Science Fiction Tried to Warn Us about AI. Or Did It?, by Tom Gammarino Essay [email protected] Wed, 03/01/2023 - 03:46 Photo by NASA / Unsplash “All our AI Frankenstein stories,” the author writes, “warn us that AI will destroy us, but far louder than that, they promise that the future is going to be mind-blowing and epic.” Will we heed the warnings? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the literary work that most clearly established the conventions of science fiction as we know it. Not only did the 1818 novel pioneer the archetype of the mad scientist, it also established one of the genre’s most important cultural roles: to warn us about ways humans, through our hubris, might create the very beings that eventually undo us. In subtitling the novel The Modern Prometheus, Shelley harked back to the Titan who stole fire from the gods and was punished by having his regenerating liver devoured every day by an eagle (since the liver was the seat of the emotions for the Greeks, we might as well translate it as “heart”). Inspired by the experiments of Luigi Galvani, who used electric current to stimulate the leg of a dissected frog, and his nephew Giovanni Aldini, who ran a similar experiment on a hanged criminal, Shelley had her mad scientist play God by endowing a patchwork of human remains with the spark of life. Two centuries later, the resulting monstrosity serves as a stand-in for any of our runaway technologies — the internal... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2023-03-01 09:46:57 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#best-case scenario
#science fiction
The 2019 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters were awarded in the book categories of fiction, history, biography poetry, general nonfiction, and criticism on Monday afternoon at the Columbia University School of Journalism in Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#biography poetry
#book categories
#general nonfiction
#monday afternoon
Hodder & Stoughton (H&S) has appointed Wellcome Collection publisher Kirty Topiwala to lead its general non-fiction publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Nightfire is the name of a new horror imprint coming from Tom Doherty Associates in early 2021.The imprint will publish across all areas of horror and in a range of formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Grazia has run its last dedicated books page, 'Shelf Life', under books editor Alexandra Heminsley after a redesign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Jasmine Richards, formerly a publisher at Oxford University Press (OUP), has launched a fiction development company to create inclusive stories for children. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Nicko Goncharoff has been appointed managing director, business development for Greater China, at Web of Science Group. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#business development
#greater china
“God no, I don’t want you to read any of these," the former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee told "The Late Show" host. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-04-04 09:49:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#romantic fiction
#late show
If they succeed in distracting commuters from their smartphones, short story dispensers will be a welcome addition to the landscapeCan fiction miniatures dispensed through slots lure commuters away from their smartphone apps and social media feeds into the imaginary worlds created by authors... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#modern twist
A “dazzling” six-book shortlist has been announced for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#historical fiction
#10th anniversary
Andersen Press has signed a Middle Grade fantasy series from Blue Peter Book Award-winner Ross MacKenzie, in what it called its “biggest fiction acquisition in recent years”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#andersen press
HarperCollins Children’s Books will present a new fiction title from Judith Kerr, entitled The Curse of the School Rabbit, at next week’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harpercollins children
#bologna children
#fiction title
#judith kerr
#book fair
Pinch of Nom by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone sold 210,000 copies in three days, toppling Jamie Oliver and Peter KayFrom cheesecake-stuffed strawberries to diet cola chicken, a collection of slimming recipes which started life as a food blog has toppled political tomes and celebrity memoirs... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#records began
#kate allinson
#started life
#food blog
#celebrity memoirs
#kay featherstone
#non-fiction book
Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s slimming cookbook Pinch of Nom (Bluebird), based on the authors’ food blog, has become the fastest-selling non-fiction title of the Nielsen BookScan era, selling a gastronomical 210,506 copies through the Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#nom bluebird
#kay featherstone
#kate allinson
#food blog
Robert Mueller’s predecessors investigated Watergate, Iran-contra and Bill Clinton. They warned that checks and balances aren’t enough. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-03-22 14:40:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#robert mueller
#bill clinton
Five Bodley Head authors discussed their upcoming books at a dinner in London’s Balthazar, with publishing director Stuart Williams praising the “rich time” for non-fiction books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#non-fiction books
#upcoming books
Authors have praised Francis Spufford’s novel set in the world of Narnia, with some suggesting the C S Lewis estate should allow the book to be printed but others maintaining the work is fan fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Hodder crime and fiction publisher Ruth Tross is joining Bookouture as a publishing director while Claire Bord will start commissioning the digital imprint’s first non-fiction titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#claire bord
#digital imprint
#non-fiction titles
Rana DiOrio's latest venture, Creative Mint, seeks to leverage the power of blockchain technology to “democratize and decentralize” rights transactions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#blockchain technology
#cutting edge
#latest venture
Wilbur Smith is branching into children’s books by telling the story of the youngest member of the Courtney family for a new series of middle grade novels. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wilbur smith
#youngest member
#courtney family
HarperCollins has announced the launch of HarperVia, a new imprint acquiring international titles for world English publication. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#translation imprint