STET

SPOILERS - if you haven't read it yet, don't read this any further.

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The unique formatting of this story means that it takes a little bit before the reader starts to understand what the story is actually about. Most of the real story is contained in the margin notes, ostensibly written by an editor and the author of this non-fiction piece on autonomous, self-driving vehicles.

I think one of the most effective parts of this piece is the reference to the value we place on endangered species. Even though I knew that the author's child had died, here I was wondering whether the bird in the story is an actual bird, and whether it's actually endangered. I just barely resisted Googling it.

Don't think that our AI overlords didn't see us having that response, and add it to their database of the degrees of what's important to us.