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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Total book sales including physical and digital books rose 6% to £3.5bn, propped up by non-fiction. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown imprint Sphere has acquired The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green from Hachette Australia. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the Scandi noir boom, dark tales from British authors are making waves abroad. Publishers, agents and authors take up the caseWhen ex-paramedic Daniel Cole signed with agent Sue Armstrong, he was “delighted”. When Armstrong bagged him a six-figure, three-book deal from a British publisher... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Small Death (Dar Al Saqi) by Mohammed Hasan Alwan has won the 10th International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reissues aim to restore her darker stories of village intrigue for grownups to the popularity they once enjoyedRichmal Crompton has long been overshadowed by her creation Just William, but the darker side of her imagination is set to be rediscovered, with several of her lesser-known adult novels... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The artist behind Agatha Christie’s iconic book jackets in the 1960s and 70s, Tom Adams, will appear as part of CrimeFest’s ninth line-up. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Colson Whitehead won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in fiction Monday for “The Underground Railroad.” It caps a sweep of accolades that the book has received since its publication by Doubleday in August 2016, including winning the National Book Award in November and being selected by Oprah Winfrey for... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four works of non-fiction, including Hisham Matar's award-winning biography The Return (Viking), have been shortlisted for the £20,000 Rathbones Folio Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s no secret that successful people are readers. Reading helps you stay on top of new trends and learn techniques you can use in your career. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett each share their favorite books at the end of the year, and they’re filled with nonfiction titles. But what about... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McFly band member Tom Fletcher will publish his second middle grade novel for Penguin Random House in time for the Christmas market this October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A couple of years ago, Facebook introduced M, an AI-powered personal assistant for Messenger. The idea behind M is that you could ask it to do pretty much anything -- book flights, cancel your cable service and even find a plumber -- and it'll do it... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2017-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins' bestselling non-fiction author Cathy Glass is to turn her hand to crime fiction with Avon. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Murray is publishing We Have No Idea, a book exploring "everything we don't know about the universe", accompanied by 400 "hilarious" cartoons and infographics. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Tom Cox's new book 21st Century Yokel has become the fastest title to reach its funding target on Unbound in just seven hours. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Called an an effort to 'optimize the work of all major libraries,' Russia's plan to merge digital collections of several libraries is seeing resistance. The post Russian Librarians Warn of Crisis in Library Consolidation Plans appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Illustrated book publisher Abrams is to launch a new text-driven imprint with a focus on narrative non-fiction called Abrams Press. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion Non-fiction will be relaunched as Seven Dials in September, with a remit to increase its global profile. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing, the largest publisher of translations, will be at the London Book Fair with a rights list of suspense, memoir and literary titles. The post Amazon Publishing at London Book Fair: Literary Fiction, Suspense, Memoir appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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General fiction accounted for 23% of audiobook downloads on the site, followed by mystery/thriller. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Craig Groeschel’s how-to on decision making, ‘Divine Direction,’ debuted at #1 on our Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list. Plus, Wanda Brunstetter returns with her new Amish Cooking series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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