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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Fine editions publisher Little Island Press is to launch its 2017 list with fiction from Gordon Lish, touted as “one of America’s greatest men of letters” by Little Island founder and m.d. Andrew Latimer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association (BA) this week warned Treasury chief secretary David Gauke that planned increases to business rates bills this April will result in many booksellers’ businesses being “absolutely crippled”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ed Faulkner, currently deputy publisher at PRH division Ebury, is joining HarperCollins as publisher, HarperNonFiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction dominates this month, with one thriller, one novel based on fact, and two easy-going tales from established authors. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cornerstone imprint William Heinemann is publishing a collection of short stories from actor Tom Hanks, anticipated to be a "major publishing event" for PRH this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction presaging the turbulent political currents of recent months, and exploring the role of the novelist and storytelling in society, was in evidence at the William Heinemann, Hutchinson and Windmill 2017 fiction showcase. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At a time when literary fiction has a chance to illuminate the struggles and needs of many, the leading Arabic fiction prize's shortlist makes the point. The post The International Prize for Arabic Fiction’s Shortlist: Strong on Issues appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Peters Fraser & Dunlop will continue its sponsorship of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize until 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Fletcher is set to publish another picture book with Penguin Random House Children's. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walker Books' A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston has won the fiction category in the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2017. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mohammed Hasan Alwan has been shortlisted for a second time for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Kerridge’s Dopamine Diet (Absolute) has boomeranged back into the number one spot, selling 15,532 copies for £131,405. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A series of management appointments at Holtzbrinck Digital have seen Dr Daniel Hook appointed c.e.o. of technology company Digital Science, with a bolstered senior leadership team. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ascent of Donald Trump has proved Neil Postman’s argument in Amusing Ourselves to Death was right. Here’s what we can do about itOver the last year, as the presidential campaign grew increasingly bizarre and Donald Trump took us places we had never been before, I saw a spike in media... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A mobile reading app that offers short original serialized fiction, Radish has raised $3 million seed money from Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and publishing industry investments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Statistics from BookNet Canada reveal the best-selling books of 2016, along with a stable Canadian book market and growing online book sales. The post BookNet Canada’s 2016 Snapshot: Nonfiction Lags Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Women’s Prize for Fiction is seeking a new sponsor after Baileys, which has backed the prize for the past four years, decided not to renew its support in 2018. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired a four-book fiction series about pirates by Amy Sparkes and Ben Cort. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple published its first paper on AI last month and now the company is set to join five others in a newly-formed research group. The Partnership on AI announced today that Apple would become its sixth founding member, adding to a lineup that already... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The educational publisher Pearson has warned of an "unprecedented" fall in sales in the US. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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