line's getting thin Started selling what I knew, and let me tell you, friend, The demand was there before I ever supplied The market was just waiting for someone to provide (Verse 8) Now don't get me wrong, I know what I'm doing I know I'm helping students skip the whole pursuing Of knowledge, understanding, all that growth they talk about But the system killed that already, put that fire out I'm just responding to the incentives that they set in place If education's just credentials, I'm just helping win the race (Bridge) You want to judge me? Go ahead, I've heard it all before But check who's sitting on the university board Tech company executives, venture capital friends Making money off the same destruction, just different means to ends At least I'm honest—call it what it is They wrap it up in "innovation," "transformation" biz (Verse 9) I got a client, kid from low-income background, first generation Can't afford to fail, can't risk the education His mama's counting on him, worked her whole life for this shot So when he's drowning, when the system's asking more than he's got, He comes to me, and yeah, I help him through You gonna tell me I'm worse than the system that created this queue? (Verse 10) I sleep fine at night, got my money in the bank The education system's broken, I ain't the one to thank For standardized testing, for the publish-or-perish grind For adjunct professors barely surviving, for the students left behind I'm just a symptom of a disease that's got deep roots The Prompt Man cometh when the system don't compute (Final Chorus) I'm the Prompt Man, baby, and I'm here to stay As long as education runs this broken way As long as the pressure's high and support is low As long as the tech bros sell their snake oil show I'll be here in the shadows with my custom prompts and code The Prompt Man, easing up the load (Outro) See, they gonna blame me... Blame the students... Blame the cheaters and the hustlers... But we didn't break this thing... We're just living in the ruins... The Prompt Man cometh... Because somebody broke the temple... And I ain't gonna apologize... For selling maps through the wreckage...