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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Virago is publishing an intimate exploration of miscarriage, mixing memoir with stories from the consulting room, history and science, by British psychotherapist Julia Bueno. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dawn French is publishing her first non-fiction book since her 2008 autobiography Dear Fatty on Super Thursday this October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Readers discuss the pros and cons of open access to scientific journalsStephen Buranyi’s article on the lucrative business of academic publishing does not go far enough (How Robert Maxwell turned science publishing into a money machine, 27 June). At least academic researchers have access to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Arts Council England is broadening its literature work, which has previously concentrated on areas such as poetry and translated literature, into a new emphasis on literary fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kenilworth Books' Tamsin Rosewell says hardback books sold at a heavy discount disadvantage independent booksellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell• Read the text version hereSubscribe via Audioboom, iTunes, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Acast & Sticher and join the discussion on Facebook and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scribner has bought a trio of non-fiction titles including a playwright’s autobiography, the memoir of a young beekeeper and a journey into the properties if ice. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kings Road Publishing is launching a new non-fiction imprint this autumn called 535, hoping to turn "leftfield ideas" into bestsellers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christian fiction publisher Gilead has been given new life via a publishing partnership with Kregel Publications that will see a division of tasks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell. By Stephen BuranyiIn 2011, Claudio Aspesi, a senior investment analyst at Bernstein Research in London, made a bet that the dominant firm in one... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book trade has been welcoming a fresh batch of interns today (23rd June) as part of #TakeYourDogToWorkDay. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A coloring book may sound tame, but "Legacy: An Off-Color Novella for You to Color," is by Chuck Palahniuk. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins division William Collins has acquired world rights to Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture by Joshua Levine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Non-fiction powerhouse Ebury has quietly grown a staunchly successful fiction outfit. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Portobello Books is launching a new non-fiction prize for unpublished writers, in association with literary agency C+W and retailer Foyles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins imprint 4th Estate has bought a novel and a non-fiction “companion piece” by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Romy Short, assessment director at Renaissance, on how assessment technologies can help get children reading. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Denise Mina and Stuart MacBride will feature in crime festival Bloody Scotland's first ever book of fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two decades ago, Arundhati Roy released her first novel, The God of Small Things. The response was pretty much everything an author could hope for from a debut. (It was a huge best-seller and won the Booker Prize.) But in the past 20 years, Roy has followed a different path than one might have... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bill Nye has made a career of educating young minds about science, with (most famously) his Emmy Award–winning PBS show Bill Nye the Science Guy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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