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 ]
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This is the second year of operation for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, which stresses fiction that has social impact, work specifically addressing contemporary issues. The post Aspen Words Prize Longlist of 16 Titles for 2019 Prize in Issue-Driven Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Books is publishing the first Doctor Who novel from Tom Baker, star of the series as the Fourth Doctor in the late seventies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 69th National Book Awards took place in New York last night, emphasising the importance of translation and open borders. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author spoke out at the National Book Awards against the rise of "nationalism and racism" in politics. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2018-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After entering the fiction market in 2005 with the launch of its Pyr science fiction imprint, Prometheus has sold that imprint and another one to return to its original focus: nonfiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Serbian poet and novelist Jelena Lengold and Romanian writer Ioana Pârvulescu are among the winners of the European Union Prize for Literature's short fiction competition. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global TV production company Fremantle has become a sponsor of the Women’s Prize for Fiction for 2019, as the award transforms into a charity. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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West London-based literary agency Janklow & Nesbit has been one of the progenitors of the "brainy non-fiction" trend of recent vintage, with a number of big books and deals coming from the Will Francis-led outfit. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors has warned MPs that Universal Credit could silence working-class writers, impeding diversity in publishing and making it harder to attract different types of reader. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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School librarians have reacted with dismay to the Budget news that schools are to receive a one-off payment of £400m, telling The Bookseller that schools will continue to struggle to buy books for their pupils. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH division Puffin Books will next year publish a ‘musical’ edition of Tom Fletcher’s The Creakers with a CD and prompts telling readers when to listen to the songs. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hello, readers! Welcome to this week’s books newsletter from the L.A. Times. I’m Carolyn Kellogg, our books editor, with the word on some fascinating new books. THE BIG REVIEW What was it like to start out in the punk rock scene, be fascinated by the birth of hip-hop and wind up superstars?... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Orwell Foundation will next month launch a prize to celebrate novels or short stories that illuminate social and political themes through the art of narrative. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There are various theories why sales dropped 16% between 2013 and 2017. None quite provide a full answer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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University of East Anglia creative writing student Femi Kayode has won the £3,000 Little, Brown Award for crime fiction for the manuscript for his "shocking and emotional story", Lightseekers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An interview with the MIT Astrophysicist and novelist at this year's Boston Book Festival, including excerpts and a link to the full interview. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Germany, Turning Point, the finale of Carmen Korn’s Century Trilogy, a historical series about four women in the 20th century, topped the fiction bestseller list in September, and prolific mystery novelist Charlotte Link was in second with The Search, about a missing teen. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing continuing poor sales, Llewellyn Worldwide, best known for its mind/body/spirit offerings, is shutting down its crime fiction imprint, Midnight Ink, in August 2019, after releasing its final list during the spring/summer season. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 17th woman to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, Anna Burns has won for 'Milkman,' set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Her publisher, Faber & Faber, becomes the second biggest winner of Man Booker titles. The post Northern Ireland’s Anna Burns Wins 2018 Man Booker Prize for... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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