Cracks in Glass Towers by Joseph L. Bensinger
The world of artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming commonplace in our modern society. Many of the everyday things that people do are now being completely automated and changing the way that society looks at those functions.
Customer service and support desk services are being phased into artificial intelligence. Online purchases are being facilitated by things such as ChatGPT. Even medical diagnostics are being conducted with the help of AI software that is designed to diagnose symptoms that the doctor feeds into an iPad.
The Poetry of a Changing World
Cracks in Glass Towers: A Poetic Reflection on Humanity and AI, by author Joseph L. Besinger, is a fascinating look into AI and how it impacts human society. Besinger has written a poetry collection that describes everything from our human ancestors, through the pains of discovery in the evolving world to the modern reliance upon Artificial Intelligence.
The poems in this collection are written with an awe-inspiring concern for what has come before and a hopeful caution about what the future holds. Besinger is optimistic about the future but urges readers to consider the lightning speed with which AI-inspired changes have impacted society.
Cracks in Glass Towers, a book in the Signal and Soul Series, is an interesting volume of poetry, and the topic of this collection is relevant and important.
Artificial Intelligence has gained such a foothold in the modern world that it can even suggest what poetry collections to investigate! AI impacts how humans commute to work or school, how humans choose daily meals and even which hospital to go to for life-saving surgeries.
Questions for an AI-Shaped Future
I’m hesitant to sing the praises of Artificial Intelligence in all aspects of human life, but helping to relieve stress from the many mundane tasks humans do on a daily basis is grounds for a thumbs-up.
Besinger’s poetry is enjoyable to read and easy to identify with. He deftly discusses how humans went from looking up at the night sky in wonder to trying to determine just how much information to share with a non-human intelligence.
He wonders with a certain amount of justified concern about what will happen down the road. Will AI make human workers obsolete? Will AI no longer require humans for data analysis or integration? Will humans lose skills such as the ability to communicate with each other and to judge between outcomes of a given situation?
Cracks in Glass Towers is an excellent road map for answering these questions and for trying to figure out what comes next.
About Joseph L. Bensinger:
Joseph L. Bensinger is the author of several poetry collections, including Of Curses and Blessings, Beginnings and Ends, An Ekphrasis of Genesis, and The Nested Soul. His work explores the layered nature of thought, identity, and the human spirit. With a background in engineering, anthropology, and systems analysis, his poetry bridges the rational and the metaphysical—offering readers a voice that is both grounded and contemplative.
In 2025, he launches a five-volume poetic series on the evolving psyche, artificial intelligence, and the unspoken architecture of consciousness. The Nested Soul, the first of these volumes, traces the interior folds of human thought and layered identity.
Bensinger’s poetry is known for its precision, restraint, and philosophical depth. His work invites reflection rather than reaction—and seeks to speak not just to the mind, but to the silence behind it.
