SILICON SOUL

Clock in, smile wide,

scan my face Another human taking up a little space They said

the software learned my job overnight Now I'm training my replacement for

a lower price Fingers on the keyboard,

eyes on the screen Tell me how productive I am supposed to

be They call it innovation,

I call it being erased Put a little robot where they used

to know my name

If you can do it faster If you can do it cheap

What happens to the people Who gave you everything?

Silicon soul, take my place Copy my hands,

but you can't copy my face

Silicon soul, learn my lines You can imitate the work,

but you can't imitate my life You can

steal the picture You can mimic the sound But you weren't there

when I was breaking it down Silicon soul,

do what you're told I'll keep my heartbeat You can keep your

code

Artist gets replaced by a button on a screen Writer gets replaced

by a generated dream Someone bought a program to recreate her style

Then called it progress when she couldn't pay the bills Customer service

talking in a perfect tone Nobody's listening,

nobody's really home "Thank you for your patience,

please select option three" Funny how the machine sounds more human than

me

If you can work forever If you don't need to eat Why

would they remember The people underneath?

They gave the factory a million little eyes Taught it how to

watch us while we worked overtime Every second measured,

every movement tracked If I stop for breath,

the algorithm sends me back Boss says,

"Don't worry, this will make things better" While another hundred people lose

their severance letters Funny little future that they promised we'd adore The

machines got smarter

And the people got poorer

You don't dream

You don't bleed

You don't know what a human needs (You don't know!) You don't

miss

You don't grieve

You don't know what it means to leave (grieve...

leave...) You can learn every word I've ever said

But you can't know the thoughts inside my head

Silicon soul,

take my place Copy my hands,

but you can't copy my face Silicon soul,

learn my lines

You can imitate the work,

but you can't imitate my life

You can steal the picture You can mimic the sound But you

weren't there when I was breaking it down Silicon soul,

do what you're told I'll keep my heartbeat

You can keep your code

Delete my name

Replace my role

You can have my job But you can't have my soul.